Confederation Heights is an area in south

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, made up of mostly government buildings. It is bounded on the east by Data Centre Road, on the north and west by the

Rideau River The Rideau River (french: Rivière Rideau) is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at the Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is . As explained in a writin ...

and on the south by Brookfield Road. Confederation Heights includes the Clarke Memorial Centre (

RA Centre The RA Centre is a recreation and activity centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the Recreation Association of the Public Service of Canada (more commonly known as the RA). Having been in business for over 75 years, and with a memb ...

), the Taxation Data Centre (

Canada Revenue Agency The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax credit ...

), the

Edward Drake Building The Edward Drake Building (french: Édifice Edward-Drake), formerly the CBC Building, was the name of a modernist office building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada designed by CBC's chief architect David Gordon McKinstry and constructed between 1961 and 1 ...

(formerly

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

and

Communications Security Establishment The Communications Security Establishment (CSE; french: Centre de la sécurité des télécommunications, ''CST''), formerly (from 2008-2014) called the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), is the Government of Canada's national c ...

), the

Sir Leonard Tilley Building The Sir Leonard Tilley Building and Annex (french: Édifice Sir-Leonard-Tilley), is a Government of Canada office building property consisting of two buildings and operated by the Public Works and Government Services Canada and located at 719 Her ...

(formerly

), Canada Post Place (

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

headquarters), the Sir Charles Tupper Building (

Public Works Canada Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC; french: Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada)''Public Services and Procurement Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Public Works ...

), Hog's Back Park,

Vincent Massey Park Vincent Massey Park is an urban park along the Rideau River in the Confederation Heights neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, accessible via Heron Road. It is extensively used in the summer for family and group picnics. The park has wooded ...

and Mooney's Bay station.

History

Prior to the expropriation of the Merkley Brick Yard in 1954, the area had been a combination of woods, farmland, quarry and brickyard. The arrival of Federal government departments in the late 1950s - early 1960s had a significant impact on the area. In 1959, the Fire Chief of Gloucester Township (the area was incorporated into Ottawa the following year) raised concerns that road traffic caused by the 1400 new workers commuting to Confederation Heights would interfere with the firefighters' ability to respond to fires from their station in Billings Bridge. It was estimated that daily traffic on Riverside Drive west of Bank Street would increase by 3500 cars. In 1961, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker inaugurated the Sir Alexander Campbell Building, the new headquarters building of the Department of the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

. The building, designed by architects Shore and Moffat was one of three which anchored the site. A plaza, with fountains and benches, spread between the self-standing cafeteria building and the Sir Alexander Campbell Building. To commemorate Canada's Centennial, a sundial was installed on the plaza. The plaque attached to its base read "Erected by Headquarters Staff of the Post Office Department to Commemorate the Centennial of Confederation July 26, 1967". The fountains and sundial have since disappeared. The Sir Alexander Campbell Building has since been torn down. It was replaced by a new

headquarters building located in Confederation Heights at the corner of Riverside Drive and Heron Road. The Sir Charles Tupper Building, which serves as the headquarters of the Department of Public Works and Government Services, opened in 1960 (Lithwick, Lambert and Sim Architects) It was the second prominent building located in Confederation Heights. The third was the Sir Leonard Tilley Building, which served as the headquarters of the

until a new headquarters building was built in the eastern end of Ottawa on Ogilvie Road. Plans to move various other departments to Confederation Heights changed over time. For example, it had been suggested that the

Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

move to Confederation Heights, but this never occurred. The development of offices also drove the development of neighbourhoods and infrastructure (e.g.: Brookfield HS, opened 1962; General Vanier PS, opened 1963) in nearby

Billings Bridge Billings Bridge is a bridge over the Rideau River in Ottawa. Bank Street passes over the river by way of this bridge. The bridge was named after Braddish Billings, who settled in this area and established a farm nearby in 1812. The first bridg ...

, Riverside Park, and

Carleton Heights Carleton Heights (French: ''Hauteurs Carleton'') is a neighbourhood in River Ward in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. According to the Carleton Heights and Area Community Association, the neighbourhood is bounded on the north by the Central Experimental ...

References

{{authority control Neighbourhoods in Ottawa