Ottawa (, ;
Canadian French: ) is the
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
of
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 ...
. It is located at the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
of the
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...
and 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 ...
in the
southern portion of the province of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. Ottawa borders
Gatineau
Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau
census metropolitan area (CMA) and the
National Capital Region
A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...
(NCR). Ottawa had a city population of 1,017,449 and a metropolitan population of 1,488,307, making it the
fourth-largest city and
fourth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.
Ottawa is the political centre of Canada and headquarters to the federal government. The city houses numerous
foreign embassies, key buildings, organizations, and institutions of
Canada's government, including the
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
, the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, the
residence of Canada's viceroy, and
Office of the Prime Minister.
Founded in 1826 as
Bytown
Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a Grou ...
, and
incorporated as Ottawa in 1855, its original boundaries were expanded through numerous annexations and were ultimately replaced by a new city incorporation and amalgamation in 2001. The
municipal government of Ottawa
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
is established and governed by the City of Ottawa Act of the
Government of Ontario
The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor ...
, and has an elected city council across 24 wards and a mayor elected city-wide.
Ottawa has the most educated population among Canadian cities
and is home to a number of colleges and universities, research and cultural institutions, including the
University of Ottawa,
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
,
Algonquin College
Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded English-language college located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The college serves the National Capital Region and the outlying areas of Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, and Upst ...
, the
National Arts Centre, the
National Gallery of Canada; and
numerous national museums, monuments, and historic sites. It is one of the most visited cities in Canada, with over 11 million visitors in 2018.
Etymology
The city name ''Ottawa'' was chosen in 1855 as a reference to the
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...
, the name of which is derived from the
Algonquin , meaning 'to trade'.
The city's modern name in
Algonquin language
Algonquin (also spelled Algonkin; in Algonquin: or ) is either a distinct Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alongside French and to some extent English, by th ...
is . The Algonquin
Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...
previously occupied a large tract of land on which Ottawa was settled.
History
Early history
![Champlain Sea](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Champlain_Sea.png)
Ottawa is situated on the traditional land of the
Algonquins, a broad Indigenous peoples who are closely related to the
Odawa
The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...
and
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
peoples.
The
Ottawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa River, along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield. Because of the surroundi ...
became habitable around 10,000 years ago, following the natural draining of the
Champlain Sea
The Champlain Sea (french: Mer de Champlain) was a prehistoric inlet of the Atlantic Ocean into the North American continent, created by the retreating ice sheets during the closure of the last glacial period. The inlet once included lands in ...
.
Archaeological findings of arrowheads, tools and pottery indicate that Indigenous populations first settled in the area about 6,500 years ago.
These findings suggest that these Algonquin people were engaged in foraging, hunting and fishing, but also trade and travel. Three major rivers meet within Ottawa, making it an important trade and travel area for thousands of years.
This period ended with the arrival of settlers and
colonization
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
of North America by Europeans during and after the 15th century.
European exploration and early development
In 1610,
Étienne Brûlé, became the first documented European to navigate the
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...
, passing what would become Ottawa on his way to the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
. Three years later,
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...
wrote about the waterfalls in the area and about his encounters with the Algonquin people.
The first non-Indigenous settlement in the area was created by
Philemon Wright
Philemon Wright (September 3, 1760 – June 3, 1839) was a farmer, lumberman and entrepreneur who founded the Ottawa River Timber Trade in 1806. He was also founder of what he named Columbia Falls Village, mostly known as (or Wrightstown) an ...
, a
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
er. Wright founded a lumber town in the area on 7 March 1800 on the north side of the river, across from the present-day city of Ottawa in
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
. He, with five other families and twenty-five
labourers, also created an agricultural community, which was named Wrightsville. Wright pioneered the
Ottawa Valley timber trade
The Ottawa River timber trade, also known as the Ottawa Valley timber trade or Ottawa River lumber trade, was the nineteenth century production of wood products by Canada on areas of the Ottawa River and the regions of the Ottawa Valley and west ...
(soon to be the area's most significant economic activity) by transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
.
In 1826, news of the impending construction of the Rideau Canal by the British military led to land speculators founding a community on the south side of the Ottawa River. The following year, the town was named after British military engineer Colonel
John By
Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was des ...
who was responsible for the entire Rideau Waterway construction project. The Rideau canal provided a secure route between Montreal and
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
on Lake Ontario. It bypassed a vulnerable stretch of the St. Lawrence River bordering the state of New York that had left re-supply ships bound for southwestern Ontario easily exposed to enemy fire during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
.
![First camp by By](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/First_camp_by_By.jpg)
Colonel By set up military barracks on the site of today's
Parliament Hill. He also laid out the streets of the town and created two distinct neighbourhoods named "Upper Town" west of the canal and "
Lower Town" east of the canal. Similar to its
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...
and
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...
namesakes, historically "Upper Town" was predominantly English-speaking and Protestant whereas "Lower Town" was predominantly French, Irish and Catholic.
Bytown's population grew to 1,000 as the Rideau Canal was being completed in 1832.
Bytown' early pioneer period saw Irish labour unrest that attributed to the
Shiners' War
The Shiners' Wars were violent outbreaks in Bytown (now Ottawa) from 1835 to 1845 between Irish-Catholic immigrants, led by Peter Aylen, and French Canadians, led by Joseph Montferrand.
The war began when Aylen, a major Irish timber operator, o ...
from 1835 to 1845
and political dissension that was evident in the 1849
Stony Monday Riot. In 1855, Bytown was renamed ''Ottawa'' and incorporated as a city.
William Pittman Lett
William Pittman Lett (12 August 1819 – 15 August 1892) was an Irish Canadian journalist, bureaucrat and poet. He arrived in Upper Canada as a 10-month-old baby in the family of Captain Andrews Lett, a veteran of the 28th Cameronian Regiment ...
was installed as the first city clerk, serving from 1844 to 1891, guiding Ottawa through 36 years of development, leading the hiring of key municipal roles, founding civic organizations, and proposing a set of by-laws for the city.
The selection of Ottawa as capital
Selection of Ottawa as the capital of Canada predates the Confederation of Canada. The selection was contentious and not straightforward, with the parliament of the
United Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
holding more than 200 votes over several decades to attempt to settle on a legislative solution to the location of the capital.
The governor general of the province had designated
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
as the capital in 1841. However, the major population centres of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, as well as the former capital of Lower Canada,
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
, all had legislators dissatisfied with Kingston. Anglophone merchants in Quebec were the main group supportive of the Kingston arrangement. In 1842, a vote rejected Kingston as the capital, and study of potential candidates included the then-named Bytown, but that option proved less popular than Toronto or Montreal. In 1843, a report of the Executive Council recommended Montreal as the capital as a more fortifiable location and commercial centre; however, the governor general refused to execute a move without a parliamentary vote. In 1844, the
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
's acceptance of a parliamentary vote moved the capital to Montreal.
In 1849, after violence in Montreal, a series of votes was held, with Kingston and Bytown both again considered as capitals. However, the successful proposal was for two cities to share capital status, and the legislature to alternate sitting in each: Quebec City and Toronto, in a policy known as perambulation. Logistical difficulties made this an unpopular arrangement, and although an 1856 vote passed for the lower house of parliament to relocate permanently to Quebec City, the upper house refused to approve funding.
The funding impasse led to the ending of the legislature's role in determining the seat of government. The legislature requested the Queen make the determination of the seat of government. The Queen then acted on the advice of her governor general
Edmund Head, who, after reviewing proposals from various cities, selected the recently renamed Ottawa. The Queen sent a letter to colonial authorities selecting Ottawa as the capital, effective December 31, 1857.
George Brown George Brown may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter
* George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist
* George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor
* G ...
, briefly a co-premier of the Province of Canada, attempted to reverse this decision, but was unsuccessful. The Queen's choice was ratified by the Parliament in 1859, with Quebec serving as interim capital from 1859 to 1865.
The relocation process began in 1865, with the first session of Parliament held in the new buildings in 1866, and the buildings were generally well received by legislators.
![View of Parliament Hill and Chaudière Falls](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/View_of_Parliament_Hill_and_Chaudi%C3%A8re_Falls._%22City_of_Ottawa%2C_Canada_West%22%2C_ca._1859%2C_by_Stent_and_Laver..jpg)
Ottawa was chosen as the capital for two primary reasons.
First, Ottawa's isolated location, surrounded by dense forest far from the Canada–US border and situated on a cliff face, would make it more defensible from attack.
Second, Ottawa was approximately midway between
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
and Kingston (in
Canada West) and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
and Quebec City (in
Canada East
Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...
) making the selection an important political compromise.
Other minor considerations included that despite Ottawa's regional isolation, there was water transportation access from spring to fall, both to Montreal via the Ottawa River, and to Kingston via the
Rideau Waterway
The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...
. Additionally, by 1854 it also had a modern all-season railway (the
Bytown and Prescott Railway) that carried passengers, lumber and supplies the 82 kilometres (50 miles) to
Prescott on the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
and beyond.
Ottawa's small size was also thought to be less prone to politically motivated mob violence, as had happened in the
previous Canadian capitals.
Finally, the government already owned the land that eventually became
Parliament Hill, which it thought would be an ideal location for the Parliament Buildings.
The original Parliament buildings, which included the entre, East and West Blocks, were constructed between 1859 and 1866 in the
Gothic Revival style
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
. At the time, this was the largest North American construction project ever attempted and
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 ...
and its architects were not initially well prepared for the relatively shallow-lying bedrock, and had to redesign architectural drawings, leading to delays. The
Library of Parliament and Parliament Hill landscaping were completed in 1876.
Post-Confederation
![Lebreton Flats after 1900 fire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Lebreton_Flats_after_1900_fire.jpg)
Starting in the 1850s, entrepreneurs known as lumber barons began to build large sawmills, which became some of the largest mills in the world.
Rail lines built in 1854 connected Ottawa to areas south and, from 1886, to the transcontinental rail network via Hull and
Lachute
Lachute () is a town in southwest Quebec, Canada, northwest of Montreal, on the Rivière du Nord, a tributary of the Ottawa River, and west of Mirabel International Airport. It is located on Autoroute 50, at the junctions of Quebec Provincial ...
, Quebec. By 1885 Ottawa was the only city in Canada whose downtown street-lights were powered entirely by electricity. In 1889, the Government developed and distributed 60 "water leases" (still in use) to mainly local industrialists which gave them permission to generate electricity and operate hydroelectric generators at
Chaudière Falls
, image = Ottawa Chaudiere Falls.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Chaudière Falls in June 2006, at summer water levels
, map_image =
, map_size =
, coordinates =
, coords_ref =
, location ...
. Public transportation began in 1870 with a
horsecar
A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar.
Summary
The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...
system, overtaken in the 1890s by a vast
electric streetcar system that operated until 1959.
The
Hull–Ottawa fire of 1900 destroyed two-thirds of Hull, including 40 percent of its residential buildings and most of the buildings of its largest employers along the waterfront. It began as a chimney fire in Hull on the north side of the river, but due to wind, spread rapidly throughout the widespread wooden buildings. In Ottawa, it destroyed about one-fifth of the buildings from the Lebreton Flats south to Booth Street and down to
Dow's Lake. The fire had a disproportionate effect on west end lower-income neighbourhoods. It had also spread among many lumber yards, a major part of Ottawa's economy. The fire destroyed approximately 3200 buildings and caused an estimated $300 million in damage (in 2020 Canadian dollars). An estimated 14% of Ottawans were left homeless.
![Ottawa Old Post Office Confederation Square](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Ottawa_Old_Post_Office_Confederation_Square.jpg)
On 1 June 1912, the
Grand Trunk Railway opened both the
Château Laurier
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a hotel with 429 guest rooms in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive and designed in a French Gothic Revival Châteauesque style to comple ...
hotel and its neighbouring downtown
Union Station. On 3 February 1916, the
Centre Block of the Parliament buildings was
destroyed by a fire. The House of Commons and Senate was temporarily relocated to the recently constructed Victoria Memorial Museum, now the
Canadian Museum of Nature
The Canadian Museum of Nature (french: Musée canadien de la nature; CMN) is a national natural history museum based in Canada's National Capital Region. The museum's exhibitions and public programs are housed in the Victoria Memorial Museum Bui ...
until the completion of the new Centre Block in 1922. The centrepiece of the new
Parliament Buildings is a dominant Gothic Revival-styled structure known as the
Peace Tower
The Peace Tower (french: link=no, Tour de la Paix) is a focal bell and clock tower sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the Victoria Tower af ...
.
The location of what is now
Confederation Square
Confederation Square (french: Place de la Confédération) is an urban square in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and is considered the second most important ceremonial centre in Canada's capital city, after Parliament Hill. Roughly triangular in area ...
was a former commercial district centrally located in a triangular area downtown surrounded by historically significant heritage buildings which include the Parliament buildings. It was redeveloped as a ceremonial centre in 1938 as part of the
City Beautiful Movement and became the site of the
National War Memorial in 1939 and designated a
National Historic Site in 1984. A new
Central Post Office (now the
Privy Council of Canada) was constructed in 1939 beside the War Memorial because the original post office building on the proposed Confederation Square grounds had to be demolished.
Post-Second World War
![John G](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/John_G._Diefenbaker_Building_2014_p3.jpg)
Ottawa's former industrial appearance was vastly altered by the 1950
Greber Plan
The General Report on the Plan for the National Capital (1946–1950), or Gréber Plan, was a major urban plan developed for Canada's National Capital Region in 1950 by Jacques Gréber, commissioned by the Federal District Commission of Ottawa, On ...
. Prime Minister
Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...
hired French architect-planner
Jacques Greber
Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
to design an urban plan for managing development in the National Capital Region, to make it more aesthetically pleasing and a location more befitting for Canada's political centre.
Greber's plan included the creation of the
National Capital Greenbelt, the
Parkway
A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...
and the
Queensway highway system. His plan also called for changes in institutions such as moving downtown Union Station (now the
Senate of Canada Building
The Senate of Canada Building (french: édifice du Sénat du Canada) is located at 2 Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and serves as the temporary seat of the Senate of Canada. The building served as Ottawa's central railway stati ...
) to the suburbs, the removal of the street car system, the decentralization of selected government offices, the relocation of industries and removal of substandard housing from the downtown. The plan also recommended the creation of the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River pathways.
In 1958, the
National Capital Commission
The National Capital Commission (NCC; french: Commission de la capitale nationale, CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), i ...
was established as a
Crown Corporation
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
through the National Capital Act. The commission's original mission was to implement the Greber Plan recommendations—which it conducted during the 1960s and 1970s. This marked the creation of a permanent political infrastructure for managing the
capital region
A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...
. Prior attempts to do so in the previous 50 years had been temporary in nature. These included plans from the 1899 Ottawa Improvement Commission (OIC), the Todd Plan in 1903, the Holt Report in 1915 and the Federal District Commission (FDC) which was established in 1927 with a 16-year mandate.
From 1931 to 1958, City Hall had been at the
Transportation Building adjacent to Union Station (now part of the
Rideau Centre). In 1958 a new
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
opened on Green Island near Rideau Falls where urban renewal had recently transformed this industrial location into green space. In 2001,
Ottawa City Hall returned downtown to a 1990 building on 110 Laurier Avenue West, the home of the now-defunct
Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
. This new location was close to Ottawa's
first (1849–1877) and
second (1877–1931) City Halls. This new city hall complex also contained an adjacent 19th-century restored heritage building formerly known as the
Ottawa Normal School
The Heritage Building is today part of Ottawa City Hall. It was originally built in 1874 as Ottawa Normal School and served as a teacher's college. The Gothic Revival building stands at Elgin Street and Lisgar and several extensions were added ...
.
From the 1960s to the 1980s, there was a large increase in construction in the National Capital Region, which was followed by large growth in the
high-tech
High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...
industry during the 1990s and 2000s.
Ottawa became one of Canada's largest high-tech cities and was nicknamed Silicon Valley North. By the 1980s, Bell Northern Research (later
Nortel) employed thousands, and large federally assisted research facilities such as the
National Research Council National Research Council may refer to:
* National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development
* National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome
* National Research Council (United States), part of ...
contributed to an eventual technology boom. The early adopters led to offshoot companies such as
Newbridge Networks
Newbridge Networks was an Ottawa, Ontario, Canada company founded by Welsh-Canadian entrepreneur Sir Terry Matthews. It was founded in 1986 to create data and voice networking products after Matthews was forced out of his original company Mitel. ...
,
Mitel and
Corel
Cascade Parent Limited, doing business as Alludo (pronounced like "all you do"), is a Canadian software company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, specializing in graphics processing. Formerly called the Corel Corporation ( ; from the abbreviation ...
.
In 1991, provincial and federal governments responded to a
land claim submitted by the Algonquins of Ontario, regarding the unceded status of the land Ottawa sits on. Negotiations have been ongoing, with an eventual goal to sign a treaty that would release Canada from claims for misuse of land under Algonquin
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
, as well as affirm various rights of the Algonquins and negotiate other conditions for this title transfer.
Ottawa's city limits had been increasing over the years, but it acquired the most territory on 1 January 2001, when it amalgamated all the municipalities of the
Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton
The Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton was a Regional Municipality and Census Division in Ontario, Canada, that existed between January 1, 1969, and January 1, 2001, and was primarily centred on the City of Ottawa. It was created in 1969 ...
into one single city. Regional Chair
Bob Chiarelli was elected as the new city's first mayor in the
2000 municipal election, defeating
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
mayor Claudette Cain. The city's growth led to strains on the public transit system and road bridges. On 15 October 2001, a diesel-powered
light rail transit (LRT) line was introduced on an experimental basis. Known today as the
Trillium Line
The Trillium Line (french: Ligne Trillium), also called O-Train Line 2 (french: Ligne 2 de l'O-Train), is a diesel light rail transit (DLRT) service in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The line has been closed since May 2020 f ...
, it was dubbed the
O-Train
The O-Train is a light metro transit system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The O-Train system has two lines, the electrically-operated Confederation Line (Line 1) and the diesel-operated Trillium Line (Line 2). Since May 20 ...
and connected
downtown Ottawa to the southern suburbs via
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
. The decision to extend the O-Train, and to replace it with an electric light rail system, was a major issue in the
2006 municipal elections, where Chiarelli was defeated by businessman
Larry O'Brien
Lawrence Francis O'Brien Jr. (July 7, 1917September 28, 1990) was an American politician and basketball commissioner. He was one of the United States Democratic Party's leading electoral strategists for more than two decades. He served as Postm ...
. After O'Brien's election, transit plans were changed to establish a series of light rail stations from the east side of the city into downtown, and for using a tunnel through the downtown core.
Jim Watson, the last mayor of Ottawa prior to amalgamation, was re-elected in the
2010 election.
In October 2012, the City Council approved the final Lansdowne Park plan, an agreement with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group that saw a new stadium, increased green space, and housing and retail added to the site. In December 2012, City Council voted unanimously to move forward with the
Confederation Line, a light rail transit line, which was opened on 14 September 2019.
Geography
Neighbourhoods
The present day city of Ottawa consist of the historic main
urban area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...
, as well as other urban, suburban and
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
areas within the city's post-amalgamation limits.
Old Ottawa
Old Ottawa refers to the former pre-amalgamation city, as well as the former city of
Vanier, a densely populated, historically francophone, working class enclave, and the former
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
of
Rockcliffe Park
Rockcliffe Park ( French: ''Parc Rockcliffe'') is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward, close to the centre of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1864, organized as a Police village in 1908, and an independent village from 1926, and ul ...
, a wealthy residential neighbourhood adjacent to the Prime Minister's official residence at 24 Sussex and the Governor General's residence.
The old city includes the
downtown core and older neighbourhoods to the east, west, and south. These vibrant neighbourhoods include the bustling commercial and cultural areas of
Centretown,
Lower Town, and
Sandy Hill, the affluent tree lined neighbourhoods of
The Glebe,
Westboro Westboro may refer to:
Places Canada
*Westboro, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood
** Westboro Station (OC Transpo), an OC Transpo Transitway Station
United States
* Westboro (Topeka), Kansas, a residential neighborhood
*Westboro, Missouri
* Westbor ...
, and
New Edinburgh
New Edinburgh is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located to the northeast of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Bee ...
, and the historically
blue-collar communities of
Hintonburg
Hintonburg is a neighbourhood in Kitchissippi Ward in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located west of the Downtown core. It is a historically working-class, predominantly residential neighbourhood, with a commercial strip located along Wellington Street ...
,
Mechanicsville,
Carlington, and
LeBreton Flats, with a mixture of housing types, artist lofts, and industrial uses. The old city also includes the
ethnic enclave
In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
s of
Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
and
Little Italy.
Suburbs and outlying communities
![Newottawamap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Newottawamap.png)
Modern Ottawa is made up of eleven historic townships, ten of which are from the former
Carleton County and one from the former
Russell County. Ottawa city limits are bounded on the east by the
United Counties of Prescott and Russell
The United Counties of Prescott and Russell (french: Comtés unis de Prescott et Russell) are consolidated counties located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is L'Orignal. It was created as a result of a merger between Russe ...
; by
Renfrew County and
Lanark County
Lanark County is a county located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, which was first settled in 1816.Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth Century Glimpses of on Ontario County. Corporation of the Cou ...
in the west; on the south by the
United Counties of Leeds and Grenville
The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, commonly known as Leeds and Grenville, is a county in Ontario, Canada, in the Eastern Ontario subregion of Southern Ontario. It fronts on the Saint Lawrence River and the international boundary between ...
and the
United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry; and on the north by the
Regional County Municipality of Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais and the City of Gatineau.
The main suburban areas extend a considerable distance to the east, west and south of the inner-city.
These areas also include the former cities of Cumberland, Gloucester,
Kanata and Nepean. The towns of
Stittsville
Stittsville is a suburban community, part of the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario. It is within the former Goulbourn Township. A part of the National Capital Region, Stittsville is immediately to the southwest of Kanata, adjacent to Richmon ...
and
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
within the former
Goulbourn Township are to the southwest.
Nepean as a suburb also includes
Barrhaven.
The communities of
Manotick and
Riverside South are on the other side of the Rideau River, and
Greely, southeast of Riverside South.
A number of rural communities (villages and
hamlets) are administratively part of the Ottawa municipality.
Some of these communities are
Burritts Rapids;
Ashton
Ashton may refer to:
Names
*Ashton (given name)
*Ashton (surname)
Places Australia
* Ashton, Elizabeth Bay, a heritage-listed house in Sydney, New South Wales
*Ashton, South Australia
Canada
*Ashton, Ontario
New Zealand
* Ashton, New Zealand
...
;
Fallowfield;
Kars
Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...
;
Fitzroy Harbour
Fitzroy Harbour is a small village within the city of Ottawa in eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Ottawa River at the mouth of the Carp River. A branch of the Mississippi River, known as the Snye, also empties into the Ottawa to the ...
;
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
;
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
;
North Gower
North Gower () is a small village in eastern Ontario, originally part of North Gower Township, now part of the city of Ottawa. Surrounding communities include Richmond, Kemptville, Kars and Manotick. Public high school students in this area go ...
;
Metcalfe;
Constance Bay
Constance Bay is a population centre in West Carleton-March Ward in the rural northwest of the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Prior to amalgamation in 2001, the community was part of West Carleton Township. It is situated 25 km northwest o ...
and
Osgoode.
Several
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
s are within the federally defined National Capital Region but outside the
city of Ottawa
The City of Ottawa is the corporate entity of municipal government in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The corporation is responsible for provision of services to the public as well as enforcement of municipal by-laws. It is overseen by the City Manage ...
municipal boundaries;
these include communities of
Almonte,
Carleton Place,
Embrun,
Kemptville,
Rockland Rockland may refer to:
People
*Per Bergsland, nicknamed Peter Rockland, one of three successful escapees from Stalag Luft III (the "Great Escape")
Places
;In Canada
*Rockland, Greater Victoria
*Rockland, Nova Scotia
*Rockland, Ontario
;In the Uni ...
, and
Russell
Russell may refer to:
People
* Russell (given name)
* Russell (surname)
* Lady Russell (disambiguation)
* Lord Russell (disambiguation)
Places Australia
*Russell, Australian Capital Territory
*Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation)
**Ru ...
.
Architecture
![Connaught Building (14579938218)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Connaught_Building_%2814579938218%29.jpg)
Influenced by government structures, much of the city's architecture tends to be formal and
functional
Functional may refer to:
* Movements in architecture:
** Functionalism (architecture)
** Form follows function
* Functional group, combination of atoms within molecules
* Medical conditions without currently visible organic basis:
** Functional sy ...
; the city is also marked by
Romantic
Romantic may refer to:
Genres and eras
* The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries
** Romantic music, of that era
** Romantic poetry, of that era
** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
and
Picturesque styles of architecture such as the Parliament Buildings' gothic revival architecture.
Ottawa's domestic architecture contains single family homes, but also includes smaller numbers of
semi-detached
A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...
houses,
rowhouses, and
apartment buildings. Many domestic buildings in Centertown are clad in red brick, with trim in wood, stone, or metal; variations are common, depending on the cultural heritage of the neighbourhoods and the time they were built.
The
skyline
A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land.
City skylines ...
has been controlled by building height restrictions originally implemented to keep Parliament Hill and the Peace Tower at visible from most parts of the city. Today,
several buildings are slightly taller than the Peace Tower, with the tallest being the
Claridge Icon at 143 metres. Many federal buildings in the National Capital Region are managed by
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 ...
, which leads to
heritage conservation
Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...
in its renovations and management of buildings, such as the renovation of the
Senate Building
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the eld ...
. Most of the federal land in the region is managed by the National Capital Commission; its control of much undeveloped land and appropriations powers gives the NCC a great deal of influence over the city's development.
Climate
Ottawa has a
humid continental warm summer climate (
Köppen ''Dfb'') with four distinct seasons and is between Zones 5a and 5b on the Canadian Plant Hardiness Scale. The average July maximum temperature is . The average January minimum temperature is . The highest temperature ever recorded in Ottawa was on 4 July 1913, 1 August 1917 and 11 August 1944.
![Ottawa Rideau Canal Skating Chateau Laurier Parliament](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Ottawa_Rideau_Canal_Skating_Chateau_Laurier_Parliament.jpg)
Summers are warm and humid in Ottawa. On average there are 11 days across the three summer months of June, July and August that have temperatures exceeding .
Snow and ice are dominant during the winter season. On average, almost every day of January, February and March, have more than 5 cm of snowpack (29, 28, and 22 days respectively), and on average, approximately 12 days a year see 5 cm or more of snowfall, with 4 of those having over 10 cm.
An average 17 days of the year experience temperatures below .
Spring and fall are variable, prone to extremes in temperature and unpredictable swings in conditions. The month of May, for example, sees a day below freezing about every other year, but sees days above 30 °C at about the same rate.
Annual precipitation averages around 750mm per year.
Precipitation is spread out through the year, with some variation. May through November are the months more likely to see precipitation and major precipitation events, with each month having an average of 3 days of over 1 cm of precipitation, with December through April seeing on average 1–2 days. May through November have on average over 8 cm of precipitation per month, with peaks of approximately 9 cm in June and September. December through April have lower than 8 cm, with February being the driest month at an average of 5 cm of precipitation.
Ottawa experiences about 2,080 hours of average sunshine annually (45% of possible).
Winds in Ottawa tend to come from the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, though eastward winds caused by lake-effect
cells
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cell may also refer to:
Locations
* Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...
in afternoons are not unusual.
Winds tend to be slightly more dominant during the winter.
Physical Geography
![Downtown Ottawa 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Downtown_Ottawa_2022.jpg)
Ottawa is situated on the south bank of the Ottawa River and contains the mouths of 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
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...
.
The Rideau Canal (Rideau Waterway) first opened in 1832 and is long. It connects the Saint Lawrence River on Lake Ontario at Kingston to the Ottawa River near Parliament Hill. It was able to bypass the unnavigable sections of the
Cataraqui and Rideau rivers and various small lakes along the waterway due to flooding techniques and the construction of 47 water transport
locks.
Ottawa is situated in a lowland on top of
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
carbonate and shale, and is surrounded by more craggy
Precambrian
The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...
igneous and metamorphic formations. Ottawa has had fluvial
deposition of until and sands, leading to the widespread formation of
eskers. There are limited distinct features arising from glacial deposits, but Ottawa was affected by the
Late Winsconsian advance. Prior to the draining of the Champlain Sea, the area had high salinity. After the draining of the sea, the area had pine-dominated forests. Ottawa is located within the
Western Quebec Seismic Zone
The Western Quebec Seismic Zone (french: Zone sismique de l'Ouest du Québec) is a seismically active area in the Ottawa Valley in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. The zone stretches from Montreal to Témiscaming and from Cornwall up along th ...
, and while relatively inactive, the city does occasionally experience earthquakes.
Built Environment
During part of the winter season the Ottawa section of the canal forms the world's largest skating rink, thereby providing both a recreational venue and a transportation path to downtown for ice skaters (from Carleton University and Dow's Lake to the Rideau Centre and
National Arts Centre). On 29 June 2007, the Rideau Canal was recognized as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
The older part of the city (including what remains of Bytown) is known as
Lower Town, and occupies an area between the canal and the rivers. Across the canal to the west lie both
Centretown and
Downtown Ottawa, which share a border along Gloucester street. These core neighbourhoods contain streets such as
Elgin and
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
, which fill the role of commercial
main streets in the region.
Centretown is next to downtown, which includes a substantial economic and architectural government presence across multiple branches of government. The
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
's work takes place in the parliamentary precinct, which includes buildings on
Parliament Hill and others downtown, such as the
Senate of Canada Building
The Senate of Canada Building (french: édifice du Sénat du Canada) is located at 2 Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and serves as the temporary seat of the Senate of Canada. The building served as Ottawa's central railway stati ...
. Important buildings in the executive branch include the
Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council
The Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council (french: Bureau du Premier ministre et du Conseil privé) building, formerly known as the Langevin Block (french: Édifice Langevin, ), is an office building facing Parliament Hill in Ottawa, On ...
as well as many civil service buildings. The
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
building can also be found in this area.
Across the Ottawa River, which forms the border between Ontario and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, lies the city of
Gatineau
Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...
, itself the result of amalgamation of the former Quebec cities of
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
and
Aylmer.
Although formally and administratively separate cities in two separate provinces, Ottawa and Gatineau (along with a number of nearby municipalities) collectively constitute the
National Capital Region
A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...
, which is considered a single metropolitan area.
One federal
Crown corporation
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
, the National Capital Commission, or NCC, has significant land holdings in both cities, including sites of historical and touristic importance.
The NCC, through its responsibility for planning and development of these lands, has a key role in shaping the development of the city. Around the main urban area is an extensive
greenbelt
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...
, administered by the NCC for conservation and leisure, and comprising mostly forest, farmland and marshland.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
, Ottawa had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
As of 2021 the Ottawa - Gatineau
census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Ottawa's median age of 40.1 is both below the provincial and national averages as of 2016. Youths under 15 years constituted 16.7% of the total population in 2016, while those of retirement age (65 years and older) made up 15.4%.
The
2021 census reported that
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
(individuals born outside Canada) comprise 259,215 persons or 25.9% of the total population of Ottawa. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(20,320 persons or 7.8%),
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(16,200 persons or 6.2%),
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
(14,760 persons or 5.7%),
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
(11,900 persons or 4.6%),
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
(10,505 persons or 4.1%),
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
(8,795 persons or 3.4%),
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
(6,710 persons or 2.6%),
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
(6,370 persons or 2.5%),
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
(6,155 persons or 2.4%), and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
(6,000 persons or 2.3%).
Race and ethnicity
As of 2016, approximately 69.1% of Ottawa's population was European, while 4.6% were aboriginal and 26.3% were visible minorities (higher than the national percentage of 22.3%).
Religion
According to the
2021 census, religious groups in Ottawa included:
*
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
(528,700 persons or 52.8%)
*
Irreligion
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and a ...
(316,740 persons or 31.6%)
*
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
(98,920 persons or 9.9%)
*
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
(20,300 persons or 2.0%)
*
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
(10,800 persons or 1.1%)
*
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
(10,600 persons or 1.1%)
*
Sikhism
Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...
(6,375 persons or 0.6%)
*
Indigenous Spirituality (445 persons or <0.1%)
*Other (8,055 persons or 0.8%)
Around 65% of Ottawa residents describe themselves as Christian , with
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
accounting for 38.5% of the population and members of
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
churches 25%. Non-Christian religions are also very well established in Ottawa, the largest being
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
(6.7%),
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
(1.4%),
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
(1.3%), and
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
(1.2%). Those with no religious affiliation represent 22.8%.
Language
Bilingualism
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
became official policy for the conduct of municipal business in 2002, and 37.6% of the population can speak both languages as of 2016, making it the largest city in Canada with both English and French as co-official languages.
Those who identify their mother tongue as
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
constitute 62.4 percent, while those with
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
as their mother tongue make up 14.2 percent of the population. In terms of respondents' knowledge of one or both official languages, 59.9 percent and 1.5 percent of the population have knowledge of English only and French only, respectively; while 37.2 percent have a knowledge of both official languages. The overall Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) has a larger proportion of French speakers than Ottawa itself, since Gatineau is overwhelmingly French speaking. An additional 20.4 percent of the population list languages other than English and French as their mother tongue. These include
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
(3.2%),
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
(3.0%),
Spanish (1.2%),
Italian (1.1%), and many others.
Economy
![TunneysPasture2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/TunneysPasture2022.jpg)
As of 2015, the region of Ottawa-Gatineau has the sixth-highest total household income of all Canadian metropolitan areas ($82,053), and the Ontario portion more directly overlapping the City of Ottawa has a higher household income ($86,451). The median household income after taxes in the City of Ottawa is $73,745 in 2016 was higher than the national median of $61,348.
Ottawa's unemployment rate has remained below the national and provincial unemployment rates since 2006, with a rate of 5.2% in April 2022, low compared to the decade preceding. In 2019
Mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...
ranks Ottawa with the third highest quality of living of any Canadian city, and 19th highest in the world. It is also rated the second cleanest city in Canada, and third cleanest city in the world.
Ottawa's primary employers are the
Public Service of Canada
The Public Service of Canada (known as the Civil Service of Canada prior to 1967) is the civilian workforce of the Government of Canada's departments, agencies, and other public bodies.
While the Government of Canada has employed civil servants ...
and the high-tech industry, although tourism and healthcare also represent increasingly sizeable economic activities. The federal government is the city's largest employer, employing over 116,000 individuals from the National Capital Region.
The national headquarters for many federal departments are in Ottawa, particularly throughout Centretown and in the
Terrasses de la Chaudière
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière is a complex of government office buildings in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The complex was built in 1978 as part of Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's initiative to see more federal workers base ...
and
Place du Portage
250px, The Place du Portage complex facing the Ottawa River.
250px, The Place du Portage model on display in the main lobby 2014
Place du Portage is a large office complex in the Hull sector of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, situated along Boulevard ...
complexes in Hull. The
National Defence Headquarters
National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) ( French: ''Quartiers généraux de la Défense nationale'' (''QGDN'')) was created through the integration of Canadian Armed Forces Headquarters (CAF HQ) with the civilian Department of National Defence (DN ...
in Ottawa is the main command centre for the
Canadian Armed Forces
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
...
and hosts the
Department of National Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
. During the summer, the city hosts the
Ceremonial Guard
The Ceremonial Guard (CG; french: Garde de cérémonie) is an ''ad hoc'' military unit in the Canadian Armed Forces that performs the Changing the Guard ceremony on Parliament Hill and posts sentries at Rideau Hall, with the National War Memo ...
, which performs functions such as the
Changing the Guard
Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate a ...
.
As the national capital of Canada, tourism is an important part of Ottawa's economy, particularly after the
150th anniversary of Canada
The 150th anniversary of Canada, also known as the 150th anniversary of Confederation and promoted by the Canadian government as Canada 150, occurred in 2017 as Canada marked the sesquicentennial of Canadian Confederation.
Planning
Major pl ...
which was centred in Ottawa. The lead-up to the festivities saw much investment in civic infrastructure, upgrades to tourist infrastructure and increases in national cultural attractions. The National Capital Region annually attracts an estimated 22 million tourists, who spend about 2.2 billion dollars and support 30,600 jobs directly.
![KanataResearchPark](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/KanataResearchPark.jpg)
In addition to the economic activities that come with being the national capital, Ottawa is an important technology centre; in 2015, its 1800 companies employed approximately 63,400 people. The concentration of companies in this industry earned the city the nickname of "Silicon Valley North".
Most of these companies specialize in
telecommunications
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
,
software development
Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. Software development invol ...
and
environmental technology
Environmental technology (envirotech) or green technology (greentech), also known as ''clean technology'' (''cleantech''), is the application of one or more of environmental science, green chemistry, environmental monitoring and electronic device ...
. Large technology companies such as Nortel, Corel,
Mitel,
Cognos
Cognos Incorporated was an Ottawa, Ontario-based company making business intelligence (BI) and performance management (PM) software. Founded in 1969, at its peak Cognos employed almost 3,500 people and served more than 23,000 customers in over 1 ...
,
Halogen Software
Halogen Software was a Canadian company that provided cloud-based talent management solutions to customers with between 100 and 10,000 employees. The firm was founded in 1996 and was headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
The firm was ...
,
Shopify and
JDS Uniphase were founded in the city.
Ottawa also has regional locations for
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
,
3M,
Adobe Systems
Adobe Inc. ( ), originally called Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American multinational computer software company incorporated in Delaware
and headquartered in San Jose, California. It has historically specialized in software for the crea ...
,
Bell Canada
Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...
,
IBM and
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
.
Many of the telecommunications and new technology are in the western part of the city (formerly Kanata). The "tech sector" was doing particularly well in 2015/2016.
Nordion
Nordion Inc., a Sotera Health company, is a health science company that provides Cobalt-60 used for sterilization and treatment of disease (radiotherapy).
Nordion is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with facilities in Vancouver, Briti ...
,
i-Stat
Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known dr ...
and the National Research Council of Canada and
OHRI
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), formerly Ottawa Health Research Institute, is a non-profit academic health research institute located in the city of Ottawa. It was formed in 2001 following the merger of three Ottawa hospitals. The O ...
are part of the growing life science sector.
The health sector is another major employer, which employs over 18,000 people in the city. Business, finance, administration, and sales and service rank high among types of occupations.
Approximately ten percent of Ottawa's GDP is derived from finance, insurance and real estate whereas employment in goods-producing industries is only half the national average.
The City of Ottawa is the second largest employer
with approximately 2,100 people employed by the Ottawa Police service, and 13,300 full-time equivalent non-police employees.
In 2016, Ottawa experienced an increase of 10,000 jobs over 2012 average growth that was relatively slower than in the late 1990s.
All major clusters tracked by the city saw increases in employment between 2014 and 2019.
Major areas of growth in the 2010s included local and federal administration, finance and accommodation.
Between 2008 and 2020, there was growth in the number of government employees and a reduction in high-tech jobs, a reversal of previous trends from 2003 to 2008.
Ottawa already has the largest rural economy among Canada's major cities.
In Ottawa, the rural economy contributes over $1 billion to the GDP. Agriculture alone accounts for $400 million, $136.7 million of which is farm-gate sales. Rural economic activity includes agriculture, retail sales, construction, forestry and mining (aggregates), tourism, manufacturing, personal and business services, and transportation, to name a few. Rural employment expanded by a healthy 18% from 1996 to 2001.
Media
Three main daily local newspapers are printed in Ottawa: two English newspapers, the ''
Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
'' established as ''the Bytown Packet'' in 1845 and the ''
Ottawa Sun
The ''Ottawa Sun'' is a daily
newspaper in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is published by Sun Media. It began publication in 1983 as the ''Ottawa Sunday Herald'', until it was acquired by (then) Toronto Sun Publishing Corporation in 1988. In Apri ...
'', and one French newspaper, ''
Le Droit
''Le Droit'' is a Canadian French-language daily newspaper, published in Gatineau, Quebec. Initially established and owned by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the paper was published by Martin Cauchon and his company, Capitales Médias ...
''. The city is also home to local stations of the television broadcast networks and systems
CBC and
CTV, as well as English and French radio stations.
In addition to the market's local media services, Ottawa is home to several national media operations, including
CPAC (Canada's national
legislature broadcaster) and the parliamentary bureau staff of virtually all of Canada's major newsgathering organizations in television, radio and print. The city is also home to the head office of the
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. ...
.
Education
Primary and secondary education
Four main public school boards exist in Ottawa: English, English-Catholic, French, and French-Catholic. The English-language
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB, known as English-language Public District School Board No. 25 prior to 1999) refers to both the institution responsible for the operation of all English public schools in the city of Ottawa, Ont ...
(OCDSB) is the largest board with 147 schools, followed by the English-Catholic
Ottawa Catholic School Board with 85 schools. The two French-language boards are the French-Catholic ''
Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est
The Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE, "Centre-East French Catholic School Board"), formerly known as the ''Conseil des écoles catholiques de langue française du Centre-Est'' (''CECLFCE''), is Ontario's largest French-language ...
'' with 49 schools, and the French ''
Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario
The Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario, also widely known as CEPEO, is the public school board responsible for education in the French language in Eastern Ontario, including the Ottawa area. The board consists of 12 trustees and ...
'' with 37 schools. Ottawa also has numerous
private school
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
s which are not part of a board.
The
Ottawa Public Library
The Ottawa Public Library (OPL; french: Bibliothèque publique d'Ottawa) is the library system of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The library was founded in 1906 with a donation from the Carnegie Foundation.
Services
* Information and reference servi ...
was created in 1906 as part of the
Carnegie library system. the library system had 2.3 million items at its 34 branches and two mobile libraries. Approximately 9.5 million loans were conducted in 2020, approximately 6.7 million physical loans and the remainder digital items.
Higher education and research
Ottawa is known as the most educated city in Canada, with over half the population having graduated from college and/or university. Ottawa has the highest per capita concentration of
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
s,
scientist
A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...
s, and residents with
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
s in Canada. The city has two main public universities, and two main public colleges.
*
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
was founded in 1942 to meet the needs of returning World War II veterans and later became Ontario's first private, non-denominational college. Over time, Carleton transitioned into the highly ranked comprehensive university it is today. The university's main campus sits between
Old Ottawa South
Old Ottawa South is an older urban neighbourhood in Capital Ward in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Old Ottawa South is a relatively small and compact neighbourhood, located between the Rideau Canal (to the north) and the Rideau River (to the south). The ...
and Dow's Lake. Carleton's catholic
affiliated university college, is the Dominican University College.
*The
University of Ottawa (originally named the "College of Bytown") was the first post-secondary institution established in the city in 1848. The university later grew to become the largest English-French bilingual university in the world.
It is also a member of the
U15, a group of highly respected research-intensive universities in Canada. The university's main campus is in the
Sandy Hill neighbourhood, just adjacent to the city's downtown core. The University of Ottawa's catholic
affiliated university college is St. Paul University.
*
Algonquin College
Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded English-language college located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The college serves the National Capital Region and the outlying areas of Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, and Upst ...
is a college of applied arts and technology, founded in 1967. Its main campus is located in the
City View neighbourhood of
College Ward
College Ward or Ward 8 (French: ''Quartier Collège'') is a city ward in Ottawa, Canada's west end. The ward covers the neighbourhoods of Bells Corners, Qualicum, Graham Park, Leslie Park, Redwood, Kenson Park, Parkway Park, Bel-Air Park, Bel ...
. The college serves the
National Capital Region
A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...
and the outlying areas of
Eastern Ontario, Western
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, and
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
. The college has satellite campuses in
Pembroke and
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, as well as four international campuses through their international offshore partnerships.
*
Collège La Cité is the largest French-language college in Ontario. Founded in 1989, its campus is located off the
Aviation Parkway in the
Carson Meadows
Carson Meadows is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward in the east end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is roughly located south of Montreal Road and north of Collège La Cité, west of the National Research Council National Science Library si ...
neighbourhood. La Cité has satellite campus in
Hawkesbury and a business office in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
.
Other colleges and universities in the metropolitan area are located in the neighbouring suburb of Gatineau, including the
University of Quebec in Outaouais,
Cégep de l'Outaouais, and
Heritage College.
Public health
![Civic Hospital, Ottawa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Civic_Hospital%2C_Ottawa.JPG)
There are six active general medical hospitals in the city of Ottawa: The
Queensway Carleton Hospital
Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) is a 355-bed hospital located in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that delivers acute care and is west Ottawa's only full-service hospital.
QCH was officially opened on October 5, 1976, by then Ontario Prem ...
,
The Ottawa Hospital (
Civic Hospital
Civic Hospital (French: ''Hôpital Civic'') is a neighbourhood in Kitchissippi Ward in central Ottawa, Canada. It is named after the Ottawa Civic Hospital, which is located in the neighbourhood.
Civic Hospital is bounded on the west by Island Pa ...
,
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...
,
Riverside Hospital),
Montfort Hospital, and
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Several specialized hospital facilities are also present, such as the world renown
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) ''(French: Institut de cardiologie de l'Université d'Ottawa (ICUO))'' is Canada's largest cardiovascular health centre. It is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It began as a department in The Ottaw ...
, the
Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, also known as "ROMHC" or "The Royal" (formerly the Royal Ottawa Hospital) is a 284-bed, 400,000 square-foot psychiatric hospital located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is a major branch of the Royal Ottawa ...
, and Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital. There are also several hospitals and major medical centres in neighbouring suburban communities and commuter towns. The
University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine
The Faculty of Medicine (''French: Faculté de médecine)'' at the University of Ottawa is a bilingual medical school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada founded in 1945. It is located at a campus centred on Roger-Guindon Hall in the east end of Ottawa and ...
operates
teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...
s in conjunction with partners throughout the city.
Ottawa is headquarters to numerous major medical organizations and institutions such as
Canadian Red Cross,
Canadian Blood Services,
Health Canada
Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary unit ...
,
Canadian Medical Association
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA; french: Association médicale canadienne, AMC) is a national, voluntary association of physicians and medical learners that advocates on national health matters. Its primary mandate is to drive positive ch ...
,
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada,
Canadian Nurses Association
The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), official bilingualism in Canada, known in French as the Association des infirmières et infirmiers du Canada (AIIC), is the national professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practition ...
, and the
Medical Council of Canada.
Culture and contemporary life
![Byward Market Sunset](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Byward_Market_Sunset.jpg)
Traditionally the
ByWard Market (in Lower Town), Parliament Hill and the
Golden Triangle
Golden Triangle may refer to:
Places
Asia
* Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production
* Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development
* Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...
(both in Centretown – Downtown) have been the focal points of the cultural scenes in Ottawa. Modern thoroughfares such as
Wellington Street,
Rideau Street,
Sussex Drive,
Elgin Street,
Bank Street,
Somerset Street
Somerset Street may refer to:
*Somerset Street (New Brunswick)
*Somerset Street (Ottawa)
Somerset Street is a street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into Somerset Street East and Somerset Street West by the Rideau Canal.
Somerset Str ...
,
Preston Street, Richmond Road in
Westboro Westboro may refer to:
Places Canada
*Westboro, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood
** Westboro Station (OC Transpo), an OC Transpo Transitway Station
United States
* Westboro (Topeka), Kansas, a residential neighborhood
*Westboro, Missouri
* Westbor ...
, and
Sparks Street are home to many boutiques, museums, theatres, galleries, landmarks and memorials in addition to eating establishments, cafes, bars and nightclubs.
As Canada's capital, Ottawa has played host to a number of significant cultural events in
Canadian history
The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Canada were inhabited for millennia by ...
, including the first visit of the reigning
Canadian sovereign
The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...
—
King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
, with
his consort,
Queen Elizabeth—
to his parliament, on 19 May 1939.
VE Day was marked with a large celebration on 8 May 1945,
the first raising of
the country's new national flag took place on 15 February 1965,
and the
centennial of Confederation was celebrated on 1 July 1967.
Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
was in Ottawa on 17 April 1982, to issue a
royal proclamation of the enactment of the
Constitution Act.
In 1983,
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
and
Diana Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
came to Ottawa for a state dinner hosted by then Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada
The prime mini ...
. In 2011, Ottawa was selected as the first city to receive
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales.
Born in London, William was educat ...
, and
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge during their
tour of Canada.
Ottawa was featured in the short story collection ''
For Your Eyes Only'', by
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...
.
![War Memorial Guards Ottawa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/War_Memorial_Guards_Ottawa.jpg)
Landmarks
There are 25
National Historic Sites of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...
in Ottawa, including the Château Laurier, Confederation Square, the former Ottawa Teachers' College and
Laurier House
Laurier House (french: Maison Laurier) is a National Historic Site in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (in the Sandy Hill district). It was formerly the residence of two Canadian prime ministers: Sir Wilfrid Laurier (for whom the house is named) and Will ...
. Many other properties of cultural value have been designated as having "heritage elements" by the City of Ottawa under Part IV of the ''
Ontario Heritage Act
The ''Ontario Heritage Act'', (the ''Act'') first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Province of Ontario, Canada, as being of cultural heritage ...
''.
Arts
Performing and visual arts
The
Ottawa Little Theatre, founded in 1913 as the Ottawa Drama League, is the longest-running community theatre company in Ottawa. Since 1969, Ottawa has been the home of the National Arts Centre, a major performing arts venue that houses four stages and is home to the
National Arts Centre Orchestra, the
Ottawa Symphony Orchestra The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSO) is a full size orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, including professional, student and amateur musicians. With around 100 musicians, the OSO is Ottawa's largest orchestra, which allows it to perform large symphonic rep ...
and
Opera Lyra Ottawa
Opera Lyra Ottawa (OLO) was a non-profit professional opera company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1984 by Canadian soprano Diana Gilchrist after the demise of the National Arts Centre's annual summer opera productions. The co ...
.
Established in 1975, the
Great Canadian Theatre Company
The Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) is a professional theatre company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1975 by a group of professors and graduate students at Carleton University. Riding a wave of cultural nationalism, ...
specializes in the production of Canadian plays at a local level.The cities museum landscape is notable for containing six of Canada's nine national museums, the
Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the
Canada Aviation and Space Museum
The Canada Aviation and Space Museum (french: link=no, Musée de l'Aviation et de l'Espace du Canada) (formerly the Canada Aviation Museum and National Aeronautical Collection) is Canada's national aviation history museum. The museum is located ...
, the
Canada Science and Technology Museum
The Canada Science and Technology Museum (abbreviated as CSTM; french: Musée des sciences et de la technologie du Canada) is a national museum of science and technology in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum has a mandate to preserve and promote ...
, Canadian Museum of Nature,
Canadian War Museum and National Gallery of Canada. The
National Gallery of Canada; designed by famous architect
Moshe Safdie, it is a permanent home to the
''Maman'' sculpture. The
Canadian War Museum houses over 3.75 million artifacts and was moved to an expanded facility in 2005. The Canadian Museum of Nature was built in 1905, and underwent a major renovation between 2004 and 2010, leading to a centrepiece Blue Whale skeleton, and the creation of a monthly nightclub experience, ''Nature Nocturne''.
Cuisine
Ottawa is home to a number of regional dishes. A city with traditional French-Canadian roots, staples such as
poutine are served throughout the city. However, many consider
shawarma Ottawa's official dish.
Ottawa is home to more shawarma shops than anywhere in the world outside the middle east.
The city is also home to "Ottawa-style" pizza. Consisting usually of a thicker doughy crust, slightly spicy pizza sauce, with the toppings baked under a heavy layer of cheese, keeping the toppings soft.
Beaver tails, are a fried dough pastry created in Ottawa in the 1970s.
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu (French for " The Blue Ribbon") is an international network of hospitality and culinary schools teaching French ''haute cuisine''. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The instituti ...
has a long established culinary arts institute in the central Ottawa neighbourhood of Sandy Hill. It is the only campus for Le Cordon Bleu in North America.
![Ice slide Winterlude Ottawa 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Ice_slide_Winterlude_Ottawa_2007.jpg)
Festivals
Ottawa hosts a variety of annual seasonal activities—such as
Winterlude
Winterlude is an annual winter festival held in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec (collectively known as the National Capital Region).
Winterlude is run by the Department of Canadian Heritage and was started in 1979. The event is one of Otta ...
, the largest festival in Canada, and
Canada Day
Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...
celebrations on Parliament Hill and surrounding downtown area, as well as
Bluesfest,
Canadian Tulip Festival,
Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival
The Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival is an annual festival of dragon boat races in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Begun in 1994, the festival attracts 5,500 paddlers, 200 teams and over 75,000 spectators from all around the world. It is one of the largest ...
,
Ottawa International Jazz Festival,
Fringe Festival,
Capital Pride, and
CityFolk Festival
CityFolk Festival (known until 2014 as the Ottawa Folk Festival) is a folk music festival held annually in Ottawa, Canada.
Format
The festival is held on the Great Lawn at Lansdowne Park each September as a 4- or 5-day general admission ticke ...
, that have grown to become some of the largest festivals of their kind in the world. In 2010, Ottawa's Festival industry received the
IFEA "World Festival and Event City Award" for the category of North American cities with a population between 500,000 and 1,000,000.
Sports
Professional sports
Sport in Ottawa
Sport in Ottawa, Canada's capital, has a history dating back to the 19th century. Ottawa is now home to five professional sports teams: the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League; the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League; the Ot ...
has a history dating back to the 19th century. The city is currently home to four professional sports teams. The
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
, are a professional ice hockey team playing in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
. The Senators history in Ottawa dates back to 1883, where the franchise would go on to win eleven
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
s. The team is a member of the Atlantic Division and play their home games at the
Canadian Tire Centre
Canadian Tire Centre (french: links=no, Centre Canadian Tire) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located in the western suburb of Stittsville. It opened in January 1996 as the Palladium and was also known as Corel Cen ...
.
The
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Startin ...
are a professional Canadian Football team playing in the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
.
Formerly the
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...
represented the city until 1996. With a history dating back to 1876, the team was one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America. The professional soccer club,
Atlético Ottawa, play in the
Canadian Premier League. The team was founded in by Spanish club
Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...
, and along with the Redblacks, play their home games at
TD Place Stadium. The
Ottawa Blackjacks are a professional basketball team, playing in the
Canadian Elite Basketball League
The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball ...
, out of the
TD Place Arena. The
Ottawa Titans
The Ottawa Titans Baseball Club (French: ''Les Titans d'Ottawa'') is a professional baseball team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Titans made their debut in 2022 as a member of the independent Frontier League, which is an official MLB Pa ...
play professional baseball in the
Frontier League at
Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park
Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park (French: Parc Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton), also known as RCGT Park (French: Parc RCGT) is a baseball stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with a seating capacity of 10,332. The stadium is located in the city' ...
. Ottawa was previously home to the
Ottawa Lynx
The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...
, a
Triple-A club, as well as the
Ottawa Champions, an independent baseball team in the
Can-Am League
The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of ...
.
Collegiate sports
The University of Ottawa and Carleton University
varsity team
In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams.
Varsity in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...
s compete in
U Sports
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...
in various sports. Algonquin College and Collège La Cité teams compete in the
OCAA.
The
Carleton Ravens are nationally ranked in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
and soccer.
Carleton's men's basketball program is renown as the greatest of all time, having won 16 of the last 19
national championships
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
.
The
Ottawa Gee-Gees are nationally ranked in basketball and soccer.
Non-professional and amateur sports
Several non-professional teams also play in Ottawa, including the
Ottawa 67's
The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's Canadian Centennial, centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's c ...
junior ice hockey
Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...
team.
The city is home to an assortment of amateur organized team sports such as
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
,
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
,
rowing,
ultimate
Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album)
* ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album)
*''Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds
*''The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilatio ...
, and
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
.
Casual recreational activities, such as
skating
Skating involves any sports or recreational activity which consists of traveling on surfaces or on ice using skates, and may refer to:
Ice Skating
*Ice skating, moving on ice by using ice skates
**Figure skating, a sport in which individuals, ...
,
cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
,
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
,
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
,
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...
,
golfing
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
,
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
, and
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
/
ice fishing
Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities.
Shelters
Longer ...
are also popular.
[
]
Government & politics
The City of Ottawa
The City of Ottawa is the corporate entity of municipal government in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The corporation is responsible for provision of services to the public as well as enforcement of municipal by-laws. It is overseen by the City Manage ...
is a single-tier municipality
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
, meaning it is in itself a census division
Census divisions, in Canada and the United States of America, United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-lev ...
and has no county or regional municipality government above it, and has no subsidiary municipalities to provide municipal services. Ottawa is governed by the 24-member Ottawa City Council
The Ottawa City Council (french: Conseil municipal d'Ottawa) is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents war ...
consisting of 23 councillors each representing one ward and the mayor, Jim Watson as of the 2018 Ontario municipal elections
The 2018 municipal elections in Ontario were held on October 22, 2018.
Voters in the province of Ontario elected mayors, councillors, school board trustees and all other elected officials in all of the province's municipalities.
Electoral perio ...
, is elected in a citywide vote.
Along with being the capital of Canada, Ottawa is politically diverse in local politics. Most of the city has traditionally supported the Liberal Party in federal elections. The safest areas for the Liberals are the ones dominated by Francophones, especially in Vanier and central Gloucester. Central Ottawa is usually more left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
-leaning, and the New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* t ...
have won ridings there. Some of Ottawa's suburbs are swing areas, such as central Nepean. Another example of a swing area is Orleans, despite its often Liberal Party-aligned francophone population. Ridings further outside the city centre, such as those including Kanata, Barrhaven and rural areas, tend to be more conservative, both fiscally and socially. This is especially true in the former Townships of West Carleton, Goulbourn, Rideau and Osgoode, which are more in line with the conservative areas in the surrounding counties. Rural parts of the former township of Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
, with a large number of Francophones, traditionally support the Liberal Party, though their support has recently weakened.
At present, Ottawa is host to 130 embassies. A further 49 countries accredit their embassies and missions in the United States to Canada.
Transportation
Public transportation
Ottawa's public transit system is managed by OC Transpo. OC Transpo operates an integrated, multi-modal Rapid Transit system which includes:
* The O-Train
The O-Train is a light metro transit system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The O-Train system has two lines, the electrically-operated Confederation Line (Line 1) and the diesel-operated Trillium Line (Line 2). Since May 20 ...
light rail system. The four line public rail system includes two existing lines, and two lines which are currently under construction.
** Line 1, ( Confederation Line), is an east–west line which operates medium-capacity trains and travels under the city's downtown core.
** Line 2, (Trillium Line
The Trillium Line (french: Ligne Trillium), also called O-Train Line 2 (french: Ligne 2 de l'O-Train), is a diesel light rail transit (DLRT) service in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The line has been closed since May 2020 f ...
), is a north–south light rail transit corridor connecting the airport and south end of Ottawa to Line 1 at Bayview station.
** Line 3, is an under construction mass-transit line that will run mostly in parallel to Line 1, splitting at Lincoln Fields station
Lincoln Fields is a station on Ottawa's transitway located at Carling Avenue and the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway. It is adjacent to the now-shuttered Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre. It is the main western hub of the transitway system and has a ...
and continuing west.
** Line 4, is an under-construction airport link connecting the Trillium Line to the Ottawa International Airport
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 ...
* A vast Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
(BRT) system that uses a series of dedicated bus-only roadways named the Transitway, and reserved lanes on city streets and highways. The Transitway has long distances between stops and full station amenities (including platforms, walkways, fare gates, ticket booths, elevators and convenience stores). It connects Ottawa's suburbs to the inner city. The Rapid bus service network operates all day, 7 days a week, reaching the suburban communities of Kanata to the West, Barrhaven to the South-West, Orléans to the East, and South Keys to the South.
* Over 190 local bus routes served by a fleet of ordinary, articulated and double-decker buses. Both OC Transpo and the Quebec-based Société de transport de l'Outaouais
Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) is the transit service of the Outaouais region of Quebec. It operates conventional services and the Rapibus, a bus rapid transit service, in Gatineau, Quebec, including the districts of Hull, Aylmer, G ...
(STO) operate bus transit services between Ottawa and Gatineau. OC Transpo also operates a door-to-door bus service for disabled individuals known as ParaTranspo. There is a proposed LRT system that could link Ottawa with Gatineau.
Airports
The Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport is the city's principal airport. There are also three main regional airports Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport, Ottawa/Carp Airport, and Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport.
Inter-city transportation
Ottawa station
Ottawa station (french: Gare d'Ottawa, ), or Ottawa Train Station, is the main inter-city train station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by Via Rail. It is located east of downtown Ottawa and adjacent to Tremblay O-Train station in the ne ...
is the main
Main may refer to:
Geography
* Main River (disambiguation)
**Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany
* Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province
*"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries
...
inter-city
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains.
There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
train station operated by Via Rail. It is located to the east of downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
in Eastway Gardens
Eastway Gardens is a small neighbourhood in Alta Vista Ward in the east end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It consists of a series of dead end streets coming off of Tremblay Road between Riverside Drive and St. Laurent Boulevard. Most of these stre ...
(adjacent to O-Train
The O-Train is a light metro transit system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The O-Train system has two lines, the electrically-operated Confederation Line (Line 1) and the diesel-operated Trillium Line (Line 2). Since May 20 ...
Tremblay station
Tremblay is an O-Train station on the Confederation Line in Ottawa, Ontario which serves the Ottawa station, Ottawa train station, connecting to Via Rail Québec City–Windsor Corridor (Via Rail), Corridor inter-city rail services and a daily On ...
) and serves Via Rail's Corridor
Corridor or The Corridor may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''The Corridor'' (1968 film), a 1968 Swedish drama film
* ''The Corridor'' (1995 film), a 1995 Lithuanian drama film
* ''The Corridor'' (2010 film), a 2010 Canadia ...
Route. The city is also served by inter-city passenger rail service at Fallowfield station in the southwestern suburban community of Barrhaven.
Intercity bus service
An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...
s are currently provided by a number of carriers at various stops throughout the city, following the closure of the former Ottawa Central Station
Ottawa Central Station was the main inter-city bus terminus, bus station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was located 1.5 km south of downtown Ottawa in the Centretown neighbourhood and served buses from Greyhound Canada, Ontario Northland Mot ...
bus terminal
A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is la ...
on 1 June 2021. Major carriers include: Megabus Megabus may refer to:
*Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro.
*Megabus (North America)
Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/Coach Canada operating in the eas ...
, Ontario Northland
The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC), or simply Ontario Northland, is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for providing transportation services for passengers and goods in northern Ontario. It reports to ...
, Autobus Gatineau, and Orléans Express.
Streets and highways
The City of Ottawa has over lane-kilometres of road, as well as a series of freeways. The primary freeways are the east–west provincial Highway 417
The following highways are numbered 417:
Canada
* Manitoba Provincial Road 417
* Newfoundland and Labrador Route 417
* Ontario Highway 417
Costa Rica
* National Route 417
Iceland
* Route 417
Japan
* Japan National Route 417
United States
* ...
(designated as the Queensway and part of the Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...
), Ottawa-Carleton Highway 174 (formerly Provincial Highway 17), Highway 7, and the north–south provincial Highway 416 (designated as Veterans' Memorial Highway), which connects to other 400-Series highways
The 400-series highways are a network of controlled-access highways throughout the southern portion of the Canadian province of Ontario, forming a special subset of the provincial highway system. They are analogous to the Interstate Highway ...
via the 401. From downtown there are also freeway connections to Autoroute 5 and Autoroute 50, in neighbouring Gatineau.
The city also has several scenic parkways and promenades, such as the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway
The Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, formerly the Ottawa River Parkway, is a four-lane scenic parkway along the Ottawa River in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs from Carling Avenue near Connaught Avenue, to Booth Street at the Canadian War Museum ...
(formerly the Ottawa River Parkway), Colonel By Drive
Colonel By Drive (french: Promenade Colonel By) is an long scenic parkway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada named after Colonel John By. It runs along the Rideau Canal from the end of Sussex Drive at Rideau Street. It then continues south and west to ...
, Queen Elizabeth Driveway
Queen Elizabeth Driveway is a scenic parkway in Ottawa, Canada, that runs along the western edge of the Rideau Canal. It runs from Laurier Avenue (Ottawa), Laurier Avenue in the north to Dow's Lake where it turns into Prince of Wales Drive (Ottawa ...
, the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway The Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway (french: Promenade Sir George-Étienne Cartier), formerly known as the Rockcliffe Parkway, is a parkway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Route description
The parkway begins at the end of Sussex Drive and follows ...
(formerly the Rockcliffe Parkway), and the Aviation Parkway. The National Capital Commission manages ceremonial routes linking key attractions on both sides of the Ottawa River, including Confederation Boulevard
Confederation Boulevard (french: Boulevard de la Confédération) is a "ceremonial and discovery route" in Canada's National Capital Region, running through Parliament Hill and encompassing downtown areas in Ottawa and Gatineau. Some of Canada' ...
.
Cycling and pedestrian network
Numerous paved multi-use trail
A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...
s, mostly operated by the National Capital Commission
The National Capital Commission (NCC; french: Commission de la capitale nationale, CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), i ...
and the city, wind their way through much of the capital, including along the Ottawa River, Rideau River, and Rideau Canal. These pathways are used for transportation, tourism, and recreation. Because many streets either have wide curb lanes or bicycle lanes, cycling is a mode of transportation used by up to 2.5% of citizens, including in winter. This is the largest percentage of any major Canadian city. As of December 31, 2015, over of cycling facilities are found in Ottawa, including of multi-use pathways, of cycle tracks, of on-road bicycle lanes, and of paved shoulders. of new cycling facilities were added between 2011 and 2014.
Numerous downtown streets are restricted for pedestrians only. The entire length of Sparks Street was turned into a pedestrian mall in 1966. Since 1960, additional avenues, streets, and parkways, are reserved for pedestrian and bicycle use only on Saturdays, Sundays and on selected holidays and events. In 2021 city council unanimously approved the Byward Market Public Realm Plan to make the market area more car-free and pedestrian friendly. From 2009 to 2015 the NCC introduced the Capital Bixi
Capital Bixi was a public bicycle sharing system serving Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Launched in June 2009, it was the second BIXI system worldwide after BIXI Montréal. Capital Bixi was run by the National Capital Commission, wh ...
bicycle-sharing system
A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost.
The programmes themselves include bot ...
. This continued until the program was taken over by company VeloGo from 2015 to 2018, when the partnership ceased. Scooter-sharing systems have since been introduced in the downtown and inner-city areas.
Notable people
See also
* Outline of Ottawa
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Ottawa:
Ottawa – capital city of Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the southern shore of the Ottawa River. Ottawa was historically an indigenous trading spot fo ...
* World national capitals
* List of Ottawa buildings
This is a list of notable buildings in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Museums
*Portrait Gallery of Canada
*National Gallery of Canada
*Canadian Museum of History (in Gatineau)
*Canadian War Museum
* Victoria Memorial Museum Building, housing the Cana ...
* Geography of Ottawa This is the outline of the geography of the city of Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Ottawa's current borders were formed in 2001, when the former city of Ottawa amalgamated with the ten other municipalities within the former Regional Municipality of ...
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Capitals in North America
Cities in Ontario
High-technology business districts in Canada
Single-tier municipalities in Ontario
Populated places established in 1826
1826 establishments in Canada