The National Capital Region (NCR) (, ), also known as Canada's Capital Region and Ottawa–Gatineau, is an official federal designation encompassing the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

capital of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario, the adjacent city of

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

, Quebec, and surrounding suburban and exurban areas. Despite its designation, the NCR is not a separate political or administrative entity and falls within the provinces of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Defined by the ''National Capital Act'' (1985), the NCR covers an area of , straddling the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) 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 Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

, which serves as the boundary between Ontario and Quebec. This area is smaller than the Ottawa–Gatineau

census metropolitan area The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of stat ...

(CMA), which spans . Ottawa–Gatineau is the only CMA in Canada that crosses provincial boundaries.

History

The Algonquins are indigenous to Ottawa-Gatineau. The first European settlement in the region was led by Philemon Wright, a New Englander from Woburn,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

who, on March 7, 1800, arrived with his own and five other families along with twenty-five labourers to start an agricultural community on the north bank of the Ottawa River (

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of Canada's ...

) at the portage to the

Chaudière Falls The Chaudière Falls (), also known as the Kana:tso or Akikodjiwan Falls, are a set of cascades and waterfall in the centre of the Ottawa-Gatineau National Capital Region (Canada), metropolitan area in Canada where the Ottawa River narrows betw ...

. The National Capital Region was first specified by the ''National Capital Act'' (1985).

Geography

Ottawa is located in the sub-region of

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

called

Eastern Ontario Eastern Ontario (census population 1,892,332 in 2021) () is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies a wedge-shaped area bounded by the Ottawa River and Quebec to the northeast and east, the St. Lawr ...

. Gatineau is located in southwestern

. Although overall Ontario is west of Quebec, the boundary in this region is situated in such a way that Gatineau is north of Ottawa, and northwest of the city centre. The National Capital Region is situated close to where the

Canadian shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...

and the Saint Lawrence Lowlands intersect. The area has several major fault lines and small earthquakes do occur somewhat regularly, including the 2010 Central Canada earthquake that occurred in Quebec. The Gatineau Hills are the foothills of the

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains, also known as the Laurentians or Laurentides, are a mountain range in Canada. The range is long and ranges in height from with peaks over . The Laurentian Mountains extend across Labrador and Quebec within the Laurent ...

and located in the region.

Climate

The National Capital Region experiences a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb''), with four distinct seasons and is between Zones 5a and 5b on the Canadian Plant Hardiness Scale. In Ottawa, the average July maximum temperature is 26.6 °C (80 °F). The average January minimum temperature is −14.4 °C (6.1 °F). In Gatineau, the average July maximum is 26 °C (78.8 °F) while the average January minimum temperature is −15 °C (5 °F).

Demographics

Most of the National Capital Region is recognized as a bilingual region for federal language-of-work purposes. In addition, the

City of Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatinea ...

has a bilingualism policy, but is not declared "officially bilingual" (which would require amendments to the provincial law). About 19% of the population of the City of Ottawa has French as their first language, while 40% of the total population of the city declares itself fluent in both languages. As for

, it is the most bilingual city in Canada, above

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. About 64% of the population is able to speak both English and French. The National Capital Region includes the majority English-speaking (Ottawa) and majority French-speaking (Gatineau) cores. The metro region has a bilingual population of 496,025, an English-only population of 507,175, and a French-only population of 102,375. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, the Ottawa - Gatineau CMA recorded a population of 1,488,307 living in 604,721 private dwellings, a change of from its revised 2016 population of 1,371,576. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Rideau Canal in winter

Economy

Silicon Valley North

During the decade of 1990–2000, Ottawa was home to several very successful tech companies, including

Nortel Networks Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. It was founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1895 ...

, JDS Uniphase, and Newbridge Networks. High-tech employment doubled in five years to reach 80,000 by 2001. With Nortel failing to meet high earnings expectations and layoffs starting in 2002 in the wake of the

dot-com bubble The dot-com bubble (or dot-com boom) was a stock market bubble that ballooned during the late-1990s and peaked on Friday, March 10, 2000. This period of market growth coincided with the widespread adoption of the World Wide Web and the Interne ...

, the company started to decline, a devastating shock to the tech industry in Ottawa. Others described it as an 'anchor' for the industry in Ottawa, and an 'incubator' and that without it the Ottawa high-tech industry could not sustain itself. By the mid-2000s, other Canadian regions were competing for the title of Silicon Valley North. The term was being adopted to refer to the area between

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and Kitchener-Waterloo, which is home to

Research in Motion BlackBerry Limited, formerly Research In Motion (RIM), is a Canadian software company specializing in secure communications and the Internet of Things (IoT). Founded in 1984, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartpho ...

(BlackBerry), and offices for

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

, Adobe Inc., and

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

. With companies such as

Shopify Shopify Inc., stylized as ''shopify'', headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, operates an e-commerce platform for retail point-of-sale systems that offers payments, marketing, shipping, inventory management, transaction management, and customer eng ...

, Halogen Software, and Kinaxis Inc, all headquartered in Ottawa, as well as over 1,700 other technology companies, Ottawa still has a significant high-tech presence today.

National Capital Commission

The National Capital Commission (NCC) is a corporation established by the Canadian government in 1959 to manage federal buildings and land within the National Capital Region (NCR). While the NCR is not a separate political jurisdiction, the NCC has a mandate to develop the region into a source of pride and unity for Canadians by engaging in political, cultural, and land use planning matters that are typically powers reserved for the provincial government under the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada () is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents are an amalgamation of various ...

. In the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

case of '' Munro v. National Capital Commission'', it was determined that the NCC has authority to be involved in zoning matters in the NCR. In 2006, the NCC completed work on Confederation Boulevard, a ceremonial route connecting key attractions in the NCR on both sides of the Ottawa River. The NCC River House, originally constructed in 1914, underwent substantial restoration from 2019 to July 2023. It is located adjacent to the

near the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway. The NCC reports to Parliament through the Minister of Heritage, and is governed by the ''National Capital Act''. Its headquarters are in the Chambers Building on Elgin Street, between Queen and Sparks Streets.

Attractions

Scotiabank Place before game April 29 2006

The National Capital Region (NCR) has numerous attractions, including festivals, national museums, iconic buildings, sports, and entertainment. Ottawa is known for its examples of

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

architecture.

Festivals

Annual events include the music festival Bluesfest, winter festival Winterlude, the Canadian Tulip Festival, Capital Pride, RCMP Musical Ride,

Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival The Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival () is an annual festival held in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, and organized by a not-for-profit organization, during which hot air balloons of every shape and colour are flown and where 300 shows and performanc ...

, Buskers festival, and the largest

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

celebrations in the nation.

Built heritage

The region hosts several national museums, such as the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (CWM) () is a National museums of Canada, national museum on the military history of Canada, country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military hist ...

Canadian Museum of Nature The Canadian Museum of Nature (; CMN) is a national museums of Canada, national natural history museum based in Canada's National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region. The museum's exhibitions and public programs are housed in the Vi ...

Canada Science and Technology Museum The Canada Science and Technology Museum (abbreviated as CSTM; ) is a national museum of science and technology in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum has a mandate to preserve and promote the country's scientific and technological heritage. The m ...

, National Art Gallery, and Canada Aviation Museum. Prominent buildings include

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

, the Prime Minister's home 24 Sussex Drive, the Governor General's home

Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence of the governor general of Canada, the representative of the monarch of Canada. Located in Ottawa, the Capital city, capital of the country, on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, th ...

, the Canadian Museum of History, the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

, the

Royal Canadian Mint The Royal Canadian Mint () is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under an act of parliament referred to as the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The mi ...

, the American Embassy, and the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, ...

. There are 29

National Historic Sites of Canada National Historic Sites of 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 of national historic significance. Parks C ...

within the National Capital Region, including landmarks like the ''Former Almonte Post Office'' and ''Rosamond Woollen Mill'' in Almonte, the ''Gillies Grove and House'' in Arnprior, the Manoir Papineau in Montebello and the ''Symmes Hotel'' in the Aylmer sector of

Sports and entertainment

The NCR is home to various sports teams, including the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

(NHL),

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

(CFL), and

Atlético Ottawa Atlético Ottawa is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at TD Place. The team was founded in 2020 by Spanish club Atlético Madrid. History F ...

(CPL). 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 centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play thei ...

(OHL) and

Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

(QMJHL). Universities like

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, 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 se ...

and the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

compete in

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

, with teams like the Carleton Ravens and

Ottawa Gee-Gees The Ottawa Gee-Gees () are the athletic teams that represent the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario. The Gee-Gees won the national football championship, the Vanier Cup, in 1975 and 2000, while also appearing in the game in the 1970, 1980 ...

achieving national recognition. Gatineau's Université du Québec en Outaouais offers a range of sports activities at its large sports center where you can practice a multitude of sports like

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

, Zumba and more.

Algonquin College Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded English-language college located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The college has three campuses, all in Ontario: a primary campus in Ottawa, and secondary campuses in Perth and ...

has also won numerous national championships.

Transportation

The National Capital Region (NCR) has several major freeways including the 417,

Ontario Highway 416 King's Highway 416, commonly referred to as Highway 416 and as the Veterans Memorial Highway, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that connects Ontario Highway 417, Highway 417 (Trans-Canada Highway) in Ottawa with ...

, Quebec Autoroute 5, Quebec Autoroute 50, Regional Road 174, and Highway 7 in Ontario. The 417 is Ottawa's east–west commuter expressway. It begins at the Ontario-Quebec border (continuing the route of

Quebec Autoroute 40 Autoroute 40, officially known as Autoroute Félix-Leclerc outside Montreal and Metropolitan Autoroute/Autoroute Métropolitaine within Montreal, is an Autoroutes of Quebec, Autoroute on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in the Provinces ...

), reaches the urban portion of Ottawa at the 417- 174 split, bisects the urban area, and continues westward to just beyond the city boundary where it gives way to Highway 17 in

Renfrew County Renfrew County is a county and census division in the Canadian province of Ontario. It straddles the west bank of the Ottawa River. There are 17 municipalities in the county. Its county seat is Pembroke, which is geographically within the county ...

. The 416 starts at the 401 near the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge and continues north for 75 km until it ends at the 417 in Ottawa's west end. The freeway section of Highway 7 branches off the 417 in Ottawa's west end near Stittsville and is currently undergoing a 4-lane expansion to reach the eastern fringe of Carleton Place at McNeely Avenue. Public transportation is handled by

OC Transpo OC Transpo is the primary Transit district, public transport agency for the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operating bus rapid transit, light rail, conventional transit bus, bus routes, and door-to-door paratransit in the nation's capital regi ...

on the Ontario side, and the STO on the Quebec side. Together they serve a population over 1,130,761 and have an estimated annual ridership of over 113.2 million. OC Transpo operates a

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

(LRT) system named the

O-Train The O-Train is a light rail system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The O-Train system consists of three lines, all of which are fully Grade separation, grade-separated. As of March 2025, one line is currently being extended an ...

with three lines in operation. Line 2 is a north–south line using diesel-powered units and has just over 2 million riders per year. Line 1 links the western suburbs and the eastern suburbs via downtown, and uses electrically powered light-rail vehicles. Line 1 is 12.5 km long with 13 stations, 3 of which are underground in downtown Ottawa. There is a proposed LRT system in Gatineau that would connect with the Confederation and Trillium Lines in Ottawa. Gatineau's bus transitway, the Rapibus, commenced operation in October 2013. OC Transpo has about 1,050 buses which run on city streets and an expansive Transitway. The STO has around 300 buses that serve the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, some routes crossing into downtown Ottawa.

Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport Ottawa/Macdonald–Cartier International Airport or simply Ottawa International Airport is the main international airport serving Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and its metropolitan area as well as Gatineau, Quebec known as the National Capital Re ...

serves as the primary international airport for the NCR. In 2023, it accommodated over 4 million passengers, ranking it as the sixth busiest airport in Canada and the second busiest in Ontario. The airport provides non-stop flights to various destinations in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. Additionally, it is a key component of some of the nation's busiest air routes, offering hourly flights to and from Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and

Toronto Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...

Area codes

The National Capital Region uses 613, 343, and 753 on the Ontario side of the

, while 819, 873, and 468 are used on the Quebec side. Previously, Ottawa and Hull operated as a single local calling area, with exchange protection measures to maintain seven-digit dialing between the two cities. However, with the implementation of ten-digit local dialing since 2006, this practice has ceased. Despite this, a "dual dialability" system remains for federal government numbers, allowing for seamless communication across the provincial border.

Newspapers

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 ''Ci ...

'' 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 April 2 ...

'', and one French newspaper, ''

Le Droit ''Le Droit'' is a Canadian French-language digital weekly 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, Capital ...

''.

Capital district proposals

Proposals have been made to separate the National Capital Region and establish it as a distinct capital district, similar to the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

or the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

. These gained attention during periods when the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (PQ; , ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishi ...

held power in Quebec, particularly due to the federalist inclination of the Hull/Gatineau area. However, any potential federal support waned after the

1995 Quebec referendum The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should proclaim sovereignty and become an independent country, with the condition precedent of ...

, where the predominantly federalist vote in Hull/Gatineau significantly influenced the outcome. Recent efforts for a separate capital district haven't gained momentum, with no active movement as of 2024.

References

External links

National Capital Commission

Canadian War Museum

Canadian Museum of Civilization
{{Authority control National Capital Region (Canada) Metropolitan areas of Ontario Metropolitan areas of Quebec Geographic regions of Ontario Geographic regions of Quebec Populated places on the Ottawa River