Encyclopedia
Ottawa is the
capital of
Canada, and the country's fourth largest
city. It is located in the Ottawa Valley on the eastern edge of the
province of
Ontario, right at the border with
Quebec, about 400 km east of
Toronto and 190 km west of
Montreal. It is a city on the banks of the
Ottawa River, a major waterway that forms the border between the two provinces. Unlike the capital cities of countries like the
United States,
Brazil,
People's Republic of China,
Mexico, and
Australia, there is no federal capital district in Canada: Ottawa is a municipality within the Province of Ontario. Although it does not constitute a separate administrative district, Ottawa is part of the officially-designated National Capital Region which includes neighbouring
Quebec municipalities such as
Gatineau. The population of the city proper is 808,391, while the population of the larger Census Metropolitan Area is 1,146,790 . The mayor of Ottawa is
Bob Chiarelli.
History
The Ottawa region was long home to
First Nations peoples who were part of the Algonquin. The Algonquin called the river the Kichi Sibi or Kichissippi, meaning "Great River". The first European settlement in the region was that of
Philemon Wright who started a community on the Quebec side of the river in 1800. Wright discovered that transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to
Montreal was possible and the area was soon booming based almost entirely off timber.
In the years following the
War of 1812, in addition to settling some military regiment families, the government began sponsored immigration schemes which brought over Irish Catholics and Protestants to settle the Ottawa area, which began a steady stream of Irish immigration there in the next few decades. Along with French Canadians who crossed over from Quebec, these two groups provided the bulk of labourers involved in the
Rideau Canal project and the booming timber trade, both instrumental in putting Ottawa on the map.
The region's population grew significantly when the canal was completed and constructed by Colonel John By in 1832. It was intended to provide a secure route between Montreal and
Kingston on
Lake Ontario, by-passing the stretch of the St. Lawrence River bordering New York State . Construction of the canal began at the northern end, where Colonel By set up a military barracks on what later became
Parliament Hill, and laid out a townsite that soon became known as Bytown. Original city leaders of Bytown include a number of Wright's sons, most notably Ruggles Wright. Nicholas Sparks, Braddish Billings and Abraham Dow who were the first to settle on the Ontario side of the Ottawa river.
The west side of the canal became known as "Uppertown" where the Parliament buildings are located, while the east side of the canal was known as the "Lowertown". At that time,
Lowertown was a crowded, boisterous shanty town, frequently receiving the worst of disease epidemics, such as the
Cholera outbreak in 1832 or later
typhus in 1847.
Ottawa became the centre for lumber milling and square-cut timber industry in Canada, and in fact for North America as a whole. From there, it quickly expanded further up the Ottawa River and logs were boomed by raftsmen great distances down the river to the mills. Bytown was renamed Ottawa in 1855.
On December 31, 1857, Queen
Victoria was asked to choose a common capital for the then province of Canada and chose Ottawa. There are old folk tales about how she made the choice: that she did so by sticking her hatpin on a map roughly halfway between Toronto and Montreal, or that she liked watercolours she had seen of the area. While such stories have no historical basis, they do illustrate how arbitrary the choice of Ottawa seemed to Canadians at the time. While Ottawa is now a major metropolis and Canada's fourth largest city, at the time it was a sometimes unruly logging town in the hinterland, far away from the colony's main cities,
Quebec City and Montreal in Canada East, and Kingston and Toronto in Canada West.
In fact, the Queen's advisors had her pick Ottawa for three important reasons: first, it was the only settlement of any significant size located right on the border of Canada East and Canada West , making it a compromise between the two colonies and their French and English populations; second, the War of 1812 had shown how vulnerable the major cities were to American attack, since they were all located very close to the border; third, the government owned a large parcel of land on a spectacular spot overlooking the Ottawa River. Ottawa's position in the back country made it more defensible, while still allowing easy transportation via the Ottawa River to Canada East and the
Rideau Canal to Canada West. Two other considerations were that Ottawa was at a point nearly exactly midway between Toronto and Quebec City and that the small size of the town made it less likely that politically motivated mobs could go on a rampage and destroy government buildings, as had been the case in the previous Canadian capitals.
The original Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa was destroyed by fire on February 3, 1916. The House of Commons and Senate were temporarily relocated to the recently constructed Victoria Memorial Museum, currently the
Canadian Museum of Nature, located about 1 km south of Parliament Hill on Metcalfe Street. A new Centre Block was completed in 1922, the centre-piece of which is a dominant Gothic revival styled structure known as the
Peace Tower which has become a common emblem of the city.
On September 5, 1945, only weeks after the end of
World War II, Ottawa was the site of the event that many people consider to be the official start of the
Cold War. A
Soviet cipher clerk,
Igor Gouzenko, defected from the Soviet embassy with over 100 secret documents. At first, the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to take the documents, since the Soviets were still allies of Canada and Britain, and the newspapers were not interested in the story. After hiding out for a night in a neighbour's apartment listening to his own being searched, Gouzenko finally persuaded the RCMP to look at his evidence, which provided proof of a massive Soviet spy networking operating in western countries, and, indirectly, led to the discovery that the Soviets were working on an atomic bomb to match that of the Americans.
In 2001, the old city of Ottawa was amalgamated with the suburbs of
Nepean ,
Kanata ,
Gloucester ,
Rockcliffe Park ,
Vanier and Cumberland , and the rural townships of
West Carleton , Osgoode , Rideau and Goulbourn , along with the systems and infrastructure of the
Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, to become one municipality. Ottawa-Carleton used to be just Carleton County before 1969 and consisted of what is now the City of Ottawa except for Cumberland.
Geography
Ottawa is situated on the south bank of the
Ottawa River, and contains the mouths of the
Rideau River and
Rideau Canal. The oldest part of the city is known as
Lower Town and occupies an area between the canal and the rivers. Across the canal to the west lies
Centretown , which is the city's financial and commercial hub. Between here and the Ottawa River, the slight elevation of
Parliament Hill is home to many of the capital's landmark government buildings, and is the Legislative seat of Canada.
The City of Ottawa includes many urban areas. The main one extends a considerable distance to the east, west and south of the centre, and includes the former cities of
Gloucester,
Nepean and
Vanier, the former village of
Rockcliffe Park and the suburban communities of
Manotick and Orléans. In addition to the main urban area, there is the
Kanata urban area consisting of the urbanized part of the former city of Kanata and the former village of
Stittsville . There are also a number of satellite towns and rural communities that are also urban areas that lie beyond the greenbelt but are administratively part of the Ottawa municipality. These are Constance Bay ; Kars ; Metcalfe ; Munster ; Osgoode ; and Richmond .
Across the Ottawa River, which forms the border between Ontario and
Quebec, lies the city of
Gatineau. Although formally and administratively separate cities in two separate provinces, Ottawa and Gatineau collectively constitute the National Capital Region, with a combined population exceeding one million residents, and the area is considered a single metropolitan area. One federal crown corporation 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, is an important contributor to both cities.
Around the main urban area is an extensive greenbelt, administered by the National Capital Commission for conservation and leisure, and comprising mostly forest, farmland and marshland.
Ottawa itself is a single-tiered city, meaning it is in itself a census division and has no county or regional municipality government above it. Ottawa is bounded on the east by the
United Counties of Prescott and Russell; by
Renfrew County and
Lanark County in the west; on the south by the
United Counties of Leeds and Grenville 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.
Ottawa is made up of eleven historic townships, ten of which are from historic Carleton County and one from historic Russell. They are Cumberland, Fitzroy, Gloucester, Goulbourn, Huntley, March, Marlborough, Nepean,
North Gower, Osgoode and Torbolton.
Climate
Ottawa has a range of temperatures from a record high of 37.8 °C in the summers of 1986 and 2001 to a record low of -36.1 °C being recorded in the winter of 1943, the second coldest temperature recorded in a capital city . This extreme range in temperature allows Ottawa to boast a variety of annual activities and the requirement of a wide range of clothing. By annual average temperature, Ottawa is the seventh coldest capital in the world .
Snow and ice are dominant during the winter season. Ottawa receives about 235 cm of snowfall annually. Its biggest snowfall was recorded on March 4, 1947 with nearly 2.5 feet of snow . Average January temperature is -10.8 °C , although days well above freezing and nights below -25 °C both occur in the winter. The snow season is quite variable; in an average winter, a lasting snow cover is on the ground from late November until early April, although some years are snow-free until around or beyond Christmas. High wind chills are common, with annual averages of 51, 14 and 1 days with wind chills below -20 °C, -30 °C and -40 °C respectively. The lowest recorded wind chill was of -47.8 °C on January 8, 1968.
Freezing rain is also relatively common, even if compared with other parts of the country. One such large storm caused power outages and affected the local economy, and came to be known as the
1998 Ice Storm.
Summers are fairly warm and humid in Ottawa, although they are typically short in length. The average July maximum temperature is 26.5 °C , although temperatures of 30 °C or higher occur frequently. A maximum temperature of 39.5 degrees celsius was recorded in the summer of 2005 at certain locations. During periods of hot weather, high humidity is often an aggravating factor, especially close to the rivers. Ottawa annually averages 41, 12 and 2 days with humidex readings above 30 °C, 35 °C and 40 °C respectively. The highest recorded humidex was 48 °C on August 1, 2006
Spring and fall are variable, prone to extremes in temperature and unpredictable swings in conditions. Hot days above 30 °C have occurred as early as April or as late as October, as well as snow well into May and early in October . Average annual precipitation averages around 943 mm . The biggest one-day rainfall occurred on September 9, 2004 when the remnants of
Hurricane Frances dumped nearly 5½ inches of rain in the city. There are about 2,060 hours of average sunshine annually .
Destructive summer weather events such as
tornadoes, major
flash floods, extreme
heat waves, severe
hail and remnant effects from
hurricanes are rare, but all have occurred before. Some of the most notable tornadoes in the region occurred in 1978 , 1994 and 1999 . On January 1, 2000, an
earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale struck Ottawa. However, it is very unlikely that F4 or F5 tornadoes like in the U.S. Plain States will occur since it is locating much farther away from the interaction of the airmass from both the
Gulf of Mexico and the
Rockies which can produce strong to violent tornadoes further south.
On February 24, 2006, an earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale . On average a small tremor occurs in Ottawa every three years .
Transportation
Ottawa is served by
VIA Rail passenger service, a number of
airlines that fly into
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, and inter-city bus companies such as
Greyhound through the Ottawa Bus Central Station.
The capital city of Canada is also served by a network of freeways, the main one being provincial Highway 417 , Ottawa-Carleton Regional Road 174 , and the newly constructed Highway 416 , connecting Ottawa to the rest of the
400-Series Highway network in Ontario. Highway 417 is also the Ottawa portion of the
Trans-Canada Highway. The city also has a few Scenic Parkways , such as the Ottawa River Parkway, and has a freeway connection to Quebec Autoroute 5, in
Hull. For a complete listing of the parkways and roads in Ottawa, see the
List of Ottawa roads.
Ottawa's main mass transit service is
OC Transpo . The Ottawa rapid transit system includes the
Transitway and a
light rail system called the
O-Train . Both OC Transpo and the Quebec-based
Société de transport de l'Outaouais operate bus services between Ottawa and Gatineau. A transfer or bus pass of one is accepted on the other without having to pay a top-up fare on regular routes.
The
Rideau Canal, which starts in
Kingston, Ontario, winds its way through the city. The final flight of locks on the canal are between
Parliament Hill and the
Château Laurier. Also, during the winter season the canal is usually open and is a form of transportation downtown for about 7.8 km for ice skaters and forms the .
There is a large network of paved multi-use pathways that wind their way through much of the city, including along the Ottawa River, Rideau River, and Rideau Canal. These pathways are used for transportation, tourism, and recreation. Because most streets either have wide curb lanes or bicycle lanes, cycling is a popular mode of transportation in the region throughout the year.
Ottawa sits at the confluence of three major rivers: the
Ottawa River, the Gatineau River and the
Rideau River. The Ottawa and Gatineau rivers were historically important in the logging and lumber industries, and the Rideau as part of the Rideau Canal system connecting the
Great Lakes and
Saint Lawrence River with the Ottawa River.
Notable buildings and institutions
Some of the notable buildings in Ottawa include the Parliament Buildings, where Canada's government resides;
24 Sussex Drive, the home of the
Prime Minister of Canada; and
Rideau Hall, the home of the
Governor-General of Canada. Ottawa also has most of Canada's national museums, including the
National Gallery of Canada,
Canadian War Museum, Canada Science and Technology Museum,
Canada Aviation Museum,
Canadian Museum of Nature and
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. The
Canadian Museum of Civilization is located across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec. Ottawa is also the home of the
University of Ottawa,
Carleton University, St-Paul University,
Algonquin College, and La Cité Collégiale. Federal buildings in the National Capital Region are managed by the Public Works Canada, while most of the federal lands in the Region are managed by the National Capital Commission or NCC; its control of much undeveloped land gives the NCC a great deal of influence over the city's development. Ottawa also has its very own Fairmont Hotel, the
Chateau Laurier.
As with other capital cities, the word "Ottawa" is also used to refer by metonymy to the country's
federal government, especially as opposed to provincial or municipal authorities.
Primary industries
Ottawa's primary employers are the Canadian federal government and the hi-tech industry. Because major companies have offices in the city it has become known as "Silicon Valley North."
Community organizations and clubs
- Ottawa Curling Club
- Ottawa Flying Club
- RA Photo Club
- Rideau Canoe Club
- Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club
Major technology companies in Ottawa
...
Sports
Ottawa is home to one major league sports team, the
Ottawa Senators ice hockey team of the
National Hockey League. The
Ottawa Renegades football team of the Canadian Football League. The Senators play at
Scotiabank Place and the Renegades played at
Frank Clair Stadium.
Ottawa is also home to a minor league
baseball team, the AAA farm team of the
