Rideau is an historic township

Township (Canada)

The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems no town needs to be involved. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within the county...

 in eastern Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is located in the rural parts of the City of Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, in the extreme south. Its eastern boundary is the Rideau River

Rideau River

thumb|Rapids on the Rideau River opposite [[Carleton University]].The Rideau River is a Southern Ontario river which flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is 146 km...

, its namesake.

The township was created in 1974 after the amalgamation of two other townships: Marlborough

Marlborough Township, Ontario

Marlborough Township is a historical township in eastern Ontario, Canada.Marlborough was located in the southern part of Carleton County. It was bounded to the south by Oxford Township, to the southwest by Montague Township, to the northwest by Goulbourn Township and to the northeast by North Gower...

, and North Gower

North Gower Township, Ontario

North Gower Township is a historical township in eastern Ontario, Canada.North Gower was located in the southern part of Carleton County, bordered to the northwest by Goulbourn Township, to the north by Nepean, to the east by Osgoode and to the south by South Gower Township...

. In 2001 it was amalgamated into the City of Ottawa.

Communities include Manotick, North Gower

North Gower, Ontario

North Gower is a large 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...

, Kars

Kars, Ontario

Kars is a small village on the Rideau River within the rural section of the city of Ottawa, Ontario. Prior to amalgamation in 2000 it was part of Rideau Township....

 and Burritts Rapids

Burritts Rapids, Ontario

Burritt's Rapids is a small village located on the Rideau River in eastern Ontario.The hamlet was named after Stephen Burritt, whose family was the first to settle in this area. At one time, the hamlet prospered due to its location on the Rideau Canal...

According to the Canada 2001 Census

Canada 2001 Census

The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...

:

• Population: 12,695
• % Change (1996-2001): 2.0
• Dwellings: 4,414
• Area (km²): 408.75
• Density (persons per km²): 31.1

By the 2006 census, Rideau's population had increased to 12,960.