Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern part of the province of Ontario, where the Ottawa River and the Rideau River meet. Ottawa is next to the city of Gatineau in Quebec, and together they form an important area known as the National Capital Region.

As the political center of Canada, Ottawa is where the federal government operates. Important buildings such as the Parliament of Canada, the Supreme Court, and the office of the Prime Minister are all located here. The city also hosts many foreign embassies and serves as a key location for Canada’s government.

Originally named Bytown when it was founded in 1826, Ottawa grew over the years and was renamed in 1855. Today, it is a lively city with many schools and universities, including the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Ottawa is known for its high standard of living and attracts millions of visitors each year.

Etymology

The name "Ottawa" was chosen in 1855 because of the nearby Ottawa River. The river’s name comes from the Algonquin word adawe, which means "to trade". Today, in Algonquin, the city is called Odàwàg.

History

Main article: History of Ottawa

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Ottawa history.

Early history

The Ottawa Valley became a place where people could live about 10,000 years ago, after the water from the Champlain Sea drained away naturally. The first signs of people living there were spearpoints found that are 8,000 to 8,500 years old. By 6,000 years ago, there were strong networks for trading and communicating. About 3,000 to 3,500 years ago, there is clear proof of settlements that stayed in one place, with things like fireplaces and heavy tools. Closer to where the city of Ottawa is today, there were settlements at the mouth of the Gatineau River from 3,000 to 3,500 years ago. These findings show that the Algonquin people were hunting, fishing, and trading, but also traveling. Three big rivers meet in Ottawa, which made it a key place for trade and travel for thousands of years. This changed when Europeans began to settle and take over North America in the 15th century and after.

European exploration and early development

In 1610, Étienne Brûlé was the first European known to travel down the Ottawa River, passing through what would become Ottawa on his way to the Great Lakes. Three years later, Samuel de Champlain wrote about the waterfalls in the area and his meetings with the Algonquin people.

The first settlement by people not from Indigenous backgrounds was started by Philemon Wright, a man from New England. Wright created a town for cutting trees in the area on March 7, 1800, on the north side of the river, across from where Ottawa city is today in Hull. He and five other families, along with twenty-five workers, also started a community for farming, which was named Wright's Town. This place later became Gatineau. Wright was the first to start the timber trade in the Ottawa Valley, sending wood by river from the Ottawa Valley to Quebec City.

In the 1820s, news that the British military would soon build the Rideau Canal caused a local businessman named John Le Breton to buy land, thinking the canal would be built there. This led to a different route being chosen for the canal. A town was started in 1826 and named in 1827 after Colonel John By, the British military engineer who built the Rideau Waterway. The Rideau canal provided a safe path between Montreal and Kingston on Lake Ontario. It went around a dangerous part of the St. Lawrence River near New York State, which had made it hard for supply ships going to southwestern Ontario during the War of 1812.

Colonel By set up military buildings where Parliament Hill is today. He also planned the streets of the town and made two different parts called "Upper Town" to the west of the canal and "Lower Town" to the east. Like places called Upper Canada and Lower Canada at the time, "Upper Town" was mostly English-speaking and Protestant, while "Lower Town" was mostly French, Irish, and Catholic. The early days of Bytown saw problems between Irish workers from about 1835 to 1845.

Bytown grew to 1,000 people when the Rideau Canal was finished in 1832. The settlement became a town in 1850. In 1855, Bytown was renamed Ottawa and became a city. William Pittman Lett was the first city clerk, serving from 1844 to 1891. He helped guide Ottawa through many years of growth, hiring important city workers, starting groups for the city, and suggesting rules for the city.

Starting in the 1850s, business people known as lumber barons built big sawmills. These mills cut lots of wood, making 39 million board feet in 1855 after the USA started allowing imports, up from about 480 million board feet sent from Canada to Britain ten years earlier, and eventually reaching 613 million in the early 1900s. Rail lines built in 1854 connected Ottawa to areas to the south, and from 1886 to the rail network that went across Canada through Hull and Lachute, Quebec. By 1885, Ottawa was the only city in Canada whose street lights in the downtown area all worked with electricity.

Selection as capital

Ottawa was chosen as Canada’s capital before the country was officially created. Deciding where the capital would be was difficult and not easy. The parliament of the United Province of Canada had more than 200 votes over many years to try to agree on where the capital should be. In Ottawa, there were political disagreements in 1849 during the Stony Monday Riot, when Tories did not like the idea of Bytown being the capital of the Province of Canada.

The governor-general of the Province of Canada chose Kingston as the capital in 1841. This was not popular: the cities of Toronto and Montreal, as well as the former capital of Lower Canada, Quebec City, all had leaders who did not like Kingston being the capital, though merchants from Quebec who spoke English were the main group who supported Kingston. In 1842, a vote did not keep Kingston as the capital, and they looked at Bytown again, but it was not as popular as Toronto or Montreal. In 1843, a report suggested Montreal as the capital because it was easier to defend and a good place for business, but the governor-general did not move there without a vote from parliament. In 1844, the Queen agreed to a vote from parliament to move the capital to Montreal.

In 1849, after an Orange group burned the Parliament building in Montreal, several votes were held to choose a permanent place. Kingston and Bytown were considered again, but the decision was to have two cities share being the capital, with the government moving between Quebec City and Toronto. This was not easy, and in 1856, a vote passed to move the lower house of parliament permanently to Quebec City. This move did not happen because the upper house would not agree to pay for it.

The problem with paying for the move ended the parliament’s role in choosing the capital. The parliament asked the Queen to choose the capital. The Queen then followed the advice of her governor general Edmund Head, who looked at suggestions from different cities and chose the newly named Ottawa. The Queen sent a letter to the leaders in the colonies choosing Ottawa as the capital, starting on December 31, 1857. George Brown, who was briefly a leader in the Province of Canada, tried to change this decision but failed. Parliament approved the Queen’s choice in 1859, with Quebec being the capital temporarily from 1859 to 1865. Moving the government began in 1865, with the first meeting of Parliament in the new buildings in 1866. The buildings were well liked by leaders.

Ottawa was chosen as the capital for two main reasons: first, Ottawa’s location, surrounded by dense forest far from the Canada–US border and on a cliff, made it harder to attack. Second, Ottawa was on the border between Canada West and Canada East, making it an important political compromise. Other smaller reasons also helped Ottawa. Even though it was far away from other places, there was water travel from spring to fall to Montreal through the Ottawa River and to Kingston through the Rideau Waterway. Also, by 1854 it had a modern railway (the Bytown and Prescott Railway) that carried people, wood, and supplies 82 kilometres (51 miles) to Prescott on the Saint Lawrence River and beyond. Ottawa’s small size was also thought to be less likely to have protests, like what had happened in the previous Canadian capitals. Finally, the government already owned the land that became Parliament Hill, which they thought would be a great place for the Parliament buildings.

The original Parliament buildings, which included the Centre, East and West Blocks, were built between 1859 and 1866 in the Gothic Revival style. Public Works Canada and its architects were not ready for the shallow bedrock involved in building, so they had to change the plans, which caused delays. The Library of Parliament and the landscaping of Parliament Hill were finished in 1876.

Post-Confederation

In 1889, the Government gave out 60 “water leases” to mainly local business people. These leases let them make electricity and run power plants at Chaudière Falls. Public transportation started in 1870 with a system pulled by horses, which was replaced in the 1890s by an electric streetcar system that ran until 1959. At its busiest, it covered 90.5 km of tracks, including a line to Hull.

The Hull–Ottawa fire of 1900 destroyed two-thirds of Hull, including many lumber businesses and main street buildings. It started as a chimney fire in Hull on the north side of the river, but because of the wind, it quickly spread through many wooden buildings. In Ottawa, it destroyed about one-fifth of the buildings from Lebreton Flats south to Booth Street and down to Dow's Lake. The fire affected west-end neighborhoods where people with less money lived more. It also spread through many lumber yards, which were a big part of Ottawa’s economy. The fire destroyed about 3,200 buildings and caused an estimated $300 million in damage (in 2020 Canadian dollars). About 14% of people in Ottawa and 40% of people in Hull lost their homes.

On June 1, 1912, the Grand Trunk Railway opened the Château Laurier hotel and its nearby downtown Union Station. On February 3, 1916, the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings was destroyed by a fire. The House of Commons and Senate moved temporarily to the newly built Victoria Memorial Museum, now the Canadian Museum of Nature, until the new Centre Block was finished in 1927. The main part of the new Parliament Buildings is a big Gothic Revival-style building called the Peace Tower.

The area that is now Confederation Square was a former shopping area in the center of downtown, in a triangle shape surrounded by important historic buildings, including the Parliament buildings. It was changed into a ceremonial center in 1938 as part of the City Beautiful Movement. It became the site of the National War Memorial in 1939 and was named a National Historic Site in 1984. A new Central Post Office (now the Privy Council of Canada) was built in 1939 next to the War Memorial because the original post office building on the land for Confederation Square had to be torn down.

Post–Second World War

Ottawa’s look changed a lot because of the 1950 Gréber Plan. Prime Minister Mackenzie King hired French architect-planner Jacques Gréber to make a plan for managing growth in the National Capital Region, to make it look nicer and more fit for Canada’s political center. Gréber’s plan included creating the National Capital Greenbelt, National Arts Centre, the Kichi Zibi Mikan parkway and Queensway highway system. His plan also suggested moving downtown Union Station (now the Senate of Canada Building) to the suburbs, ending the streetcar system, moving some government offices out of downtown, and moving industries and poor housing away from downtown. While not all of Gréber’s ideas were done, such as a city hall on the east side of the canal, his ideas for open spaces did lead to places like the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River paths. A big reason for making the Rideau Canal path was stopping trains from going directly into downtown, which led to not using the Ottawa Train Station as the main train station for the city.

In 1959, the National Capital Commission was created as a Crown Corporation through the 1958 National Capital Act. This marked the start of a permanent system to manage the capital region. This 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). The National Capital Commission took over from the Federal District Commission, which was created in 1927 with money for 16 years but depended on cities in the area to help with planning.

From 1931 to 1958, City Hall was at the Transportation Building next to Union Station (now part of the Rideau Centre). In 1958, a new City Hall opened on Green Island near Rideau Falls, where recent city planning had changed an industrial area into a green space. In 2001, Ottawa City Hall moved back downtown to a building from 1990 on 110 Laurier Avenue West, the home of the now-closed Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. This new city hall complex also included a restored 19th-century building that used to be the Ottawa Normal School.

From the 1960s to the 1980s, there was lots of building in the National Capital Region, followed by big growth in the high-tech industry in the 1990s and 2000s. Ottawa became one of Canada’s biggest high-tech cities and was called Silicon Valley North. By the 1980s, Bell Northern Research (later Nortel) employed thousands, and big government-supported research places such as the National Research Council helped lead to a technology boom. Early companies led to newer ones such as Newbridge Networks, Mitel and Corel.

In 1991, leaders from the province and government responded to a land claim made by the Algonquins of Ontario about the land in Ottawa not being given back properly. Talks have been happening since then, aiming to sign an agreement that would let Canada out of claims for using the land without permission, confirm the rights of the Algonquins, and work out conditions for transferring the land, with a basic agreement set in 2016.

21st Century

Ottawa’s city limits grew over time, including a big expansion on January 1, 2001, when the province of Ontario combined all the municipalities in the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton into one city. Regional Chair Bob Chiarelli was elected as the new city’s first mayor in the 2000 municipal election, beating Gloucester mayor Claudette Cain. On October 15, 2001, an experimental diesel-powered light rail transit (LRT) line started running, known today as O-Train Line 2. It was called the O-Train and went from downtown Ottawa to the southern suburbs through Carleton University. Deciding whether to add more O-Train lines and change it to an electric system was a big issue in the 2006 municipal elections, where Chiarelli lost to businessman Larry O'Brien. After O'Brien was elected, plans for transportation changed to add more light rail stops from the east side of the city into downtown, and to use a tunnel through the downtown area.

In October 2012, the City Council approved the final plan for Lansdowne Park, an agreement with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group to add a new stadium, more green space and housing and shopping to the site. In December 2012, City Council voted together to move forward with the Confederation Line, a 12.5 km (7.8 mi) light rail line, which opened on September 14, 2019.

In 2020, the city saw a big change in how people worked because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many government workers who did not need to be at their desks moved to work online. This continued until gradually returning to offices in 2022, when federal workers were required to come back to the office two days a week.

In 2022, a group of people protesting COVID-19 restrictions brought many Canadians, including those not from Ottawa, to the area around Wellington Street in Canada’s government center. This group was linked to truckers and started with a “Convoy to Ottawa.” The protest began on January 29 and lasted about three and a half weeks. It ended after the federal government used the Emergencies Act on February 14 and took steps to stop the protesters, such as freezing bank accounts of over 250 protesters and making arrests on February 19.

Geography

The city of Ottawa is made up of many different areas, both old and new. Central Ottawa includes places like Vanier, a neighborhood with many people who speak French, and Rockcliffe Park, a richer area close to important government buildings. There are busy places such as Byward Market, Centretown, Lower Town, and Sandy Hill, as well as quieter neighborhoods like The Glebe and Westboro.

Ottawa also has many suburbs and smaller communities spread out around the main city. These include places like Orleans, Kanata, Nepean, Stittsville, and Richmond. There are also many smaller villages and rural areas such as Burritts Rapids, Ashton, and Carp.

Ottawa’s buildings are often formal and functional, with many important government buildings. The city has a mix of homes, including houses, apartments, and other types of buildings. The city’s skyline is kept low so that important buildings like Parliament Hill can be seen from far away.

Ottawa has cold winters and warm summers. Snow is common in winter, and the city gets a lot of snow each year. Summers can be hot and humid, with occasional thunderstorms. The city gets rain and snow throughout the year, and there are often foggy days.

Ottawa is located where the Ottawa River and the Rideau River meet. The Rideau Canal, a long waterway that connects to Lake Ontario, is a famous feature of the city and is used for skating in the winter. The older part of the city, near the rivers and canal, is called Lower Town. Across the canal is Centretown and Downtown Ottawa, where many important government buildings are located.

Just across the Ottawa River is the city of Gatineau, in the province of Quebec. Together, Ottawa and Gatineau form the National Capital Region, a single large area that includes many nearby towns and cities.

Main article: Geography of Ottawa

Districts and neighbourhoods

Further information: List of neighbourhoods in Ottawa

Main article: Architecture of Ottawa

Ottawa has cold winters with lots of snow and warm, humid summers. Winter temperatures often drop below freezing, and the city gets about 232 cm of snow each year. Summer temperatures can reach above 30°C, sometimes even higher during heatwaves.

The city gets about 757 mm of rain each year, with precipitation spread fairly evenly. Spring and fall can have sudden temperature changes, with possible frosts in May and warm spells in September. Fog is common, happening about 23 days a year.

Ottawa gets about 2,080 hours of sunshine each year, with the sunniest months being June, July, and August. Winds usually come from the west.

The Rideau Canal, which opens into the Ottawa River, was built to connect Kingston on Lake Ontario to Ottawa, bypassing difficult sections of rivers and lakes. It has 47 locks and is a popular spot for skating in winter.

Main article: Geography of Ottawa

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Ottawa

In 2021, Ottawa had a population of over one million people. The city covers a large area, so people living there aren't crowded together.

Many different groups of people make up Ottawa's community. Most people living there were born in Canada, but many also came from places like China, India, and Lebanon.

People in Ottawa have many different religious beliefs. Many follow Christianity, while others practice Islam, Hinduism, or have no religious beliefs at all.

Both English and French are important languages in Ottawa. Many people can speak both, which makes the city a special place where these two languages are both welcome.

Economy

Ottawa is an important city for work and business. Many people find jobs in government offices and technology companies. The city also welcomes many visitors each year, which helps its economy. Ottawa is known for its strong technology industry, with many companies focused on creating new software and communication tools.

The city also has a growing health sector, with many hospitals and care centers providing jobs. Ottawa’s media scene includes newspapers, television, and radio stations that share news with the community.

Education

Ottawa has four main public school boards: English, English-Catholic, French, and French-Catholic. The largest board is the English-language Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, with many primary and secondary schools. There are also French-language school boards and several private schools.

Ottawa is a very educated city, with many people having gone to college or university. It is home to two main public universities: Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. There are also two public colleges: Algonquin College and Collège La Cité. The city has many research centers and medical organizations as well.

Further information: List of schools in Ottawa

Culture and contemporary life

The ByWard Market, Parliament Hill, Chinatown, and the Golden Triangle are important places for culture in Ottawa. Streets like Wellington Street, Rideau Street, Sussex Drive, Elgin Street, Bank Street, Somerset Street, Preston Street, Richmond Road in Westboro, and Sparks Street have many shops, museums, theatres, and places to eat.

As Canada's capital, Ottawa has hosted many important events. These include the first visit by a Canadian king to his parliament in 1939, big celebrations for VE Day in 1945, the first raising of Canada's new flag in 1965, and many visits by royalty over the years.

Landmarks

Main articles: List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Ottawa and List of designated heritage properties in Ottawa

Ottawa has one World Heritage Site, the Rideau Canal, and many important historic places. These include the Château Laurier, the Parliament of Canada, and Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica.

Arts

See also: List of attractions in Ottawa and List of museums in Ottawa

Performing and visual arts

The Ottawa Little Theatre has been a community theatre since 1913. The National Arts Centre, opened in 1969, is a big place for shows and music. Ottawa has many museums, including the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, the Canada Science and Technology Museum, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canadian War Museum, and the National Gallery of Canada.

Cuisine

Ottawa has many special foods. Traditional dishes like poutine are popular, and many people love shawarma. In 2024, Ottawa was named the "Shawarma Capital of Canada." Beaver tails, a fried dough treat, were first made in Ottawa. The city also has its own style of pizza, with thick cheese and toppings under the cheese.

Festivals

See also: List of festivals in Ottawa

Ottawa holds many big festivals each year. These include Winterlude, celebrations for Canada Day, Bluesfest, the Canadian Tulip Festival, the Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival, the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, the Fringe Festival, Capital Pride, and CityFolk. In 2010, Ottawa won an award for being a great place for festivals.

Sports

Further information: Sport in Ottawa and List of Ottawa parks

Professional sports

Ottawa has a long history with sports, dating back to the 1800s. Today, the city is home to six professional sports teams. The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League. They play their home games at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Ottawa Redblacks are a professional Canadian football team in the Canadian Football League. The professional soccer club, Atlético Ottawa, plays in the Canadian Premier League. They, along with Ottawa Rapid FC, play at TD Place Stadium. The Ottawa Black Bears are a lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League, and the Ottawa Blackjacks play basketball in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. The Ottawa Titans are a professional baseball team in the Frontier League.

Collegiate sports

The University of Ottawa and Carleton University have teams that compete in U Sports in many sports. The Carleton Ravens are well-known in basketball and soccer, and the Ottawa Gee-Gees are also ranked in these sports.

Non-professional and amateur sports

Ottawa has many non-professional teams, such as the Ottawa 67's junior ice hockey team. The city also has many amateur sports teams and activities, like soccer, basketball, baseball, curling, skating, cycling, and skiing. Ottawa hosts Ottawa Race Weekend every May and began hosting the Ironman Triathlon in 2025.

Government and politics

Further information: List of Ottawa municipal elections, Canadian federal election results in Ottawa, and List of embassies and high commissions in Ottawa

Ottawa is a city that runs itself without any larger government above it. It has a group of leaders called the Ottawa City Council with 25 members, including 24 councillors who each represent a part of the city and the mayor, Mark Sutcliffe, who is chosen by everyone in the city. Ottawa follows special rules set by the province of Ontario.

As the capital of Canada, Ottawa has many different political views. Most of the city usually supports the Liberal Party in big country-wide votes. Areas with many French speakers, like Vanier and central Gloucester, are especially strong for the Liberals. The middle of Ottawa often leans more to the left, where the New Democratic Party has won votes. Areas farther out, such as Kanata, Barrhaven, and rural parts, tend to have more conservative views. Today, Ottawa is home to about 150 embassies, and around 50 more countries have their embassies in the United States but also represent Canada.

Transportation

See also: OC Transpo, O-Train, List of airports in the Ottawa area, List of Ottawa roads, List of numbered roads in Ottawa, and List of bridges in Ottawa

Public transportation

Main article: OC Transpo

Ottawa has a busy public transit system run by OC Transpo. This system includes the O-Train light rail, which has several lines connecting different parts of the city. There are also many bus routes that help people get around quickly, including special routes just for buses.

Airports

The main airport in Ottawa is the Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport. There are also smaller airports nearby for private planes and other flights.

Inter-city transportation

People can take trains from Ottawa station to travel to other cities. There are also bus services that go to different places around Ottawa and beyond.

Streets and highways

Ottawa has many roads and highways that connect the city to nearby areas. Some important highways include Highway 417, Highway 174, Highway 7, and Highway 416.

Cycling and pedestrian network

Ottawa has many paths for walking and biking, especially along the rivers and canals. Some streets are closed to cars on weekends so people can walk or bike safely. There are also special bike paths and shares programs to help people get around.