Ottawa
Historical Background

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Ottawa gets its identity from two major sources—its geographic location at the confluence of the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers, and the fact that it is the seat of power for the entire nation. For centuries the area that overlooks the two rivers was the meeting grounds for the First Nations tribe the Algonquin Indians, who were indigenous to this part of central Canada.

The first European to set eyes on the area was Samuel de Champlain in 1613. In fact, a statue commemorating his discovery sits atop Nepean Point overlooking the Ottawa River. For the next 200 years the area remained a meeting place where natives met with French fur traders, who took valuable beaver pelts further downstream to Montreal and Quebec City. In 1800, a United Empire Loyalist named Philemon Wright left Massachusetts after the Revolutionary War and settled across the Ottawa River from the heights, in what is now Hull. Originally named Wrightsville, the small community grew into a burgeoning lumber town that helped to fuel Britain's desire for sturdy wood with which to build its navy.

In 1826 construction began on Ottawa's second most identifiable landmark besides Parliament Hill. Lieutenant Colonel John By was commissioned to build a canal that ran from the Ottawa River in the north to Kingston in the south—a distance of 200 kilometers. Construction on the Rideau Canal was completed by 1832. During the building of the canal, development began to take place on the Ottawa side of the Ottawa River, in and around what is now known as Lowertown, which is the site of Byward Market. By the time the canal was completed, the new settlement was called Bytown after the canal's chief builder.

The new waterway made the shipment of lumber to markets south of the border much easier. As a result, several American lumber barons came to the area bringing with them a wave of immigration from Poland, Scotland and Ireland, all looking for work in the forests around the fledgling city.

By the late 1850s Ottawa had finally come into its own, although it still possessed a reputation as a remote and rather uncivilized place. In 1860 something completely unexpected and remarkable happened. While looking at a map of the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada, Queen Victoria decided to pick Ottawa as the new capital over both York, which is now Toronto and Montreal. The decision was very controversial, but appeased Lower Canada (mainly French) and Upper Canada (mainly English. Also, because of its proximity to the American border, the choice would change Ottawa's destiny forever.

Immediately after Queen Victoria had selected Ottawa as the colony's new capital, construction began on the neo-gothic Parliament Hill. In 1867 the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec (Lower Canada) and Ontario (Upper Canada) decided to form a confederation and the Dominion of Canada was born, with Ottawa designated as the fledgling nation's capital.

Completed that same year, the Parliament buildings were dubbed the "Westminster in the Wilderness." A bizarre study in contrasts, the stately center block of Parliament Hill, with its Peace Tower, towered over the haphazardly planned bustle of industrial Ottawa.

Rideau Hall was also completed the same year and became the palatial residence of the Queen's representative in Canada. All of Canada's Governors General have lived there since its construction.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Canadian government concluded that if Ottawa were to be a worthy capital some planning was in order. A wholesale restructuring of the city ensued with the creation of several scenic boulevards, an extensive park system beginning with Major's Hill Park.

In 1936, Prime Minister Mackenzie King commissioned French civil architect Jacques Gréber to provide a blueprint for a broad park and green space system that would encircle the city. Today Greber's creation is called the Greenbelt, which contains several natural trails as well as a number of working farms.

For most of the 20th century, Ottawa grew up as a government town—and an extremely conservative one at that. Small influxes of immigrants after both World Wars helped spice things up as a large number of people from Italy, Lebanon and China decided to call Ottawa home. Each immigrant community established neighbourhoods with names like Little Italy, where the annual Italian Week is celebrated in June, and Chinatown, both of which still exist today.

It was not until the 1970s and the birth of the high-tech sector that Ottawa began to slowly transform from a government town into something much greater. Ironically, the transformation was lead by a small cabal of former government computer scientists who started companies such as Digital, Mitel and Northern Telecom. Soon Ottawa was being called by another name—"Silicon Valley North"—and highly skilled workers from all over the world began to flock to the area. Today, Ottawa is one of the leading computer telecommunications centers of the world, with most of the industry located in the city’s western suburb of Kanata.