Ottawa (city)

Ottawa (city), city, capital of Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, south-east Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa and Rideau rivers. Situated on the south bank of the Ottawa River opposite Hull, Quebec, it is the administrative centre of the country and a commercial and manufacturing base. Population 774,072 (2001).

The federal government is the primary employer in the city, as once-important interests such as logging and fur trading have declined. There is also a large tourist industry, bringing in about 4 million visitors annually. In the 1970s the Ottawa area became a major centre for the production of electronic and communications equipment; other goods manufactured include paper, furniture, printed materials, processed food, beverages, chemicals, machinery, and clothing. The city is served by railways, Ottawa International Airport, and a system of trunk roads. The Rideau Canal connects Ottawa to Lake Ontario at Kingston.

A cosmopolitan city of great beauty, Ottawa contains large parks, impressive public buildings, and wide streets. Institutions of higher education here are the University of Ottawa, Carleton University (1942), and Algonquin Community College. Among the city's many museums are the National Gallery of Canada, founded in 1913 and expanded in 1988, which contains a collection of Canadian, Asian, and European art; the Canadian War Museum, with displays depicting the country's military history; the Canadian Museum of Nature (formerly the National Museum of Natural Sciences); the National Museum of Science and Technology, with a section housing one of the world's foremost aeronautical collections; the Canadian Ski Museum; and the Bytown Museum, which contains archives relating to the history of Ottawa. Other points of interest include the Gothic-style Parliament Buildings (first built 1859-1865, and rebuilt after being largely destroyed by fire in 1916); Rideau Hall (1838), the official residence of the governor-general of Canada; the National Arts Centre, a performing-arts complex opened in 1969; the National Library and Public Archives; the Garden of the Provinces; and the Royal Canadian Mint. Throughout the year, the Ottawa Ballet, the Great Canadian Theatre Company, and other smaller theatre groups offer many cultural activities. In May the city is the site of a tulip festival.

The area around Ottawa, long frequented by Algonquian and Iroquoian hunters and traders, was visited by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1613. The site of the present-day city, however, was not settled until about 1810. In 1827 the village of Bytown, named after Colonel John By, who directed the construction of the Rideau Canal, was established. The settlement grew as a centre for forestry in the Ottawa River Valley, and in 1847 Bytown was incorporated as a town. In the 1850s the power of Chaudière Falls (located nearby on the Ottawa River) and Rideau Falls (where the Rideau River enters the Ottawa River) was harnessed for industrial use. In 1855, the community became a city and was renamed Ottawa, probably after the Ottawa or Outaouais tribe. Three years later Queen Victoria proclaimed Ottawa the seat of government of the United Provinces of Canada, and in 1867 it became the capital of the newly formed Dominion of Canada. By 1900, when a fire damaged much of Ottawa, the city had about 60,000 inhabitants. Its population increased significantly during World War II, when it was the administrative centre of Canada's war effort. In 1951 a plan by the French architect Jacques Gréber to redevelop Ottawa was accepted by the Canadian Parliament, and it led to a significant beautification of the city, including the creation of extensive parks. The Ottawa region enjoyed considerable economic growth in the 1970s and early 1980s.