‘Ottawa’- the name is derived from the Algonquin word ‘adawe’, which means ‘to trade’. It was founded in 1826 as ‘Bytown’ and later incorporated as Ottawa in 1855.
Situated on the south bank of the Ottawa river in southern Ontario, Ottawa-city, is the capital and the political centre of Canada. Sharing its boundaries with Gatineau, Quebec, it is the fourth-largest city (27900 square km) in Canada, with a population of more than 1,095,134 people. It has the most educated population as compared to other Canadian cities.
History
For centuries Algonquin people used to portage through the Ottawa river and Rideau canal. The first permanent settlement occurred in 1800 on the north shore of the Ottawa river near Chaudière Falls.
After the war of 1812, the construction of the Rideau Canal started shortly after September 26, 1826, when Ottawa’s predecessor, Bytown was founded, due to defense purposes.
A letter from Governor-General Dalhousie, which authorized Lt. Colonel John By to divide the town into lots, led to the development of the town as a site for timber and later sawed lumber trade. This phase led to growth so that in 1854, Bytown was created a city.
Queen Victoria later chose Ottawa as the capital of Canada, and the parliament buildings on Parliament Hill were soon completed. Growth continued in the 20th century and by 1960s, and the Greber Plan transformed the capital and much of the old infrastructure was removed. By the 1980s, Ottawa came to be known as Silicon Valley North.
Economy and Labor Force
Ottawa’s original settlers were primarily involved in the construction, timber trade, and agriculture sectors. By 1861, industrial jobs employed around 48 percent of the labor force while government employment accounted for only 10 percent in 1871.
Today, the Federal Government is the major employer of Ottawa followed by healthcare and social assistance. A major portion of employment is provided by the technology sector. Being the capital, many telecommunications, software, defense, biotechnology, and wireless companies are located here. It is also the site of Federal Government institutions- Bank of Canada, Royal Canadian Mint, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the Queen’s Printer.
Around 10 percent of Ottawa’s GDP is derived from finance, insurance, and real estate. Ottawa is the second largest employer.
Government
Ottawa is s single-tier municipality that is responsible for all the municipal services- fire, emergency medical services, police, parks, roads, transport, water sewage, and waste. Ottawa is governed by the Ottawa City Council, having 23 councilors representing each ward and one Mayor, elected in a citywide vote. Currently, Jim Watson is the mayor of Ottawa.
At present Ottawa hosts, 130 embassies and 49 more countries recognize their embassies in the United States to Canada.
Transport
Ottawa is well served by its transportation. Rivers and canals were the city’s earliest transportation corridors, and now transportation is mainly by road and rail.
Ottawa has one of the busiest air terminals of Canada due to its location on the Montreal-Toronto-Ottawa triangle. The city has one international and two regional airports.
Much of the public transit in the city is through quasi-autonomous OC Transpo. For bicyclists and pedestrians, the city has the Central Pathway- a network of more than 130 miles of recreational paths.
Education
Ottawa is one of the most educated cities in Canada. The city has many public and private universities, colleges, and schools. Carleton University (1942), and the University of Ottawa (1848) are the two main public universities here.
Main Public colleges- Algonquin College, La Cité collégiale
the city has 4 main public school boards- English, English-Catholic, French, and French-Catholic. The English-language Ottawa Carleton English School Board is the largest board with 147 schools, followed by English-Catholic Ottawa Catholic School Board with 85 schools. Apart from this, there are many private schools as well which are not part of a board.
The Ottawa Public Library, created in 1906, had 2.3 million items as of 2008.
Culture
Ottawa has a rich ethnic, linguistic, and regional diversity and a bilingual character (English and French). The contemporary culture of the city is highlighted by its festivals as well.
Canadian Tulip Festival is the most famous spring festival, whereas summer festivities include the Ottawa Bluesfest, the Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival, and the Canada Day celebration. Winterlude is the most well-known winter festival.
While having an already rich culture, recent immigrations have added to its multicultural identity.
