Ottawa

[edit] The city name "Ottawa" was chosen in 1855 in reference to the Ottawa River, whose name is itself derived from the Algonquin adawe, meaning "to trade". In modern Algonquin, the city is known as Odàwàg.

[edit] Main article: History of Ottawa For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Ottawa history. Early history[edit] The Champlain Sea The Ottawa Valley became habitable around 10,000 years ago following the natural draining of the Champlain Sea. The first evidence of human presence in the Ottawa Valley are spearpoints dated 8000-8500 years before present. By 6000 years before present, there were robust trading and communications networks. Approximately 3000-3500 years before present, there is definitive evidence of continuously existing settlements, including likely hearths and heavy tools. In closer proximity to the modern bounds of the City of Ottawa, there has been documentation of specific settlements at the mouth of the Gatineau River dating back to 3000-3500 years prior to post-Columbian contact. These findings suggest that these Algonquin people were engaged in foraging, hunting and fishing, but also trade and travel. Three major rivers meet within Ottawa, making it an important trade and travel area for thousands of years. This period ended with the arrival of settlers and colonization of North America by Europeans during and after the 15th century. European exploration and early development[edit] In 1610, Étienne Brûlé became the first documented European to navigate the Ottawa River, passing 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 about his encounters with the Algonquin people. The first non-Indigenous settlement in the area was created by Philemon Wright, a New Englander. Wright founded a lumber town in the area on 7 March 1800 on the north side of the river, across from the present-day city of Ottawa in Hull. He, with five other families and twenty-five labourers, also created an agricultural community called Wright's Town, which would later become Gatineau. Wright pioneered the Ottawa Valley timber trade (soon to be the area's most significant economic activity) by transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to Quebec City. In the 1820s, news of the British military's impending construction of the Rideau Canal led to land speculation by John Le Breton, a local businessman who bought a land lot on the prediction of the upcoming construction, which led to an alternative canal course being selected. A town was established in 1826 and in 1827 was named after the British military engineer Colonel John By, who was responsible for the Rideau Waterway construction project. The Rideau Canal provided a secure route between Montreal and Kingston on Lake Ontario. It bypassed a vulnerable stretch of the St. Lawrence River bordering the state of New York that had left re-supply ships bound for southwestern Ontario easily exposed to enemy fire during the War of 1812. Camp used by soldiers and labourers of the Rideau Canal, on the south side of the Ottawa River in 1826. The building of the canal attracted many land speculators to the area. Colonel By set up military barracks on the site of today's Parliament Hill. He also laid out the streets of the town and created two distinct neighbourhoods named "Upper Town" west of the canal and "Lower Town" east of the canal. Similar to its Upper Canada and Lower Canada namesakes, historically, "Upper Town" was predominantly English-speaking and Protestant, whereas "Lower Town" was mostly French, Irish and Catholic. Bytown's early pioneer period saw Irish labourers cause unrest during the Shiners' War from 1835 to 1845, coming into conflict with French settlers. Bytown's population grew to 1,000 as the Rideau Canal was completed in 1832. The settlement was incorporated as a town in 1850. In 1855, Bytown was renamed Ottawa and obtained city status. William Pittman Lett was installed as the first city clerk, serving from 1844 to 1891, guiding Ottawa through 36 years of development, leading the hiring of key municipal roles, founding civic organizations, and proposing a set of by-laws for the city. Starting in the 1850s, entrepreneurs known as lumber barons began to build large sawmills, which produced tens of millions of board feet of timber, such as producing 39 million in 1855 after the USA began accepting imports, against approximately 480 million board feet imported from across Canada in Britain a decade earlier, and eventually rising to 613 million in the early 20th century. Rail lines built in 1854 connected Ottawa to areas south and, from 1886, to the transcontinental rail network via Hull and Lachute, Quebec. By 1885 Ottawa was the only city in Canada whose downtown street-lights were powered entirely by electricity. Selection as capital[edit] The selection of Ottawa as a capital city predates the Confederation of Canada. The choice was contentious, with the Parliament of the United Province of Canada holding more than 200 votes over several decades to attempt to settle on a legislative solution to the location of its capital. Political dissension between the Reformist and Tory wings of the political establishment led to the Stony Monday Riot of 1849. During these riots, the Tories violently disrupted a Reformist reception for the Governor General to promote Bytown as capital of the province. The governor-general of the Province of Canada designated Kingston as the capital in 1841. This was controversial: the cities of Toronto and Montreal, as well as the former capital of Lower Canada, Quebec City, all had legislators dissatisfied with Kingston as the capital, although anglophone merchants in Quebec were the leading group supportive of the Kingston arrangement. In 1842, a vote rejected Kingston as the capital, and study of potential candidates included Bytown, but that option proved less popular than Toronto or Montreal. In 1843, a report by the Executive Council recommended Montreal as the capital, as it was a more fortifiable location and commercial centre. However, the governor-general refused to execute a move without a parliamentary vote. In 1844, the Queen's acceptance of a parliamentary vote moved the capital to Montreal. In 1849, after an Orange mob burned the Parliament building in Montreal, several votes were held on a new permanent capital. Kingston and Bytown were again considered. However, the winning proposal was for the legislature to alternate sitting in either Quebec City and Toronto, in a policy known as perambulation. Logistical difficulties made this an unpopular arrangement, and an 1856 vote passed for the lower house of parliament to relocate permanently to Quebec City. The move did not proceed, as the upper house refused to approve funding for the relocation. The funding impasse led to the ending of the legislature's role in determining the seat of government. The legislature requested the Queen determine the seat of government. The Queen then acted on the advice of her governor general Edmund Head, who, after reviewing proposals from various cities, selected the recently renamed Ottawa. The Queen sent a letter to colonial authorities selecting Ottawa as the capital, effective 31 December 1857. George Brown, briefly a co-premier of the Province of Canada, attempted to reverse this decision but was unsuccessful. The Parliament ratified the Queen's choice in 1859, with Quebec serving as interim capital from 1859 to 1865. The relocation process began in 1865, with the first session of Parliament held in the new buildings in 1866. The buildings were generally well received by legislators. Ottawa in 1859, before construction on Parliament Hill. Two years prior, Queen Victoria selected the city as the permanent capital of the Province of Canada. Ottawa was recommended by Head as the capital due to palatability with both Upper and Lower Canada. Other considerations also favoured Ottawa. Ottawa's isolated location, surrounded by dense forest far from the Canada–US border and situated on a cliff face, would make it more defensible from attack. Despite the city's regional isolation, there was water transportation access from spring to fall, both to Montreal via the Ottawa River and to Kingston via the Rideau Waterway. Additionally, by 1854 it also had a modern all-season railway (the Bytown and Prescott Railway) that carried passengers, lumber and supplies 82 kilometres (51 miles) to Prescott on the Saint Lawrence River and beyond. Ottawa's small size was also thought to make it less prone to politically motivated mob violence, as had happened in the previous Canadian capitals. Finally, the government already owned the land that eventually became Parliament Hill, which it thought would be an ideal location for the Parliament buildings. The original Parliament buildings, which included the Centre, East and West Blocks, were constructed between 1859 and 1866 in the Gothic Revival style. Public Works Canada and its architects were not initially well prepared for the relatively shallow-lying bedrock involved in construction and as a result had to redesign architectural drawings, leading to delays. The Library of Parliament and Parliament Hill landscaping were completed in 1876. By 1885 Ottawa was the only city in Canada whose downtown street-lights were powered entirely by electricity. Post-Confederation and early 20th century[edit] LeBreton Flats after the 1900 Hull–Ottawa fire. The fire destroyed one-fifth of Ottawa and two-thirds of neighbouring Hull, Quebec. In 1889, the government distributed 60 "water leases" to local industrialists, which gave them permission to generate electricity and use hydroelectric generators at Chaudière Falls. Public transportation began in 1870 with a horsecar system, overtaken in the 1890s by an electric streetcar system that operated until 1959 and peaked at trackage of 90.5km, including an extension to Hull. In 1900, a chimney fire spread throughout Hull, destroying two-thirds of the city, including the facilities of major lumber employers and main street buildings. Due to high winds, the fire spread quickly through the wooden buildings that were widespread at the time. It eventually spread to Ottawa, where it destroyed about one-fifth of the buildings from the Lebreton Flats south to Booth Street and down to Dow's Lake. The fire destroyed approximately 3,200 buildings and caused an estimated $300 million in damage (in 2020 Canadian dollars). An estimated 14% of Ottawans and 40% of Hull residents were left homeless. The fire had a disproportionate effect on west-end lower-income neighbourhoods. It had also spread among many lumber yards, a major part of Ottawa's economy. In 1911, the municipality saw over 80 deaths related to a worse-than-average outbreak of typhoid, caused by sewage disposal affecting the city's drinking water intake from Nepean Bay. Immediate measures taken were insufficient to prevent 1,400 further typhoid cases in 1912, leading to 98 deaths and unsuccessful calls for temporary relocation of the capital to Toronto until the issue was resolved. Ottawa Post Office, located in Confederation Square, pictured in the early 20th century On 1 June 1912, the Grand Trunk Railway opened both the Château Laurier hotel and its neighbouring downtown Union Station. On 3 February 1916, the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings was destroyed by a fire. The House of Commons and Senate were temporarily relocated to the recently constructed Victoria Memorial Museum (now the Canadian Museum of Nature) until the completion of the new Centre Block in 1927. The centrepiece of the new Parliament buildings is a dominant Gothic Revival-styled structure known as the Peace Tower. The location of what is now Confederation Square was a former commercial district centrally located in a triangular downtown area surrounded by historically significant heritage buildings, including the Parliament buildings. It was redeveloped as a ceremonial centre in 1938 as part of the City Beautiful Movement. It became the site of the National War Memorial in 1939 and was designated a National Historic Site in 1984. A new Central Post Office (now the Privy Council of Canada) was constructed in 1939 beside the War Memorial because the original post office building on the proposed Confederation Square grounds had to be demolished. During the Second World War, the City of Ottawa increased temporary housing in the city for men in the military and their families, with the pavilion at Lansdowne Park being transformed into a barracks, as it had been during the First World War. The Second World War also coincided with expansion and centralization in federal government operations, with the size of the federal public service roughly tripling from 12,000 to 36,000. This expansion was reflected in the erection of new buildings, both temporary and permanent, to accommodate the new workers. Short film by Canadian Government 1938 Post–Second World War[edit] V-Day, downtown Ottawa in 1945, to mark the end of World War II Gréber plan's National Capital Greenbelt surrounding the urban core The John G. Diefenbaker Building was Ottawa's fourth city hall, from 1958 until 2001. Ottawa's former industrial appearance was vastly altered by the 1950 Gréber Plan. Prime Minister Mackenzie King hired French architect-planner Jacques Gréber to design an urban plan for managing development in the National Capital Region to make it more aesthetically pleasing and a location more befitting for Canada's political centre. Gréber's plan included the creation of the National Capital Greenbelt, National Arts Centre, the Kichi Zibi Mikan parkway and Queensway highway system. His plan also called for the movement of downtown Union Station (now the Senate of Canada Building) to the suburbs, the removal of the street car system, the decentralization of selected government offices, and the relocation of industries and removal of substandard housing from the downtown. While not every recommendation in the Grébér Plan was acted upon—for example, city hall was not placed on the east side of the canal—the plan's open space recommendations did lead to the creation of spaces such as the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River pathways. A major precondition to the creation of the Rideau Canal pathway was the elimination of direct rail service into downtown, leading to the abandonment of the Ottawa Train Station as the city's main station. The 1958 National Capital Act established the National Capital Commission as a crown corporation. It officially began work in 1959. This marked the creation of a permanent political infrastructure for managing the capital region. These 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's structure supplanted the Federal District Commission, which was established in 1927 with a 16-year funding commitment but was reliant on the voluntary transfer of municipal planning authorities from the district's municipalities. In 1958, a new city hall opened on Green Island near Rideau Falls, where urban renewal had recently transformed this industrial location into a green space. Prior to this, from 1931 to 1958, city hall had been at the Transportation Building adjacent to Union Station (now part of the Rideau Centre). In 2001, Ottawa City Hall returned downtown to a 1990 building on 110 Laurier Avenue West, the home of the now-defunct Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. This new location was close to Ottawa's first (1849–1877) and second (1877–1931) city halls. This new city hall complex also contained an adjacent 19th-century restored heritage building formerly known as the Ottawa Normal School. From the 1960s to the 1980s, there was a large increase in construction in the National Capital Region, which was followed by large growth in the high-tech industry during the 1980s and 1990s. Ottawa became one of Canada's largest high-tech cities and was nicknamed Silicon Valley North. By the 1980s, Bell Northern Research (later Nortel) employed thousands, and large federally assisted research facilities such as the National Research Council contributed to an eventual technology boom. The early companies led to the establishment of newer firms such as Newbridge Networks, Mitel and Corel. In 1991, provincial and federal governments responded to a land claim submitted by the Algonquins of Ontario regarding the unceded status of the land on which Ottawa is situated. Negotiations have been ongoing, with an eventual goal to sign a treaty that would release Canada from claims for misuse of land under Algonquin title, affirm rights of the Algonquins, and negotiate conditions of the title transfer, with an agreement in principle arranged in 2016. 21st Century[edit] Ottawa's city limits have expanded over time, including a large expansion effective 1 January 2001, when the province of Ontario amalgamated all the constituent municipalities of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton into a single city. Regional Chair Bob Chiarelli was elected as the new city's first mayor in the 2000 municipal election, defeating Gloucester mayor Claudette Cain. On 15 October 2001, a diesel-powered light rail transit (LRT) line was introduced on an experimental basis. Known today as O-Train Line 2, it was initially dubbed simply "the O-Train", and it connected downtown Ottawa to the southern suburbs via Carleton University. The decision to extend the O-Train and to replace it with an electric light rail system was a major issue in the 2006 municipal elections, where Chiarelli was defeated by businessman Larry O'Brien. After O'Brien's election, transit plans were changed to establish a series of light rail stations from the east side of the city into downtown and for using a tunnel through the downtown core. In October 2012, the City Council approved the final Lansdowne Park plan, an agreement with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group that saw a new stadium, increased green space and housing and retail added to the site. In December 2012, City Council voted unanimously to move forward with the Confederation Line, a 12.5 km (7.8 mi) light rail transit line, which was opened on 14 September 2019. In 2020, the city saw a major change in the nature of work due to civil servants without necessary on-site functions moving to online work as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with many government workers shifting to online work. This arrangement continued until the gradual return to in-person work beginning in 2022, when federal workers returned to two mandatory days in-office per week. In 2022, a movement protesting COVID-19 restrictions drew large numbers of Canadians, including those from outside Ottawa. This led to the occupation of Wellington Street in Canada's parliamentary precinct. The movement was associated with the trucking social identity and was preceded by a "Convoy to Ottawa" phase. The occupation began on 29 January and lasted approximately three and a half weeks, ending after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act on 14 February and pursued enforcement action against the protesters, such as debanking of over 250 protestor bank accounts and later carrying out arrests on 19 February.

[edit] Ottawa is located in the southeastern part of Ontario. Main article: Geography of Ottawa Districts and neighbourhoods[edit] Further information: List of neighbourhoods in Ottawa The present-day city of Ottawa consists of the historic main urban area, as well as other urban, suburban and rural areas within the city's post-amalgamation limits. Central Ottawa, Ottawa West and Ottawa East[edit] Central Ottawa and Ottawa East comprise a large portion of the pre-amalgamation city, including the former city of Vanier—a densely populated, historically Francophone, working class enclave—and the former village of Rockcliffe Park—a wealthy residential neighbourhood adjacent to both the Prime Minister's official residence at 24 Sussex and the Governor General's residence. These areas the downtown core and older neighbourhoods to the east, west, and south. These neighbourhoods include the commercial and cultural areas of Old Ottawa South, Centretown, Lower Town, and Sandy Hill, the affluent neighbourhoods of The Glebe, Westboro, and New Edinburgh, and the historically blue-collar communities of Hintonburg, Mechanicsville, Carlington, and LeBreton Flats, with a mixture of housing types, artist lofts, and industrial uses. They also include the ethnic enclaves of Chinatown and Little Italy. Suburbs and outlying communities[edit] Map of Ottawa showing urban areas and names of historical communities Modern Ottawa is made up of eleven historic townships, ten of which are from the former Carleton County and one from the former Russell County. Ottawa is bounded by the United Counties of Prescott and Russell to the east; by Renfrew County and Lanark County to the west; by the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry to the south; and by the Regional County Municipality of Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais and the City of Gatineau to the north. The main suburban areas extend a considerable distance to the northeast, southwest and south of the inner-city. These areas also include the former cities of Cumberland, Gloucester (with the large suburban district of Orleans outside the greenbelt split between them), Kanata, and Nepean. The towns of Stittsville and Richmond, part of the former Goulbourn Township, are to the southwest. Nepean, as a suburb, also includes Barrhaven. The communities of Manotick and Riverside South are on the other side of the Rideau River, and Greely is southeast of Riverside South. A number of rural communities (villages and hamlets) are also part of the City of Ottawa. Some of these communities include Burritts Rapids; Ashton; Fallowfield; Kars; Fitzroy Harbour; Munster; Carp; North Gower; Metcalfe; Constance Bay and Osgoode. Several towns are within the federally defined National Capital Region but outside of Ottawa's municipal boundaries; these include communities of Almonte, Carleton Place, Embrun, Kemptville, Rockland, and Russell. Ottawa above the Ottawa River in 2017, left to right— Byward Market ·  Fairmont Château Laurier · National Gallery of Canada ·  Parliament Hill with Library of Parliament and Peace Tower · Alexandra Bridge ·  Downtown Ottawa towers · Supreme Court of Canada Architecture[edit] Main article: Architecture of Ottawa Completed in 1913, the Connaught Building was constructed in a Gothic Revival style. Influenced by government structures, much of the city's architecture tends to be formal and functional; the city is also marked by Romantic and Picturesque styles of architecture such as the Parliament Buildings' gothic revival architecture. Ottawa's domestic architecture contains single-family homes, but also includes smaller numbers of semi-detached houses, rowhouses, and apartment buildings. Many domestic buildings in Centretown are clad in red brick, with trim in wood, stone, or metal; variations are common, depending on the cultural heritage of the neighbourhoods and the time they were built. The skyline has been controlled by building height restrictions, originally implemented to keep Parliament Hill and the Peace Tower at 92.2 metres (302 ft) visible from most parts of the city, and prevented construction of buildings exceeding 150 feet through at least the 1950s. Today, several buildings are slightly taller than the Peace Tower, with the tallest being the Claridge Icon at 143 metres (469 ft). Many federal buildings in the National Capital Region are managed by Public Works Canada, which leads to heritage conservation in its renovations and management of buildings, such as the renovation of the Senate Building. Most of the federal land in the region is managed by the National Capital Commission; its control of much undeveloped land and appropriations powers gives the NCC a great deal of influence over the city's development. Climate[edit] Ottawa has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb, Trewartha Dcbo) with four distinct seasons. The climate falls between Zones 5a and 5b on the Canadian Plant Hardiness Scale. Winters are cold and snowy. In January, the coldest month, the average minimum temperature is -14.3°C (6°F). Temperatures generally stay below freezing, often for weeks at a time, and snowpack is therefore consistent. Snow is the dominant form of precipitation in the winter, though other forms of precipitation, including freezing rain, are also common. On average, 232 cm (91 in) of snow falls in a year, mainly from November through April. Snow is not unusual in May or October, but it is generally very light and does not accumulate. Outbreaks of polar air often cause frigid temperatures. On average, there are 16 nights in a year in which the temperature falls below -20°C (-4°F). Extremely low temperatures, below -30°C (-22°F), occur on average approximately once every two years. Periods of snowfall are generally light, though occasional snowstorms have been known to significantly affect the city, such as in January 2022. Summers are hot and humid. In July, the hottest month, the average maximum temperature is 27°C (81°F). On average, there are 15 days in a year that have temperatures exceeding 30°C (86°F). Heatwaves are common and may lead to temperatures in excess of 35°C (95°F). Humidity is generally high at all times of the year, but is most noticeable in the summer. On average, there are 23 days in a year with thunderstorms, with the majority occurring in the summer. Spring and autumn, while transitional, can see extremes in temperature. For example, it is not unusual for the month of May to have nights below freezing, nor is it for temperatures to exceed 30°C (86°F), with September sometimes seeing temperatures in excess of 30°C, October seeing temperatures below freezing, and November temperatures below -10°C. On average, days with fog are seen 23 days per year, and they are likely to occur in all seasons. Annual rainfall averages around 757 mm (29.8 in), while total precipitation averages 930 mm (36.6 in). Days with any precipitation is spread fairly evenly throughout the year, but high precipitation days are more common in late summer and early fall. In a typical year, Ottawa experiences about 2,080 hours of sunshine annually (45% of possible), with June, July and August being the sunniest period after accounting for time between sunrise and sunset. Prevailing winds are generally from the West. Climate data for Ottawa International Airport, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1938–present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high humidex 13.9 15.1 30.0 35.1 41.8 46.5 47.2 47.0 42.5 33.9 26.1 18.4 47.2 Record high °C (°F) 12.9(55.2) 15.7(60.3) 27.4(81.3) 31.1(88.0) 35.8(96.4) 36.1(97.0) 36.9(98.4) 37.8(100.0) 35.1(95.2) 30.9(87.6) 23.9(75.0) 17.9(64.2) 37.8(100.0) Mean maximum °C (°F) 6.8(44.2) 6.5(43.7) 13.8(56.8) 24.0(75.2) 30.1(86.2) 32.3(90.1) 32.6(90.7) 32.2(90.0) 29.7(85.5) 23.8(74.8) 16.9(62.4) 9.3(48.7) 34.0(93.2) Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −5.5(22.1) −3.6(25.5) 2.4(36.3) 11.3(52.3) 19.6(67.3) 24.4(75.9) 27.0(80.6) 25.8(78.4) 21.0(69.8) 13.0(55.4) 5.8(42.4) −1.9(28.6) 11.6(52.9) Daily mean °C (°F) −10.0(14.0) −8.5(16.7) −2.4(27.7) 5.9(42.6) 13.6(56.5) 18.7(65.7) 21.2(70.2) 20.1(68.2) 15.3(59.5) 8.2(46.8) 1.7(35.1) −5.8(21.6) 6.5(43.7) Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −14.3(6.3) −13.2(8.2) −7.1(19.2) 0.5(32.9) 7.5(45.5) 12.9(55.2) 15.4(59.7) 14.3(57.7) 9.6(49.3) 3.4(38.1) −2.4(27.7) −9.6(14.7) 1.4(34.5) Mean minimum °C (°F) −26.8(−16.2) −23.6(−10.5) −19.1(−2.4) −6.9(19.6) 0.1(32.2) 5.7(42.3) 10.3(50.5) 8.7(47.7) 2.1(35.8) −3.8(25.2) −11.7(10.9) −21.7(−7.1) −27.7(−17.9) Record low °C (°F) −35.6(−32.1) −36.1(−33.0) −30.6(−23.1) −16.7(1.9) −5.6(21.9) −0.1(31.8) 5.0(41.0) 2.6(36.7) −3.0(26.6) −8.0(17.6) −21.7(−7.1) −34.4(−29.9) −36.1(−33.0) Record low wind chill −47.8 −47.6 −42.7 −26.3 −10.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 −6.4 −13.3 −29.5 −44.6 −47.8 Average precipitation mm (inches) 70.4(2.77) 49.5(1.95) 66.3(2.61) 81.3(3.20) 74.8(2.94) 96.8(3.81) 88.5(3.48) 79.0(3.11) 89.6(3.53) 87.4(3.44) 73.9(2.91) 72.4(2.85) 929.8(36.61) Average rainfall mm (inches) 29.3(1.15) 14.5(0.57) 34.6(1.36) 69.6(2.74) 74.5(2.93) 96.8(3.81) 88.5(3.48) 79.0(3.11) 90.6(3.57) 84.7(3.33) 60.5(2.38) 34.7(1.37) 757.2(29.81) Average snowfall cm (inches) 59.2(23.3) 48.5(19.1) 38.8(15.3) 12.2(4.8) 0.2(0.1) 0.0(0.0) 0.0(0.0) 0.0(0.0) 0.0(0.0) 2.7(1.1) 20.7(8.1) 49.6(19.5) 231.9(91.3) Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 16.7 13.0 12.6 12.1 13.4 13.9 12.1 11.2 12.4 14.1 14.4 16.7 162.7 Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 4.9 3.7 6.8 11.0 13.4 13.9 12.1 11.2 12.3 13.6 10.5 6.6 120.0 Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 16.4 12.9 8.6 3.2 0.13 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.87 6.5 13.9 62.3 Average relative humidity (%) (at 15:00) 68.4 62.0 57.0 49.5 49.5 53.5 54.2 55.3 58.4 61.6 66.9 72.3 59.1 Average dew point °C (°F) −13.5(7.7) −12.7(9.1) −8.0(17.6) −1.9(28.6) 5.9(42.6) 12.1(53.8) 14.9(58.8) 14.4(57.9) 10.7(51.3) 4.0(39.2) −2.3(27.9) −8.6(16.5) 1.3(34.3) Mean monthly sunshine hours 122.4 114.1 168.5 187.5 210.5 274.0 301.4 231.9 211.5 148.8 92.4 68.8 2,131.7 Percentage possible sunshine 43.1 39.0 45.7 46.3 45.7 58.6 63.7 53.1 56.1 43.7 32.2 25.2 46.0 Source 1: Environment Canada (sunshine 1981–2010) Source 2: weatherstats.ca (for dewpoint and monthly&yearly average absolute maximum&minimum temperature) Physical geography[edit] Downtown Ottawa is situated on the south bank of the Ottawa River with neighbouring Gatineau in the background across the river. Ottawa is situated on the south bank of the Ottawa River and contains the mouths of the Rideau River and Rideau Canal. The Rideau Canal (Rideau Waterway) first opened in 1832 and is 202 kilometres (126 mi) long. It connects the Saint Lawrence River on Lake Ontario at Kingston to the Ottawa River near Parliament Hill. It was able to bypass the unnavigable sections of the Cataraqui and Rideau rivers and various small lakes along the waterway due to flooding techniques and the construction of 47 water transport locks between Ottawa and Kingston Mills Ottawa is situated in a lowland on top of Paleozoic carbonate and shale and is surrounded by more craggy Precambrian igneous and metamorphic formations. Ottawa has had fluvial deposition of till and sands, leading to the widespread formation of eskers. There are limited distinct features arising from glacial deposits, but Ottawa was affected by the Late Wisconsian advance. Before the draining of the Champlain Sea, the area had high salinity. After the draining of the sea, the area had pine-dominated forests. Ottawa is located within the Western Quebec Seismic Zone, and while relatively inactive, the city does occasionally experience earthquakes. Built environment[edit] During part of the winter season the Ottawa section of the canal forms the world's largest skating rink, thereby providing both a recreational venue and a 7.8-kilometre (4.8 mi) transportation path to downtown for ice skaters (from Carleton University and Dow's Lake to the Rideau Centre and National Arts Centre). On 29 June 2007, the Rideau Canal was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The older part of the city (including what remains of Bytown) is known as Lower Town, and occupies an area between the canal and the rivers. Across the canal to the west lie both Centretown and Downtown Ottawa, which share a border along Gloucester Street. These core neighbourhoods contain streets such as Elgin and Bank, which fill the role of commercial main streets in the region. Centretown is next to downtown, which includes a substantial economic and architectural government presence across multiple branches of government. The legislature's work takes place in the parliamentary precinct, which includes buildings on Parliament Hill and others downtown, such as the Senate of Canada Building. Important buildings in the executive branch include the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council as well as many civil service buildings. The Supreme Court of Canada building can also be found in this area. Across the Ottawa River, which forms the border between Ontario and Quebec, lies the city of Gatineau, itself the result of amalgamation of the former Quebec cities of Hull and Aylmer. Although formally and administratively separate cities in two different provinces, Ottawa and Gatineau (along with several nearby municipalities) collectively constitute the National Capital Region, which is considered a single metropolitan area. One federal Crown corporation, the National Capital Commission, or NCC, has significant land holdings in both cities, including sites of historical and touristic importance. The NCC, through its responsibility for planning and development of these lands, has a crucial role in shaping the development of the city. Around the main urban area is the National Capital Greenbelt, an extensive greenbelt, administered by the NCC for conservation and leisure, and comprising mostly forest, farmland and marshland.

[edit] Main article: Demographics of Ottawa Ottawa population pyramid in 2021 Historic PopulationYearPop.±%1901101,102—&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;1911123,417+22.1%1921152,868+23.9%1931174,056+13.9%1941206,367+18.6%1951246,298+19.3%1956287,244+16.6%1961358,410+24.8%1966413,695+15.4%1971471,931+14.1%1976520,533+10.3%1981546,849+5.1%1986606,639+10.9%1991678,147+11.8%1996721,136+6.3%2001774,072+7.3%2006812,129+4.9%2011883,391+8.8%2016934,243+5.8%20211,017,449+8.9%Note: Population figures are extrapolated for current municipal boundaries Sources:Chart format In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Ottawa had a population of 1,017,449 living in 407,252 of its 427,113 total private dwellings, a change of 8.9% from its 2016 population of 934,243. With a land area of 2,788.2 square kilometres (1,076.5&#160;sq&#160;mi), it had a population density of 364.9/km2 (945.1/sq&#160;mi) in 2021. As of 2021, the Ottawa-Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 1,488,307 living in 604,721 of its 638,013 total private dwellings, a change of 8.5% from its 2016 population of 1,371,576. With a land area of 8,046.99&#160;km2 (3,106.96&#160;sq&#160;mi), it had a population density of 185.0/km2 (479.0/sq&#160;mi) in 2021. Ottawa's median age of 40.1 is below the provincial and national averages as of 2016. Youths under 15 constituted 16.7% of the total population in 2016, while those of retirement age (65 years and older) made up 15.4%. Race, immigrant status and ethnicity[edit] As of 2021, approximately 64.9% of Ottawa's population were white or European, while 2.6% were Indigenous, and 32.5% were visible minorities (higher than the national percentage of 26.5%). The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) number 259,215, 25.9% of the population of Ottawa. Of this immigrant population, the top countries of origin were China (20,320 persons or 7.8%), India (16,200 persons or 6.2%), United Kingdom (14,760 persons or 5.7%), Lebanon (11,900 persons or 4.6%), Philippines (10,505 persons or 4.1%), United States of America (8,795 persons or 3.4%), Haiti (6,710 persons or 2.6%), Syria (6,370 persons or 2.5%), Vietnam (6,155 persons or 2.4%), and Iran (6,000 persons or 2.3%). Religion[edit] According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Ottawa included: Christianity (528,700 persons or 52.8%) Irreligion (316,740 persons or 31.6%) Islam (98,920 persons or 9.9%) Hinduism (20,300 persons or 2.0%) Buddhism (10,800 persons or 1.1%) Judaism (10,600 persons or 1.1%) Sikhism (6,375 persons or 0.6%) Indigenous Spirituality (445 persons or <0.1%) Other (8,055 persons or 0.8%) In 2011&#91;update&#93;, around 65% of Ottawa residents described themselves as Christian, with Catholics accounting for 38.5% of the population and members of Protestant churches 25%. Other religions were also present in Ottawa, the most prominent being Islam (6.7%), Hinduism (1.4%), Buddhism (1.3%), and Judaism (1.2%). Those with no religious affiliation represented 22.8%. Language[edit] Those who identify their mother tongue as English constitute 58.2 percent, while those with French as their mother tongue make up 12.5 percent of the population. Regarding respondents' knowledge of one or both official languages, 60.6 percent and 1.4 percent of the population know English and French only, respectively, while 36.4 percent know both official languages. Bilingualism became official policy for the conduct of municipal business in 2002, making it the largest city in Canada with both English and French as co-official languages, as Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto do not have official bilingualism policies. An additional 23.1 percent of the population list languages other than English and French as their mother tongue. These include Arabic (4.3%), Mandarin (2.2%), Spanish (1.4%), Italian (0.8%), and many others. The overall Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) has a larger proportion of French speakers than Ottawa since Gatineau's population's first language is mostly French.

[edit] See also: Economy of Ontario As of 2015, the region of Ottawa-Gatineau has the sixth-highest total household income of all Canadian metropolitan areas ($82,053), and the Ontario portion more directly overlapping the City of Ottawa has a higher household income ($86,451). The median household income after taxes in the City of Ottawa is $88,000 in 2020 was higher than the national median of $73,000. Ottawa's unemployment rate has remained below the national and provincial unemployment rates since 2006, with a rate of 5.2% in April 2022, low compared to the decade preceding. Ottawa is ranked the best city in North America for quality of life by Numbeo, but falls short of other Canadian cities in other rankings such as Vancouver and Toronto in Mercer's rankings. Ottawa's primary employers are the Public Service of Canada and the high-tech industry, although tourism and healthcare also represent increasingly sizeable economic activities. The federal government is the city's largest employer, employing over 116,000 individuals from the National Capital Region. The national headquarters for many federal departments are in Ottawa, particularly throughout Centretown and in the Terrasses de la Chaudière and Place du Portage complexes in Hull. The National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa is the main command centre for the Canadian Armed Forces. It hosts the Department of National Defence. During the summer, the city hosts the Ceremonial Guard, which performs functions such as the Changing the Guard. As Canada's national capital, tourism is an important part of Ottawa's economy, particularly after the 150th anniversary of Canada, centred in Ottawa. The lead-up to the festivities saw much investment in civic infrastructure, upgrades to tourist infrastructure and increases in national cultural attractions. Depending on methodology and source, the National Capital Region annually attracts an estimated 9.8 to 11 million tourists, who spend about 2.6 billion dollars and support approximately 23,000 jobs directly. Kanata Research Park is Canada's largest technology park. In addition to the economic activities that come with being the national capital, Ottawa is an important technology centre; in 2015, its 1800 companies employed approximately 63,400 people. The concentration of companies in this industry earned the city the nickname of "Silicon Valley North." Most of these companies specialize in telecommunications, software development and environmental technology. Large technology companies such as Nortel, Corel, Mitel, Cognos, Halogen Software, Shopify and JDS Uniphase were founded in the city. Ottawa also has regional locations for Nokia, Adobe Systems, Bell Canada and IBM. Many of the telecommunications and new technology are in the western part of the city (formerly Kanata). The "tech sector" was doing particularly prior to the dot-com burst, but remains generally strong as of 2016. Nordion, Abbott Laboratories and the National Research Council of Canada and OHRI are part of the life science sector in Ottawa. The health sector is another major employer, which employs over 64,000 people in the city as of the 2020 census. The City of Ottawa is the second largest employer as of 2010, with approximately 2,100 people employed by the Ottawa Police service as of 2022, and 13,300 full-time equivalent non-police employees as of 2019. All major clusters tracked by the city saw increases in employment between 2014 and 2019. Major areas of growth in the 2010s included local and federal administration, finance and accommodation. Between 2008 and 2020, there was growth in the number of government employees and a reduction in high-tech jobs, a reversal of previous trends from 2003 to 2008. The city has experienced a weak labour market recovery in the years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ottawa has also seen above average disruption to the economy due to American tariff policy during the second term of President Donald Trump. Ottawa already has the largest rural economy among Canada's major cities. In Ottawa, the rural economy contributes over $1 billion to the GDP. Agriculture alone accounts for $400 million, $136.7 million of which is farm-gate sales. Rural economic activity includes agriculture, retail sales, construction, forestry and mining (aggregates), tourism, manufacturing, personal and business services, and transportation, to name a few. Rural employment expanded by a healthy 18% from 1996 to 2001. Media[edit] Further information: Media in Ottawa–Gatineau Three two daily local newspapers are printed in Ottawa: two English newspapers, the Ottawa Citizen established as the Bytown Packet in 1845 and the Ottawa Sun. The city's last French language daily, Le Droit, has become an online only paper after a 2020-2023 run as a weekly. The city is also home to local stations of the television broadcast networks and systems CBC and CTV, as well as English and French radio stations. In addition to the market's local media services, Ottawa is home to several national media operations, including CPAC (Canada's national legislature broadcaster) and the parliamentary bureau staff of various major newsgathering organizations in television, radio and print. The city is also home to the head office of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

[edit] Further information: List of schools in Ottawa Established in 1848, the University of Ottawa is the oldest post-secondary institution in the city. Carleton University in 2022 Saint Paul University Primary and secondary education[edit] Ottawa has four main public school boards: English, English-Catholic, French, and French-Catholic. The English-language Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) is the largest board with 116 primary schools, 26 secondary schools, 5 alternative learning sites and 1 adult education school, followed by the English-Catholic Ottawa Catholic School Board with 90 schools. The two French-language boards are the French-Catholic Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est with 46 primary schools and 11 secondary schools, and the French Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario with 44 schools. Ottawa also has numerous private schools which are not part of a board. The Ottawa Public Library was created in 1906 as part of the Carnegie library system. As of 2026 the library system has 1.8 million items, down from 2.3 million in 34 branches and 2 mobile libraries in 2008. Approximately 11.5 million loans were conducted in 2024, approximately 8.2 million physical loans and the remainder digital items. In 2024, the library saw 3.5 million visits. Higher education and public research[edit] Ottawa is known as the most educated city in Canada, with over half the population having graduated from college and/or university. As of 2007, Ottawa was claimed by the local business journal to have the highest per capita concentration of engineers, scientists, and residents with PhDs in Canada. The city has two main public universities and two main public colleges. Carleton University was founded in 1942 to meet the needs of returning World War II veterans and later became Ontario's first private, non-denominational college. Over time, Carleton transitioned into a comprehensive university that Maclean's ranks 4th out of 15 in its comprehensive category. The university's campus sits between Old Ottawa South and the Central Experimental Farm. The University of Ottawa (originally named the "College of Bytown") was the first post-secondary institution established in the city in 1848. The university later grew to become the largest English-French bilingual university in the world. It is also a member of the U15, a group of highly respected research-intensive universities in Canada. The university's main campus is in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood, just adjacent to the city's downtown core. The University of Ottawa's catholic affiliated university college is St. Paul University. Algonquin College is a college of applied arts and technology founded in 1967. Its main campus is located in the City View neighbourhood of College Ward. The college serves the National Capital Region and the outlying areas of Eastern Ontario. The college has satellite campuses in Pembroke and Perth. Collège La Cité is the largest French-language college in Ontario. Founded in 1989, its campus is located off the Aviation Parkway in the Carson Meadows neighbourhood. Other colleges and universities in the metropolitan area are located in the neighbouring suburb of Gatineau, including the University of Quebec in Outaouais, Cégep de l'Outaouais, and Heritage College. The city is also home to many federal post-secondary associations, including those representing institutions like Polytechnics Canada, Universities Canada, Colleges and Institutes Canada, Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne, and the U15; those representing educators, such as the Canadian Association of University Teachers; and those representing students, such as the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, Canadian Federation of Students and the National Educational Association of Disabled Students. Public research also occurs through government laboratories and research centres such as the National Research Council, various Health Canada laboratories or the Central Experimental Farm. Public health[edit] See also: List of hospitals in Ottawa The Civic Hospital is one of three main campuses of The Ottawa Hospital. There are six active general medical hospitals in the city of Ottawa: The Queensway Carleton Hospital, The Ottawa Hospital (Civic Hospital, General Hospital, Riverside Hospital), Montfort Hospital, and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Several specialized hospital facilities are also present, such as the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, and Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital. There are also several hospitals and major medical centres in neighbouring suburban communities and commuter towns. The University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine operates teaching hospitals in conjunction with partners throughout the city. Ottawa is the headquarters of numerous major medical organizations and institutions such as Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Blood Services, Health Canada, Canadian Medical Association, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Canadian Nurses Association, and the Medical Council of Canada.

[edit] ByWard Market is a retail and entertainment district in Downtown Ottawa. Traditionally, the ByWard Market (in Lower Town), Parliament Hill, Chinatown, and the Golden Triangle (in Centretown – Downtown) have been focal points of the cultural scenes in Ottawa. Modern thoroughfares such as Wellington Street, Rideau Street, Sussex Drive, Elgin Street, Bank Street, Somerset Street, Preston Street, Richmond Road in Westboro, and Sparks Street are home to many boutiques, museums, theatres, galleries, landmarks and memorials in addition to eating establishments, cafes, bars and nightclubs. As Canada's capital, Ottawa has played host to many significant cultural events in Canadian history, including the first visit of the reigning Canadian sovereign—King George VI, with his consort, Queen Elizabeth—to his parliament, on 19 May 1939. VE Day was marked with a large celebration on 8 May 1945, the first raising of the country's new national flag took place on 15 February 1965, and the centennial of Confederation was celebrated on 1 July 1967. Queen Elizabeth II was in Ottawa on 17 April 1982, to issue a royal proclamation of the enactment of the Constitution Act. In 1983, the then Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales came to Ottawa for a state dinner hosted by then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In 2011, Ottawa was selected as the first city to receive Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge during their tour of Canada. Ottawa was featured in the short story collection For Your Eyes Only, by Ian Fleming.The National War Memorial Landmarks[edit] Main articles: List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Ottawa and List of designated heritage properties in Ottawa There is one World Heritage Site in Ottawa, the Rideau Canal, along with 27 National Historic Sites of Canada in Ottawa, including the Château Laurier, the Parliament of Canada, Confederation Square, the former Ottawa Teachers' College and Laurier House. Additionally in 1990, Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica was designated as a National Historic Site. Many other properties of cultural value have been designated as having "heritage elements" by the City of Ottawa under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. Arts[edit] See also: List of attractions in Ottawa and List of museums in Ottawa The Canadian Museum of Nature is Canada's national museum of natural history and natural science. Performing and visual arts[edit] The Ottawa Little Theatre, founded in 1913 as the Ottawa Drama League, is Ottawa's longest-running community theatre company. Since 1969, Ottawa has been the home of the National Arts Centre, a major performing arts venue that houses four stages and is home to the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and formerly hosted the Opera Lyra Ottawa and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra prior to their failure and move to Carleton University, respectively. Established in 1975, the Great Canadian Theatre Company specializes in the production of Canadian plays at a local level. The cities museum landscape is notable for containing six of Canada's nine national museums, the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, the Canada Science and Technology Museum, Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian War Museum and National Gallery of Canada. The National Gallery of Canada; designed by famous architect Moshe Safdie, it is a permanent home to the Maman sculpture. The Canadian War Museum houses a collection comprised of approximately 600,000 artifacts, photos and books and was moved to an expanded facility in 2005. The Victoria Memorial Museum Building, which houses the Canadian Museum of Nature commenced construction in 1905 and it opened as the National Museum of Natural Sciences in 1912, and underwent a major renovation between 2004 and 2010, leading to a centrepiece Blue Whale skeleton, and the creation of a monthly nightclub experience, Nature Nocturne. Cuisine[edit] Ottawa is home to several regional dishes. As a city with traditional French-Canadian roots, staples such as poutine are served throughout the city. However, many consider shawarma a defining or especially common Ottawa dish; as the city contains more shawarma restaurants than anywhere else in Canada. In 2024, Ottawa City Council declared Ottawa as the "Shawarma Capital of Canada" in a unanimous motion Beaver tails, a fried dough pastry, were first created in Ottawa in the 1970s. Le Cordon Bleu has a long-established culinary arts institute in the central Ottawa neighbourhood of Sandy Hill, the only Le Cordon Bleu campus in North America. Ottawa style pizza is characterized as being greasy, having sweeter sauce, crispy, thick cheese, thick crust, and toppings under the cheese. Other food writers contend Ottawa-style pizza is inextricably linked with Ottawa's Lebanese pizza tradition. Winterlude is an annual winter festival held in Ottawa. Festivals[edit] See also: List of festivals in Ottawa Ottawa hosts a variety of annual seasonal activities—such as Winterlude, the largest festival in Canada, and Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill and surrounding downtown area, as well as Bluesfest, Canadian Tulip Festival, Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival, Ottawa International Jazz Festival, Fringe Festival, Capital Pride, and CityFolk, that have grown to become some of the largest festivals of their kind in the world. In 2010, Ottawa's Festival industry received the IFEA "World Festival and Event City Award" for the category of North American cities with a population between 500,000 and 1,000,000.

[edit] Further information: Sport in Ottawa and List of Ottawa parks TD Place Stadium is home to the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks, the CPL's Atlético Ottawa, and the NSL's Ottawa Rapid FC. Professional sports[edit] Sport in Ottawa has a history dating back to the 19th century. The city is currently home to six professional sports teams. The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team playing in the National Hockey League. The team shares the name with a previous franchise that won the Stanley Cup four times between 1920 and 1927. The team is currently a member of the Atlantic Division and play their home games at the Canadian Tire Centre. In 2023, the Ottawa Charge became one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). The Charge play home games at TD Place Arena. The Ottawa Redblacks are a professional Canadian Football team playing in the Canadian Football League. Formerly the Ottawa Rough Riders represented the city until 1996. With precursors dating back to 1876, the team adopted its identity in 1898 and was one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America. The professional soccer club, Atlético Ottawa, plays in the Canadian Premier League. The team was founded by Spanish club Atlético Madrid, and along with the Redblacks, play their home games at TD Place Stadium. Ottawa Rapid FC of the Northern Super League also play at TD Place Stadium. The Rapid are one of the six founding clubs in the NSL, having played in the inaugural 2025 season. The New York Riptide became Ottawa Black Bears when they moved to the city in 2024. They compete in the National Lacrosse League and play at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata. The Ottawa Blackjacks are a professional basketball team, playing in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, out of the TD Place Arena. The Ottawa Titans play professional baseball in the Frontier League at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park. Ottawa was previously home to the Ottawa Lynx, a Triple-A club, as well as the Ottawa Champions, an independent baseball team in the Can-Am League. Collegiate sports[edit] The University of Ottawa and Carleton University varsity teams compete in U Sports in various sports. Algonquin College and Collège La Cité teams compete in the OCAA. The Carleton Ravens are nationally ranked in basketball and soccer as of 2011. Carleton's men's basketball program is regarded as dynastically successful, having won 17 of the last 20 national championships. The Ottawa Gee-Gees are nationally ranked in basketball and soccer as of 2022. Non-professional and amateur sports[edit] Several non-professional teams also play in Ottawa, including the Ottawa 67's junior ice hockey team. The city is home to an assortment of amateur organized team sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball and curling. Casual recreational activities, such as skating, cycling and skiing are also available. The city has hosted Ottawa Race Weekend during the 4th weekend of May since 1975. In addition, Ironman Triathlon began in Ottawa in 2025.

[edit] Further information: List of Ottawa municipal elections, Canadian federal election results in Ottawa, and List of embassies and high commissions in Ottawa Ottawa City Hall houses the seat of the local government. The City of Ottawa is a single-tier municipality, meaning it is in itself a census division and has no county or regional municipality government above it, and has no subsidiary municipalities to provide municipal services. Ottawa is governed by the 25-member Ottawa City Council consisting of 24 councillors each representing one ward and the mayor, Mark Sutcliffe as of the 2022 Ottawa municipal election, is elected in a citywide vote. Ottawa is subject to Ontario's strong mayor powers. Along with being the capital of Canada, Ottawa is politically diverse in local politics. Most of the city has traditionally supported the Liberal Party in federal elections. The safest areas for the Liberals are the ones dominated by Francophones, especially in Vanier and central Gloucester. Central Ottawa is usually more left-leaning, and the New Democratic Party have won ridings there. Ridings further outside the city centre, such as those including Kanata, Barrhaven and rural areas, tend to be more conservative, fiscally and socially. This is especially true in the former Townships of West Carleton, Goulbourn, Rideau and Osgoode, which are more in line with the conservative areas in the surrounding counties. At present, Ottawa is host to approximately 150 embassies. A further approximately 50 countries accredit their embassies and missions in the United States to Canada.

[edit] 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[edit] Main article: OC Transpo An O-Train crossing the Rideau River. The O-Train is a light rail public transportation service provided by OC Transpo. Map of Ottawa's rapid transit network. Ottawa's public transit system is managed by OC Transpo. OC Transpo operates an integrated, multi-modal rapid transit system which includes: The O-Train light rail system. The four-line public rail system includes three existing lines and one currently under construction. Line 1 is an east–west line which operates medium-capacity light rail vehicles and travels under the city's downtown core. Line 2 is a north–south rail transit corridor which utilizes a mix of Stadler FLIRTs and Alstom Coradia LINTs connecting the south end of Ottawa to Line 1 at Bayview station. Line 3 is an under construction branch of Line 1, splitting at Lincoln Fields station and continuing west. Line 4 is a 4&#160;km (2.5&#160;mi) airport link connecting Line 2 to the Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport A vast bus rapid transit (BRT) system that uses a series of dedicated bus-only roadways named the Transitway and reserved lanes on city streets and highways. The Transitway has long distances between stops and full station amenities (including platforms, walkways, fare gates, ticket booths, elevators and convenience stores). It connects Ottawa's suburbs to the inner city. The rapid bus service network operates all day, seven days a week, reaching the suburban communities of Kanata to the West, Barrhaven to the South-West, Orléans to the East, and South Keys to the South. Over 190 local bus routes are served by a fleet of ordinary, articulated and double-decker buses. Both OC Transpo and the Quebec-based Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) operate bus transit services between Ottawa and Gatineau. OC Transpo also operates a door-to-door bus service for disabled individuals known as ParaTranspo. There is a hypothetical LRT partnership that proposes linking Ottawa with Gatineau and connecting to the O-Train. Airports[edit] The Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport is the city's principal airport. There are also three other airports providing general aviation services: Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport, Ottawa/Carp Airport, and Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport. Inter-city transportation[edit] Ottawa station is the main inter-city train station operated by Via Rail. It is located 4 kilometres (2.5&#160;mi) to the east of downtown in Eastway Gardens (adjacent to O-Train Tremblay station) and serves Via Rail's Corridor Route. The city is also served by inter-city passenger rail service at Fallowfield station in the southwestern suburban community of Barrhaven. Intercity bus services are currently provided by several carriers at various stops throughout the city, following the closure of the former Ottawa Central Station bus terminal on 1 June 2021. Major carriers include: Megabus, Ontario Northland, Autobus Gatineau, and Orléans Express. Streets and highways[edit] The City of Ottawa has over 8,400&#160;km (5,200&#160;mi) lane-kilometres of road and a series of freeways. The primary freeways are the east–west provincial Highway 417 (designated as the Queensway and part of the Trans-Canada Highway), Ottawa-Carleton Highway 174 (formerly Provincial Highway 17), Highway 7, and the north–south provincial Highway 416 (designated as Veterans' Memorial Highway), which connects to other 400-Series highways via the 401. From downtown there are also freeway connections to Autoroute 5 and Autoroute 50, in neighbouring Gatineau. The city also has several scenic parkways and promenades, such as the Kichi Zibi Mikan (formerly the Macdonald Parkway), Colonel By Drive, Queen Elizabeth Driveway, the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway (formerly the Rockcliffe Parkway), and the Aviation Parkway. The National Capital Commission manages ceremonial routes linking key attractions on both sides of the Ottawa River, including Confederation Boulevard. Cycling and pedestrian network[edit] The Capital Pathway is a multi-use trail interlinking sites throughout the National Capital Region. Numerous paved multi-use trails, mostly operated by the National Capital Commission and the city, wind their way through much of the capital, including along the Ottawa River, Rideau River, and Rideau Canal. These pathways are used for transportation, tourism, and recreation. Because many streets either have wide curb lanes or bicycle lanes, cycling is a mode of transportation used by up to 3.7% of citizens, including in winter. This is the largest percentage of any major Canadian city. As of 31 December 2015, over 900&#160;km (560&#160;mi) of cycling facilities are found in Ottawa, including 435&#160;km (270&#160;mi) of multi-use pathways, 8&#160;km (5.0&#160;mi) of cycle tracks, 200&#160;km (120&#160;mi) of on-road bicycle lanes, and 257&#160;km (160&#160;mi) of paved shoulders. 204&#160;km (127&#160;mi) of new cycling facilities were added between 2011 and 2014. The entire length of Sparks Street was turned into a pedestrian mall in 1966. Since 1960, additional avenues, streets, and parkways, are reserved for pedestrian and bicycle use only on Saturdays, Sundays and on selected holidays and events. In 2021 city council unanimously approved the Byward Market Public Realm Plan to make the market area more car-free and pedestrian friendly. From 2009 to 2015 the NCC introduced the Capital Bixi bicycle-sharing system. This continued until the company VeloGo took over the program from 2015 to 2018 when the partnership ceased. Scooter-sharing systems were introduced in the downtown and inner-city areas in 2025.