Ottawa, Ontario

For other uses of "Ottawa", see Ottawa (disambiguation).

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, located in the province of Ontario. The population as of 2001 was approximately 1,000,000 people. The mayor of the city at that time was Bob Chiarelli.

Ottawa sits on the Ottawa River, which divides Quebec from Ontario. It is a bilingual city. The majority of its residents speak English and a significant minority speak French. A majority of the residents of the Quebec city of Gatineau, directly across the river from Ottawa, speak French.

The Rideau Canal, which starts in Kingston, Ontario, wends its way through the city. The final flight of locks on the canal are adjacent to the Parliament Buildings.

Some of the notable buildings in Ottawa include the Parliament Buildings, where Canada's government resides; 24 Sussex Drive, the home of the Prime Minister of Canada; and Rideau Hall, the home of the Governor-General of Canada. Ottawa also has several museums, including the National Gallery of Canada[?], Canadian War Museum, Canada Science and Technology Museum[?], and Canadian Museum of Nature[?]. The Canadian Museum of Civilization[?] is located across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec. It is also the proud home of the University of Ottawa and Carleton University.

Every spring, Ottawa receives a gift of several hundred thousand tulips from the royal family of the Netherlands. This is in gratitude for the city's having hosted the royal family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War. In particular, Queen Juliana gave birth to her daughter Princess Margriet in the city, in a hospital whose maternity ward was temporarily declared to be officially part of the Netherlands so that the princess might be born on Dutch soil. The tulips are considered a welcome harbinger of spring in the capital region, and a tulip festival permits residents to see them at their best advantage.

Ottawa's primary employers are the Canadian federal government and high technology. Many publicly traded companies such as Nortel, Alcatel, JDS Uniphase[?], Mitel[?] and Corel have offices in the city.

Ottawa is home to two major league sports team, the Ottawa Senators (established 1992) of the National Hockey League and the Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League. It is also home to the AAA farm team of the Baltimore Orioles, the Ottawa Lynx of the International League, and the Ottawa Rebel, a National Lacrosse League franchise.

History

Originally called Bytown, the city was incorporated as Ottawa in 1855. On December 31, 1857 Queen Victoria, asked to settle a dispute between Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, Kingston and Ottawa, chose Ottawa to be the capital of Canada.

The original Parliament Buildings in Ottawa were burned down on February 3, 1916.

In 2001, the city of Ottawa merged with its suburbs, primarily Nepean, Kanata, Gloucester and Orleans, to become one municipality.

Famous People From Ottawa

• Paul Anka
• Tom Green
• Peter Jennings[?]
• Peter Mansbridge
• Alanis Morissette

See also

List of Ottawa, Ontario churches, List of Ottawa, Ontario schools, Canada, Canadian provinces and territories, Canadian cities

External Link

• City of Ottawa's web site (http://www.city.ottawa.on.ca)