Figure 1: Ottawa Gatineau
Ottawa, the capital of Canada but the fourth largest city in the country. It was ranked with the 14th highest quality of living in the world and considered the third cleanest city in the world. Founded in 1826 as Bytown and incorporated as "Ottawa" in 1855, the city has evolved into a political and technological center of Canada. Its original boundaries were expanded through numerous minor annexations and ultimately replaced by a new city incorporation and major amalgamation in 2001 which significantly increased its land area. The name "Ottawa" is derived from the Algonquin word, meaning "to trade". Ottawa and the Ottawa Valley was home to the Algonquin people prior to the arrival of Europeans during the fur and subsequent lumber trade eras. Initially an Irish and French Christian settlement, Ottawa has become a multicultural - bilingual city with a diverse population.
History
Étienne Brûlé, the first European to travel up the Ottawa River, passed by Ottawa in 1610 on his way to the Great Lakes. Samuel de Champlain three years later on his trip wrote about the waterfalls of the area, and about his encounters with the Algonquins, a people who have been using the Ottawa River for centuries. They called the river Kichi Sibi or Kichissippi' meaning "Great River". These early explorers were later followed by many missionaries. Philemon Wright, a New Englander, created the first settlement in the area in 1800 on the north side of the river, across from Ottawa in Hull. He, with five other families and twenty-five laborers, set about to create an agricultural community called Wrightsville and Wright pioneered the Ottawa Valley timber trade(soon to be the most significant economic activity) by transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to Quebec City. Bytown (Ottawa's early name) came about because of the Rideau Canal, on which preliminary work began in 1826, the year of Bytown's founding. Its construction was overseen by Colonel John By, and was intended to provide a secure route between Montreal and Kingston on Lake Ontario, bypassing the stretch of the St. Lawrence bordering New York State. Colonel By set up a military barracks on the site of today's Parliament Hill. He also laid out the streets of town with its "Upper Town" and "Lower Town" separated by the canal. Bytown's population grew to 1,000 as the Rideau Canal was being completed in 1832. Bytown was renamed Ottawa in 1855, when it was incorporated as a city. On December 31, 1857, Queen Victoria was asked to choose a common capital for the Province of Canada and chose Ottawa. The Queen's advisers suggested she pick Ottawa for several reasons: Ottawa's position in the back country made it more defensible, while still allowing easy transportation over the Ottawa River. Ottawa was at a point nearly exactly midway between Toronto and Quebec City, and that the smaller size of the town made it less likely that politically motivated mob could go on a rampage and destroy government buildings, as had happened in the previous Canada capitals.
Figure 2: Present Parliament Buildings
Starting in the 1850's large sawmills began to be erected by entrepreneurs, known as lumber barons, and would become some of the largest in the world. Rail lines erected in 1854 connected Ottawa to areas south and to the transcontinental rail network via Hull and Lachute, Quebec in 1886. Between 1910 and 1912, the Chateau Laurier, and a downtown Union Station would be constructed. Public transportation began in 1870 with a horse car system, overtaken in the 1890s by a vast electric streetcar system that would last until 1959. The Hull-Ottawa fire of 1900 destroyed two thirds of Hull, including 40% of its residential buildings and most of its largest employers along the waterfront. The fire also spread across the Ottawa River and destroyed about one fifth of Ottawa from the Lebreton Flats south to Booth Street and down to Dow’s Lake. The Centre Block of the Parliament buildings were destroyed by fire on February 3, 1916. 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 1922, the centerpiece of which is a dominant Gothic revival styled structure known as the Peace Tower. Urban planner Jacques Greber was hired in the 1940s to work on a master plan for the National Capital Region. Jacques Greber was the creator of the National Capital Greenbelt, the Parkway System, as well as many other projects throughout the NCR. He was also responsible for the removal of the streetcar system and closing down historic downtown Union Station (now Government Conference Centre) in favor of a suburban station several kilometers to the east. In the 1960s through 1980s, the National Capital Region experienced a building boom. This was followed by large growth in the high-tech industry during the 1990s and 2000s. In 2001, in an amalgamation legislated by the Province, all twelve existing municipalities in the area were terminated and replaced by a new incorporation of the City of Ottawa.
Climate
Ottawa has a humid continental climate with four distinct seasons. The average July maximum temperature is 26 °C. The average January temperature is −10.8 °C. Summers are warm and humid with daytime temperatures between 30 °C and 40 °C. During the winter season snow and ice are dominant in Ottawa. Annually Ottawa receives about 235 centimeters of snowfall. Days well above freezing and night’s below −30 °C both occur in the winter. Spring and fall are variable, prone to extremes in temperature and unpredictable swings in conditions.
Culture
Traditionally the ByWard Market, Parliament Hill and the Golden Tringle have been the focal points of the cultural scenes in Ottawa. Modern thoroughfares are home to many boutiques, museums, theaters, galleries, landmarks and memorials. Tough they are dominated by eating establishments, cafes, bars and nightclubs. The capital Ottawa hosts a variety of annual seasonal activities, Winterlude, the largest festival in Canada and Canada Day celebrations. Also there is even a Canadian Tulip Festival. In 2010, Ottawa's Festival industry received the IFEA "World Festival and Event City Award".
As Canada's capital, Ottawa has played host to a number of 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. Influenced by government structures, much of the city's architecture tends to be formalistic and functional. However, the city is also marked by Romantic and Picturesque styles of architecture such as the Parliament Building's gothic revival architecture.
The Ottawa skyline has remained conservative in skyscraper height throughout the years due to a skyscraper height restriction. The restrictions were originally implemented to keep Parliament Hill and the Peace Tower visible from most parts of the City. Today, several buildings are slightly taller than the Peace Tower.
Museums and performing arts
The Maman statue, a 9.144 m bronze casts of a spider located at the National Gallery of Canada. Amongst the city's national museums and galleries is the National Gallery of Canada designed by famous architect Moshe Safdie, it is a permanent home to the Maman statue. The Canadian War Museum houses over 3.75 million artifacts and was moved to an expanded facility in 2005. The Canadian Museum of Nature was built in 1905, and over went a major renovation from 2004–2010. Across the river Ottawa river in Gatineau is the most visited museum in Canada, the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Designed by Canadian aboriginal architect Douglas Cardinal, the complex built at a cost of 340 million USD also houses the Canadian Children's Museum, the Canadian Postal Museum and 3D IMAX theater.
Figure 3: The Maman Statue
The Ottawa Little Theater, originally called the Ottawa Drama League at its inception in 1913, is the longest-running community theatre company in Ottawa. Since 1969, Ottawa has been the home of the National Arts Center, a major performing arts venue that houses four stages and is home to the National Arts Center Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Lyra Ottawa Established in 1975, the Great Canadian Theater Company specializes in the production of Canadian plays at a local level.
Industry
Ottawa's primary employers are the Public Service of Canada and the high-tech industry. The city has a high standard of living and low unemployment. Some well known companies such as 3M, Adobe Systems, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel are located near Ottawa. The Federal government, the city’s largest employer, is employing over 110,000 individuals from the National Capital region.
Ottawa is also an important technology centre; its 1800 companies employ approximately 80,000 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. Many of the telecommunications and new technology are located in the western part of the city (formerly Kanata). Another major employer is the health sector, which employs over 18,000 people. Business, finance, administration, and sales and service occupations rank high among types of occupations. Approximately ten percent of Ottawa's GDP is derived from finance, insurance, real estate whereas employment is in goods-producing industries is only half the national average.
Ottawa is also an important technology centre; its 1800 companies employ approximately 80,000 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. Many of the telecommunications and new technology are located in the western part of the city (formerly Kanata). Another major employer is the health sector, which employs over 18,000 people. Business, finance, administration, and sales and service occupations rank high among types of occupations. Approximately ten percent of Ottawa's GDP is derived from finance, insurance, real estate whereas employment is in goods-producing industries is only half the national average.
In 2006, Ottawa experienced an increase of 40,000 jobs over 2001 with a five-year average growth that was relative slower than in the late 1990s. While the number of employees in the federal government stagnated, the high-technology industry grew by 2.4%. The unemployment rate in Ottawa-Gatineau was 5.2% (only in Ottawa: 5.1%), which was below the national average of 6.0%.
Education
Figure 4: Tabaret Hall at the University of Ottawa
Ottawa is known as one of the most educated cities in Canada, with over half the population having graduated from College and/or university. Ottawa has 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. It also has two Christian universities and other universities.