Where the Rideau River meets the Ottawa River sits Canada's capital. It was founded as a small, hard-scrabble logging settlement in the mid-19th Century, little known in the growing cities of Montreal or Toronto. As the idea of a Canadian nation began to take shape, at its heart was the spirit of compromise between the Francophone people of Quebec, and the growing Anglophone community in Ontario. When it came time to choose a capital for this new nation, the decision-makers sought a compromise. They wanted somewhere unassuming and unimportant, on the border between the two provinces, bridging the gap between French and English. They decided on Ottawa.
We respectfully acknowledge that Ottawa is on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg people.
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Ottawa
Then and Now Photos
Nuclear Bomb
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Library & Archives Canada No. 4717353
1950s
Ilustration of the possible damaged inflicted by a nuclear bomb published by the Canada Emergency Measures Organization
Parliament Hill Bluffs
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3422972
1894
A view of the bluffs of Parliament Hill from Victoria Island
Miss Laura Smith at Parliament
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3334656
1894
Miss Laura Smith and an unidentified female friend in a horse and cart in front of the Parliament Buildings
Decorations on Sparks Street
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3400446
1901
Garlands hang from Sparks Street for the royal visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York
Toboggan Track
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3517938
1900s
A toboggan races down a track at the Ice Palace at Ottawa's Winter Carnival
Pedestrians on Sparks
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3326040
1905
A busy afternoon on Metcalfe and Sparks Street
Unveiling of the Sir Galahad Monument
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Library & Archives Canada C-003184
1905
Unveiling of the Sir Galahad monument erected to the memory of Henry A. Harper. Hon. W.L. Mackenzie King is second from left
Decorations for the Duke of Connaught's Visit
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3194390
1911
Decorations at the Bank Street entrance to Parliament Hill for the Duke of Connaught's visit
A' Coy 38th Batallion Drills
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3522784
1910s
A' Coy 38th Battalion Drilling on the lawn of Parliament Hill
Parliament in Flames
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Ottawa Citizen
1916
A flames blaze through Parliament in a fire that claimed seven lives after breaking out in the House of Commons reading room
Canal Boat on the Rideau Canal
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3326229
1920
A Canal Boat prepares to descend the locks of the Rideau Canal
Beauty Pageant
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3549586
1927
A Beauty Pagent held during the Diamond Jubilee celebratios passes through the East Block to the delight of spectators
Construction of the National War Memorial
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Library & Archives Canada No. 5065131
1938
E.G.M. Cape & Co. workers laying granite bricks at the construction site of the National War Memorial
Royal Arrival
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3262037
1939
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrive to lay cornerstone for the Supreme Court of Canada during the Royal Tour
Union of Newfoundland
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Library & Archives Canada No. 3520147
1949
Hon. G.F. Bradley during his speech concerning the Union of Newfoundland with Canada on Parliament Hill. Both ceremonies in Newfoundland and Ottawa were broadcasted throughout Canada