Canada turns 150, has its capital finally come of age

Ottawa is not a grand capital city. It lacks the stunning boulevards of Paris, or economic oomph of London. But it is a fitting capital for Canada all the same – or, at least, for the vision of the country many Canadians like to project: humble, unassuming, getting the job done in the shadow of more grandiose neighbours (in Ottawa’s case, Montreal and Toronto).

The city’s Parliament Hill overlooks the Ottawa river valley which divides Ontario and Quebec, and where the lines between the nation’s two solitudes most obviously and frequently blur as a reminder of
Canada’s unity.

And national unity is at the heart of the city’s biggest annual party on 1 July, Canada Day, marking the 1867 confederationof four colonies into a dominion.

A sea of red and white

Ottawa’s streets are packed each year with a sea of Canadian colours. This year would be no different except for one thing: it’s 2017, the nation’s 150th birthday.

The capital will likely see more than the average 350,000 people take in the Canada Day festivities. There’ll be fireworks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be there, and artists from Gordon Lightfoot to Alessia Cara are set to perform on the massive stage set up on the expansive parliamentary front lawn.

145,000 – federal government employees in the National Capital Region (Ottawa-Gatineau), making up 16% of Ottawa’s total population

1 – Ottawa’s ranking in MoneySense magazine’s 2016 best places to live in Ontario

98 metres – height of the Peace Tower, the clock tower that sits above the main entrance to Centre Block on Parliament Hill

7.8 km – length of the portion of the Rideau Canal that is turned into the world’s longest skating rink every winter

1855 – the year Ottawa was incorporated as a city. Prior to this, it was known as Bytown

In pictures …

History in 100 words

Ottawa is named after the Odawa First Nation, and sits on traditional Algonquin territory. French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1613, turning Ottawa into a fur-trading and timber outpost. Ottawa became capital of the province of Canada in 1857 (pre-confederation), 16 years after Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec) had been united as one province. It was a contentious move: Queen Victoria was asked multiple times to settle an ongoing dispute over the capital’s location, eventually deciding on Ottawa because of its safe distance from the American border, and its position between the two halves of the province. But most politicians of the day rejected her decision: it took nine years for a parliament to finally be convened here.

Since then, Ottawa-Gatineau has grown into Canada’s fifth-largest metropolitan area, with around 1.3 million residents. While it remains mostly known for being the nation’s centre of government, it has recently become a tech hub, home to 70,000 tech-related jobs and the e-commerce platform Shopify.

Ottawa in sound and vision

Ottawa-based A Tribe Called Red is an electronic dance trio of DJ NDN, Bear Witness and 2oolman, founded in 2008. The group describes itself as “a modern gateway into urban and contemporary indigenous culture and experience, celebrating all its layers and complexity”. As Canada grapples with its dark history of abuse in residential schools and the countless missing and murdered indigenous women, there is no better time to listen to ATCR’s politically charged beats.