Ottawa never had the fame of a tourist Mecca and seemed a boring administrative center. But those who have been there, or just read Ottawa’s description, will probably want to return, or maybe even stay permanently.
Brief historical background
Ottawa's modern territory was once inhabited by wild tribes, which were supplanted by the French in the seventeenth century. It should already be clear what language is in Ottawa. Now most of the population still speaks English, but French remained the main one for quite some time. The first white settlers settled in this place in 1800.
The question of the capital began in the mid-nineteenth century, when Upper Canada (Ontario) merged with Lower (Quebec). Many cities, for example, Toronto, Quebec or Montreal, fought for the right to receive this status. Ottawa became the capital due to its advantageous geographical position on the border of the two main provinces, the availability of rail links and a mixed English- and French-speaking population.
Geographical position
Where is Ottawa located? The city is located in the southeastern part of Ontario, on the border with the province of Quebec. The village is washed by the banks of the Ottawa, Rideau and the canal of the same name. At the confluence of the streams is the city center. On the north bank of the Ottawa River is the city of Gatineau, which, together with the capital of Canada, Ottawa, constitutes the metropolitan area - the National Capital Region.
All of eastern Ontario and Quebec are in the North American time zone. Ottawa’s time is five hours behind Greenwich in winter and four in summer.
Administrative division
The city is administratively divided into 23 constituencies. There is also a division by postal regions or police districts. Until 2001, the territory of the settlement was only a small part of the modern one. As a result of the 2001 reform, ten of the closest municipalities were annexed to the capital.
Currently, the division into historical areas is actively used only in real estate transactions and domestic conversations. Management in Ottawa is centralized, local councils of former municipalities have been liquidated, and all city power is concentrated in the administration.
There are local community centers. These are voluntary organizations that provide interaction between residents of the regions and provide individual social services. These centers are not official representatives of the authorities, any resident of the city can apply to them, and not just those who live in the territory entrusted to a certain center.
Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is part of the National Capital Region. The area covers partly the province of Ontario and partly Quebec. The region is subordinate to the National Metropolitan Commission, which reports to the federal parliament.
Population size
Ottawa is the fourth most populated Canadian city. Only Toronto (the administrative center of the province of Ontario), Montreal (the largest settlement in the province of Quebec) and Calgary (located in the south of the province of Alberta) are ahead of the capital. If we talk only about the province of Ontario, then Ottawa is the second most populated city after Toronto.
After the census of 1891, the population of Ottawa was only 44 thousand people, by 2016 it exceeded 930 thousand. In the latter case, settlements that were included in the borders in 2001 were taken into account. The Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area is even more numerous - 1.3 million people. The population of the Canadian capital and surrounding areas increased uniformly, without sharp jumps or falls.
The average age of the population is 39.2 years (according to the census conducted in 2011). There are more children under fifteen than pensioners: 16.8% and 13.2%, respectively. Ottawa, as many tourists describe, is not the metropolis that Europeans or Americans are used to. The Canadian capital is good for senior citizens and families with children. On weekdays, the city wakes up at 5:30, and falls asleep at 8:30. Time in Ottawa flows slowly.
Education, Employment and Income
The population of Ottawa is almost the most educated in all of Canada. This is favored by the concentration of government offices and industrial enterprises that are actively using high technology. Among residents from 25 to 64 years, almost 40% had a higher education not lower than the first stage (bachelor). For comparison: the same indicator for the entire province of Ontario is only 24%.
Ontario's average household income in 2006 was approximately $ 84.5 thousand. This is a little over four million rubles. In Ontario, the average household income is 69.2 thousand, or 3.3 million rubles.
Most of the Ottawa population works in commerce and other services. Employees of industrial enterprises and agriculture make up less than 10% of the total number of employed residents of the capital. As of the beginning of 2018, the unemployment rate in the metropolitan area was 5.2%. In Canada as a whole, this indicator is 5.9%.
Ethnic composition of the population
About half of the population in the first century and a half of the existence of the settlement were Catholics, represented equally by the French and Irish. These peoples inhabited the Lower City in the historical center and the eastern outskirts of Ottawa. The other half was represented by Protestants of English descent. They chose the Upper Town in the center, the southern and western outskirts for the settlement.
By the mid-nineteenth century, Ottawa had become the site of linguistic friction between the French and English-speaking population of Canada. There were also small German, Jewish, Italian communities, which were formed mainly at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Between the two world wars, Lowertown (the Lower City, previously inhabited by the French and Irish) was considered a "Jewish" area.
After the end of the Second World War, Arabs appeared in the Ottawa population - mainly immigrants from Lebanon, and later communities of natives of East Africa. The most famous immigrant neighborhoods are Little Italy, Gladstone Avenue and St. Anthony's Church District, Chinatown along Somerset Street to the west. Currently, these areas are visited by tourists for their cultural identity.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, settlers from Poland, Ukraine and Ireland arrived in Little Italy, and now in the district school classes are held on Saturdays in Vietnamese and North Chinese. Italian restaurants on Preston Street are quietly adjacent to Korean, Turkish or Indian. The closer to Chinatown, the more Vietnamese, Filipino, Thai and Lebanese restaurants and shops are added to them.
From the beginning of the twenty-first century, the population of Ottawa, represented by ethnic minorities, has been growing rapidly. Now it is mainly African-Americans and immigrants from Asia. If we talk about the language, then 65% of the inhabitants consider English to be their mother tongue, French - 15%, other languages - 18%.
Religious composition
The Canadian capital is a predominantly Christian city, the center of the Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa. Most believers profess Catholicism, but a significant part of the population represents other religions. The last time a question about religious affiliation was included in a census questionnaire in Canada, 14% of the population were representatives of faiths other than Protestantism and Catholicism. Among others, Islam (over 6% of the population) and Orthodoxy (approximately 2.5%) were popular.
Famous Natives and Residents
On the local official website of the Department of Tourism is a list of five residents of the city, "whose talents are known to millions." This list includes Jeremy Gara, the drummer for Arcade Fire, who received a Grammy for the best album in 2011, Alanis Morissette, rock singer and actress, Matthew Perry, an actor who grew up in Ottawa, Brendan Fraser, an actor who played “Mummies” and “Cobra's Throw”, spent most of his childhood in Ottawa, Margaret Atwood - writer, winner of the Booker Prize for the novel “The Blind Killer”.
