Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, is a vibrant blend of history, culture, and modernity. Nestled in the southern portion of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River, Ottawa is a city rich in heritage and diversity. As of 2021, Ottawa had a city population of 1,017,449 and a metropolitan population of 1,488,307, making it the fourth-largest city and fourth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.
Ottawa's history is deeply intertwined with the history of Canada itself. The city was founded in 1826 as Bytown and was incorporated as Ottawa in 1855. The city's original boundaries were expanded through numerous annexations and were ultimately replaced by a new city incorporation and amalgamation in 2001. The municipal government of Ottawa is established and governed by the City of Ottawa Act of the Government of Ontario.
The city's name, Ottawa, was chosen in 1855 as a reference to the Ottawa River, derived from the Algonquin adawe, meaning 'to trade.' The Algonquin Anishinaabe previously occupied a large tract of land on which Ottawa was settled.
Ottawa is situated on the traditional land of the Algonquins, a broad Indigenous people who are closely related to the Odawa and Ojibwe peoples. The Ottawa Valley became habitable around 10,000 years ago, following the natural draining of the Champlain Sea. Archaeological findings suggest that these Algonquin people were engaged in foraging, hunting, and fishing, but also trade and travel.
In 1610, Étienne Brûlé became the first documented European to navigate the Ottawa River. The first non-Indigenous settlement in the area was created by Philemon Wright, a New Englander, who founded a lumber town in the area on 7 March 1800. In 1826, news of the British military's impending construction of the Rideau Canal led
