Editing Ottawa (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Ottawa}}

{{For timeline|Timeline of Ottawa history}}

=== Early history ===
[[File:Champlain Sea 1.png|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Champlain Sea]]]]

The [[Ottawa Valley]] became habitable around 10,000 years ago, following the natural draining of the [[Champlain Sea]].<ref name="Miller2015">{{cite book |author=William J. Miller |title=Geology: The Science of the Earth's Crust (Illustrations) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XwWYBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT37 |year=2015 |publisher=P. F. Collier & Son Company |page=37 |id=GGKEY:Y3TD08H3RAT |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510005752/https://books.google.com/books?id=XwWYBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT37 |archive-date=10 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 April 2013 |title=The Champlain Sea: here yesterday, gone tomorrow |url=https://uwaterloo.ca/wat-on-earth/news/champlain-sea-here-yesterday-gone-tomorrow |access-date=13 July 2022 |website=Wat on Earth |language=en |archive-date=14 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714034215/https://uwaterloo.ca/wat-on-earth/news/champlain-sea-here-yesterday-gone-tomorrow |url-status=live}}</ref> Archaeological findings of arrowheads, tools and pottery indicate that Indigenous populations first settled in the area about 6,500 years ago.<ref name="Pilon">{{cite web |last1=Pilon |first1=Jean-Luc |title=Ancient History of the Lower Ottawa River Valley |url=http://www.ottawariver.org/pdf/04-ch2-2.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112029/http://www.ottawariver.org/pdf/04-ch2-2.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=9 November 2015 |website=Ottawa River Heritage Designation Committee |publisher=Ontario Archaeology – Canadian Museum of Civilization}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rideau Canal Attracts Settlers |url=https://elocalpost.com/ottawa/contents/rideau-canal-attracts-settlers-history |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714034214/https://elocalpost.com/ottawa/contents/rideau-canal-attracts-settlers-history |archive-date=14 July 2022 |access-date=2 May 2021 |website=eLocal Post Ottawa |date=13 October 2016 |author1=Carlo}}</ref> These findings suggest that these [[Algonquin people]] were engaged in foraging, hunting and fishing, but also trade and travel. Three major rivers meet within Ottawa, making it an important trade and travel area for thousands of years.<ref name="Pilon" /> The Algonquins are a broad Indigenous people who are closely related to the [[Odawa]] and [[Ojibwe]] peoples.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Ottawa |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ottawa-ont |date=11 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714034213/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ottawa-ont |archive-date=14 July 2022 |author=John Taylor |access-date=26 August 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Algonquin |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/algonquin |date=9 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817064719/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/algonquin |archive-date=17 August 2021 |author=Meredith Jean Black |access-date=26 August 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> This period ended with the arrival of settlers and [[European colonization of the Americas|colonization]] of North America by Europeans during and after the 15th century.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 April 2018 |title=Warfare In Pre-Columbian North America |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/popular-books/aboriginal-people-canadian-military/warfare-pre-columbian-north-america.html |access-date=13 July 2022 |website=National Defence - Government of Canada |archive-date=24 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324062210/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/popular-books/aboriginal-people-canadian-military/warfare-pre-columbian-north-america.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===European exploration and early development===

In 1610, [[Étienne Brûlé]] became the first documented European to navigate the [[Ottawa River]], passing what would become Ottawa on his way to the [[Great Lakes]].{{sfn|Woods|1980|p=5}} Three years later, [[Samuel de Champlain]] wrote about the waterfalls in the area and about his encounters with the Algonquin people.{{sfn|Woods|1980|p=7}}

The first non-Indigenous settlement in the area was created by [[Philemon Wright]], a [[New England]]er. Wright founded a lumber town in the area on 7 March 1800 on the north side of the river, across from the present-day city of Ottawa in [[Hull, Quebec|Hull]].{{sfn|Van de Wetering|1997|p=123}}{{sfn|Lee|2006|p=16}} He, with five other families and twenty-five [[Laborer|labourers]], also created an agricultural community, which was named [[Wright's Town, Lower Canada|Wright's Town]].{{sfn|Taylor|1986|p=11}}{{sfn|Lee|2006|p=20}} Wright pioneered the [[Ottawa River timber trade|Ottawa Valley timber trade]] (soon to be the area's most significant economic activity) by transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to [[Quebec City]].{{sfn|Van de Wetering|1997|p=11}}

In 1826, news of the British military's impending construction of the Rideau Canal led to land speculators founding a community on the south side of the Ottawa River.{{sfn|Woods|1980|p=60}} The following year, the town was named after British military engineer Colonel [[John By]] who was responsible for the entire Rideau Waterway construction project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bytown |url=https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/about-hso/our-history/tag/Bytown |access-date=10 July 2022 |website=The Historical Society of Ottawa |language=en-gb |archive-date=14 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714034225/https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/about-hso/our-history/tag/Bytown |url-status=live}}</ref> The Rideau canal provided a secure route between [[Montreal]] and [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]] on Lake Ontario. It bypassed a vulnerable stretch of the St. Lawrence River bordering the state of New York that had left re-supply ships bound for southwestern Ontario easily exposed to enemy fire during the [[War of 1812]].{{sfn|Legget|1986|pp=22–24}}

[[File:First camp by By.jpg|thumb|right|Camp used by soldiers and labourers of the [[Rideau Canal]], on the south side of the [[Ottawa River]] in 1826. The building of the canal attracted many land speculators to the area.]]

Colonel By set up military barracks on the site of today's [[Parliament Hill]]. He also laid out the streets of the town and created two distinct neighbourhoods named "Upper Town" west of the canal and "[[Lower Town]]" east of the canal. Similar to its [[Upper Canada]] and [[Lower Canada]] namesakes, historically, "Upper Town" was predominantly English-speaking and Protestant, whereas "Lower Town" was mostly French, Irish and Catholic.{{sfn|Taylor|1986|p=31}}

Bytown's population grew to 1,000 as the Rideau Canal was completed in 1832.<ref name="BytownMuseum">{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Timeline – Know your Ottawa! |url=http://www.bytownmuseum.com/EN/timeline.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118191714/http://www.bytownmuseum.com/EN/timeline.html |archive-date=18 January 2013 |access-date=2 July 2011 |publisher=Bytown Museum}}</ref>{{sfn|Mika|Mika|1982|p=114}} Bytown's early pioneer period saw Irish labour unrest during the [[Shiners' War]] from 1835 to 1845<ref name="whc-cpo">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Shiners' Wars |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/shiners-wars |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215065855/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/shiners-wars |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> and political dissension that was evident in the 1849 [[Stony Monday Riot]].{{sfn|Martin|1997|p=22}} In 1855, Bytown was renamed ''Ottawa'' and incorporated as a city.<ref name=":5" /> [[William Pittman Lett]] was installed as the first city clerk, serving from 1844 to 1891, guiding Ottawa through 36 years of development, leading the hiring of key municipal roles, founding civic organizations, and proposing a set of by-laws for the city.<ref name="Cook2015">{{cite book |author=Bryan D. Cook |title=Introducing William Pittman Lett: Ottawa's first city clerk and bard (1819–1892) |publisher=B.D.C. Ottawa Consulting |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-771363-42-6 |page=412}}</ref><ref>Ottawa City Council, 31 May 1875, ''Motion Concerning Compensation to Mrs Sowdon'', moved by Aldermen Rocque ans Pratte.</ref><ref>Lett, W. P. ''Proposal to the City Constitution Committee 10 August 1877'', City of Ottawa Archives /MG 037-8-1 p. 77.</ref>

=== Selection as capital ===
The selection of Ottawa as the capital of Canada predates the Confederation of Canada. The choice was contentious and not straightforward, with the parliament of the [[Province of Canada|United Province of Canada]] holding more than 200 votes over several decades to attempt to settle on a legislative solution to the location of the capital.<ref name=":6" />

The governor-general of the province had designated [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]] as the capital in 1841. However, the major population centres of [[Toronto]] and [[Montreal]], as well as the former capital of Lower Canada, [[Quebec City]], all had legislators dissatisfied with Kingston. Anglophone merchants in Quebec were the leading group supportive of the Kingston arrangement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knight |first=David B |title=Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system |publisher=Carleton university Press |year=1991 |pages=47–50}}</ref> In 1842, a vote rejected Kingston as the capital,<ref>Gordon, D.L.A., & Osborne, B. (2004). Constructing national identity in Canada's capital, 1900–2000: Confederation Square and the National War Memorial. ''Journal of Historical Geography 30, (4)'':618-642</ref> and study of potential candidates included the then-named Bytown, but that option proved less popular than Toronto or Montreal.<ref>Knight, David B (1991). ''Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system''. Carleton university Press. pp.&nbsp;71.</ref> In 1843, a report of the Executive Council recommended Montreal as the capital as a more fortifiable location and commercial centre; however, the governor-general refused to execute a move without a parliamentary vote.<ref>Knight, David B (1991). ''Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system''. Carleton university Press. pp. 74–86</ref> In 1844, the [[Queen Victoria|Queen]]'s acceptance of a parliamentary vote moved the capital to Montreal.<ref>Knight, David B (1991). ''Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system''. Carleton university Press. pp.&nbsp;88.</ref>

In 1849, after [[Burning of the Parliament Buildings in Montreal|violence in Montreal]], a series of votes was held, with Kingston and Bytown again considered potential capitals. However, the successful proposal was for two cities to share capital status and the legislature to alternate sitting in each: Quebec City and Toronto, in a policy known as perambulation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 November 2017 |title=Toronto's Bid to Be the Capital of Canada |url=https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/online-exhibits/web-exhibits/web-exhibits-significant-events/the-earliest-known-photographs-of-toronto/torontos-bid-to-be-the-capital-of-canada/ |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=City of Toronto |language=en-CA |archive-date=4 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804190343/https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/online-exhibits/web-exhibits/web-exhibits-significant-events/the-earliest-known-photographs-of-toronto/torontos-bid-to-be-the-capital-of-canada/ |url-status=live |last1=Toronto |first1=City of }}</ref><ref>Knight, David B (1991). ''Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system''. Carleton university Press. pp. 208</ref> Logistical difficulties made this an unpopular arrangement,<ref>Knight, David B (1991). ''Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system''. Carleton university Press. pp. 129</ref> and although an 1856 vote passed for the lower house of parliament to relocate permanently to Quebec City, the upper house refused to approve funding.<ref>Knight, David B (1991). ''Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system''. Carleton university Press. pp. 156–164</ref>

The funding impasse led to the ending of the legislature's role in determining the seat of government. The legislature requested the Queen determine the seat of government. The Queen then acted on the advice of her governor general [[Edmund Walker Head|Edmund Head]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Head, Sir Edmund National Historic Person |url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=1254 |access-date=14 July 2022 |website=www.pc.gc.ca |language=en |archive-date=14 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714034214/https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=1254 |url-status=live}}</ref> who, after reviewing proposals from various cities, selected the recently renamed Ottawa. The Queen sent a letter to colonial authorities selecting Ottawa as the capital, effective 31 December 1857. [[George Brown (Canadian politician)|George Brown]], briefly a co-premier of the Province of Canada, attempted to reverse this decision but was unsuccessful. The Parliament ratified the Queen's choice in 1859, with Quebec serving as interim capital from 1859 to 1865.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Powell |first=James |title=Queen Victoria Chooses Ottawa |url=https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/momentous-events-in-the-city-s-life/queen-victoria-chooses-ottawa |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122175907/https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/momentous-events-in-the-city-s-life/queen-victoria-chooses-ottawa |archive-date=22 November 2021 |access-date=14 July 2022 |website=The Historical Society of Ottawa |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>Knight, David B (1991). ''Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system''. Carleton university Press. pp. 1</ref> The relocation process began in 1865, with the first session of Parliament held in the new buildings in 1866. The buildings were generally well received by legislators.<ref>Knight, David B (1991). ''Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system''. Carleton university Press. pp. 1, 334–335</ref>

[[File:View of Parliament Hill and Chaudière Falls. "City of Ottawa, Canada West", ca. 1859, by Stent and Laver..jpg|thumb|Ottawa in 1859, before construction on [[Parliament Hill]]. Two years prior, [[Queen Victoria]] selected the city as the permanent capital of the [[Province of Canada]].]]

Ottawa was chosen as the capital for two primary reasons.<ref name=reasons>{{cite web |title=A Capital in the Making |url=http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16297-24515-24516-25146&lang=1 |publisher=[[National Capital Commission]] |access-date=24 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108134234/http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16297-24515-24516-25146&lang=1 |archive-date=8 January 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> First, Ottawa's isolated location, surrounded by dense forest far from the Canada–US border and situated on a cliff face, would make it more defensible from attack.<ref name="McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP">{{cite book |last1=Northey |last2=Knight |title=Choosing Canada's Capital: Conflict Resolution in a Parliamentary System |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zPY3hRG0a-EC&pg=PA236 |edition=Revised |series=Issue 168 of Carleton Library Series, ISSN 0576-7784 |year=1991 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP |isbn=978-0-88629-148-8 |page=236 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502153916/https://books.google.com/books?id=zPY3hRG0a-EC&pg=PA236 |archive-date=2 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Cohen2003">{{cite book |author=Saul Bernard Cohen |title=Geopolitics of the world system |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QkMD8HKRlgoC&pg=PA122 |year=2003 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8476-9907-0 |page=122 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424133740/https://books.google.com/books?id=QkMD8HKRlgoC&pg=PA122 |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Second, Ottawa was on the border between [[Canada West]] and [[Canada East]], making the selection an important political compromise.<ref name=":12">{{cite web |title=Why Was Ottawa Chosen as the Federal Capital City? |url=http://www.ottawagraphy.ca/answers/why-was-ottawa-chosen-federal-capital-city |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202235657/http://www.ottawagraphy.ca/answers/why-was-ottawa-chosen-federal-capital-city |archive-date=2 February 2011 |access-date=25 November 2014}}</ref><ref>Knight, David B. (1991). ''Choosing Canada's capital: conflict resolution in a parliamentary system''. Carleton University Press. pp. 1, 243</ref>

Other minor considerations included that despite Ottawa's regional isolation, there was water transportation access from spring to fall, both to Montreal via the Ottawa River, and to Kingston via the [[Rideau Waterway]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rideau Canal |url=https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/important-public-and-private-buildings-in-the-city/tag/Rideau%20Canal |access-date=14 July 2022 |publisher=The Historical Society of Ottawa |language=en-gb |archive-date=14 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714034214/https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/important-public-and-private-buildings-in-the-city/tag/Rideau%20Canal |url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, by 1854 it also had a modern all-season railway (the [[Bytown and Prescott Railway]]) that carried passengers, lumber and supplies the 82 kilometres (50 miles) to [[Prescott, Ontario|Prescott]] on the [[Saint Lawrence River]] and beyond.{{Sfn|Taylor|1986|p=11}}<ref name="McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP" /> Ottawa's small size was also thought to be less prone to politically motivated mob violence, as had happened in the [[burning of the Parliament Buildings in Montreal|previous Canadian capitals]].<ref name="Bourrie1996">{{cite book |author=Mark Bourrie |title=Canada's Parliament Buildings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xUInFSPPc5kC&pg=PA19 |year=1996 |publisher=Dundurn Press Ltd. |isbn=978-0-88882-190-4 |page=19 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522101226/https://books.google.com/books?id=xUInFSPPc5kC&pg=PA19 |archive-date=22 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Finally, the government already owned the land that eventually became [[Parliament Hill]], which it thought would be an ideal location for the Parliament buildings.<ref name=":12" />

The original Parliament buildings, which included the Centre, East and West Blocks, were constructed between 1859 and 1866 in the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival style]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Parliament Buildings |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/Publications/ParliamentBuildings/ParlBlgs-e.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113114107/http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/Publications/ParliamentBuildings/parlblgs-e.asp |archive-date=13 November 2015 |access-date=3 December 2018 |work=parl.gc.ca}}</ref> At the time, this was the largest North American construction project ever attempted and [[Public Works Canada]] and its architects were not initially well prepared for the relatively shallow-lying bedrock and had to redesign architectural drawings, leading to delays. The [[Library of Parliament]] and Parliament Hill landscaping were completed in 1876.<ref>{{cite web |title=Construction, 1859–1916 |url=http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/collineduparlement-parliamenthill/batir-building/hist/1859-1916-eng.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228212113/http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/collineduparlement-parliamenthill/batir-building/hist/1859-1916-eng.html |archive-date=28 December 2014}}</ref>

===Post-Confederation===

[[File:Lebreton Flats after 1900 fire.jpg|thumb|[[LeBreton Flats]] after the [[1900 Hull–Ottawa fire]]. The fire destroyed one-fifth of Ottawa and two-thirds of neighbouring [[Hull, Quebec|Hull]], [[Quebec]].]]

Starting in the 1850s, entrepreneurs known as lumber barons began to build large sawmills, which became some of the largest mills in the world.{{sfn|Woods|1980|p=107}} [[Bytown and Prescott Railway|Rail lines]] built in 1854 connected Ottawa to areas south and, from 1886 to the transcontinental rail network via Hull and [[Lachute]], Quebec.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ottawa History – 1886–1890 |url=http://www.bytownmuseum.com/EN/fifteen-3.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130102042325/http://www.bytownmuseum.com/EN/fifteen-3.html |archive-date=2 January 2013 |access-date=10 August 2011 |publisher=Bytown Museum}}</ref> By 1885 Ottawa was the only city in Canada whose downtown street-lights were powered entirely by electricity.<ref>''Ottawa, An Illustrated History'', John H. Taylor .Page 102. Jame Lorimer and Company Publishing.</ref> In 1889, the Government developed and distributed 60 "water leases" (still in use) to mainly local industrialists which gave them permission to generate electricity and operate hydroelectric generators at [[Chaudière Falls]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Chaudière Falls |url=http://energyottawa.com/generation/chaudiere-falls/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228212928/http://energyottawa.com/generation/chaudiere-falls/ |archive-date=28 December 2014 |access-date=28 December 2014}}</ref> Public transportation began in 1870 with a [[horsecar]] system,{{sfn|Van de Wetering|1997|p=28}} overtaken in the 1890s by a vast [[Ottawa Electric Railway|electric streetcar system]] that operated until 1959.<ref>{{Cite web |last=CBC News Ottawa |title=Ottawa's original LRT: 68 years of streetcars in the capital |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-streetcar-archives-photos-lrt-1.5372302 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714034218/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-streetcar-archives-photos-lrt-1.5372302 |archive-date=14 July 2022 |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref>

The [[1900 Hull–Ottawa fire|Hull–Ottawa fire of 1900]] destroyed two-thirds of Hull, including 40 percent of its residential buildings and most of the buildings of its largest employers along the waterfront.<ref>{{cite web |title=Report of the Ottawa and Hull Fire Relief Fund, 1900, Ottawa |publisher=The Rolla L. Crain Co (Archive CD Books Canada) |url=http://www.archivecdbooks.ca/Samples/CA0188_Samp.pdf |pages=5–12 |date=31 December 1900 |access-date=7 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706164645/http://www.archivecdbooks.ca/Samples/CA0188_Samp.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011}}</ref> It began as a chimney fire in Hull on the north side of the river, but due to wind, spread rapidly throughout the widespread wooden buildings. In Ottawa, it destroyed about one-fifth of the buildings from the Lebreton Flats south to Booth Street and down to [[Dow's Lake]].{{sfn|Van de Wetering|1997|p=57}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ottawa and Hull Fire Relief Fund |url=http://archive.org/details/cihm_11661 |title=Report of the Ottawa and Hull Fire Relief Fund, 1900 [microform] |date=1900 |publisher=[Ottawa? : s.n.] |others=Canadiana.org |isbn=978-0-665-11661-2}}</ref> The fire had a disproportionate effect on west-end lower-income neighbourhoods. It had also spread among many lumber yards, a major part of Ottawa's economy. The fire destroyed approximately 3200 buildings and caused an estimated $300 million in damage (in 2020 Canadian dollars).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remember This? Hull and Ottawa in flames |url=https://ottawa.citynews.ca/remember-this/remember-this-hull-and-ottawa-in-flames-2267155 |access-date=14 July 2022 |website=CityNews Ottawa |date=20 April 2020 |language=en |archive-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518022810/https://ottawa.citynews.ca/remember-this/remember-this-hull-and-ottawa-in-flames-2267155 |url-status=live}}</ref> An estimated 14% of Ottawans were left homeless.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Globerman |first=Danny |date=14 May 2017 |title=Ottawa's past in pictures: Disasters that shook the city |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-s-past-in-pictures-disasters-that-shook-the-city-1.4099327 |access-date=14 July 2022 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118223928/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-s-past-in-pictures-disasters-that-shook-the-city-1.4099327 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Ottawa Old Post Office Confederation Square.jpg|alt=A sepia photograph from the fourth floor of a building, overlooking a triangular public plaza, many old cars with canvas tops are parked in the square. Neo-gothic buildings make up two borders of the square, and a set of tram tracks comprise the third|thumb|Ottawa Post Office, located in Confederation Square, pictured in the early 20th century]]
On 1 June 1912, the [[Grand Trunk Railway]] opened both the [[Château Laurier]] hotel and its neighbouring downtown [[Union Station (Ottawa)|Union Station]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/Ottawa+train+station+year+timeline/6690930/story.html |title=Ottawa's old train station: a 100-year timeline |work=Ottawa Citizen |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806194422/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Ottawa+train+station+year+timeline/6690930/story.html |archive-date=6 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Van de Wetering|1997|p=41}} On 3 February 1916, the [[Centre Block]] of the Parliament buildings was [[Parliament Hill#Fire, incidents and renovations|destroyed by a fire]].{{sfn|Hale|2011|p=108}} The House of Commons and Senate was temporarily relocated to the recently constructed Victoria Memorial Museum, now the [[Canadian Museum of Nature]]<ref name="Mullington2005">{{cite book |author=Dave Mullington |title=Chain of office: biographical sketches of the early mayors of Ottawa (1847–1948) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SKxwbOUKZYEC&pg=PA120 |year=2005 |publisher=General Store Publishing House |isbn=978-1-897113-17-2 |page=120 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428124057/https://books.google.com/books?id=SKxwbOUKZYEC&pg=PA120 |archive-date=28 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> until the completion of the new Centre Block in 1922. The centrepiece of the new [[Parliament Hill|Parliament Buildings]] is a dominant Gothic Revival-styled structure known as the [[Peace Tower]].<ref name="(Canada)2004">{{cite book |author=Reader's Digest Association (Canada) |title=The Canadian atlas: our nation, environment and people |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vDR7hrnO1aYC&pg=PP40 |year=2004 |publisher=Reader's Digest Association (Canada) |isbn=978-1-55365-082-9 |page=40 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629143040/https://books.google.com/books?id=vDR7hrnO1aYC&pg=PP40 |archive-date=29 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The location of what is now [[Confederation Square]] was a former commercial district centrally located in a triangular area downtown surrounded by historically significant heritage buildings, including the Parliament buildings. It was redeveloped as a ceremonial centre in 1938 as part of the [[City Beautiful Movement]]. It became the site of the [[National War Memorial (Canada)|National War Memorial]] in 1939 and was designated a [[National Historic Sites of Canada|National Historic Site]] in 1984.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=12073 |title=Confederation Square National Historic Site of Canada |publisher=HistoricPlaces.ca |access-date=16 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316080543/http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=12073 |archive-date=16 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> A new [[Central Post Office (Ottawa)|Central Post Office]] (now the [[Privy Council of Canada]]) was constructed in 1939 beside the War Memorial because the original post office building on the proposed Confederation Square grounds had to be demolished.<ref>{{Cite web |work=The Montreal Gazette |title=Old Ottawa Post Office Building Razed After Service of 62 Years |date=24 June 1938 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19380624&id=0b00AAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZKgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5524,3172428 |access-date=10 July 2022 |via=Google News Archive Search |archive-date=10 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710161519/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19380624&id=0b00AAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZKgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5524,3172428 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Post–Second World War===
[[File:VEDaySparksStreet1945.jpg|V-Day, downtown Ottawa in 1945, to mark the end of [[World War II]]|thumb]]
[[File:Ottawagreenbelt.PNG|Greber plan's [[Greenbelt (Ottawa)|National Capital Greenbelt]] surrounding the urban core|thumb]]
[[File:John G. Diefenbaker Building 2014 p3.jpg|thumb|The [[John G. Diefenbaker Building]] was Ottawa's fourth city hall, from 1958 [[Ottawa City Hall|until 2001.]]]]

Ottawa's former industrial appearance was vastly altered by the 1950 [[Greber Plan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Powell |first=James |title=Ottawa the Beautiful: The Gréber Report |url=https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/changes-in-the-city-s-landscape/ottawa-the-beautiful-the-greber-report |access-date=14 July 2022 |website=The Historical Society of Ottawa |language=en-gb |archive-date=2 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202082900/https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/changes-in-the-city-s-landscape/ottawa-the-beautiful-the-greber-report |url-status=live}}</ref> Prime Minister [[Mackenzie King]] hired French architect-planner [[Jacques Greber]] to design an urban plan for managing development in the National Capital Region, to make it more aesthetically pleasing and a location more befitting for Canada's political centre.<ref name="The Gréber Report">{{cite web |title=The Gréber Report |url=http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-culture-and-community/museums-and-heritage/witness-change-visions-andrews-newton-7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006075840/http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-culture-and-community/museums-and-heritage/witness-change-visions-andrews-newton-7 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |work=ottawa.ca}}</ref><ref name="Planners">{{cite web |title=Planners Over Time |url=http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16300-20443-29365-23553&lang=1&bhcp=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114124357/http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16300-20443-29365-23553&lang=1&bhcp=1 |archive-date=14 November 2011 |access-date=1 November 2009 |publisher=[[National Capital Commission]]}}</ref> Greber's plan included the creation of the [[Greenbelt (Ottawa)|National Capital Greenbelt]], the [[Kichi Zibi Mikan]] and the [[Queensway (Ottawa)|Queensway]] highway system. His plan also called for changes in institutions such as moving downtown Union Station (now the [[Senate of Canada Building]]) to the suburbs, the removal of the street car system, the decentralization of selected government offices, the relocation of industries and removal of substandard housing from the downtown. The plan also recommended the creation of the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River pathways.<ref name="The Gréber Report" /><ref name="Erickson2006">{{cite book |author=Donna L. Erickson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LR5iIX__3OoC&pg=PA113 |title=MetroGreen: connecting open space in North American cities |publisher=Island Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-55963-843-2 |page=113 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512190337/https://books.google.com/books?id=LR5iIX__3OoC&pg=PA113 |archive-date=12 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Keshen|St-Onge|2001|p=360}}

In 1958, the [[National Capital Commission]] was established as a [[Crown Corporation]] through the National Capital Act. The commission's original mission was to implement the Greber Plan recommendations conducted during the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/about-us |access-date=10 July 2022 |website=NCC-CCN |language=en |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303190927/https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/about-us |url-status=live}}</ref> This marked the creation of a permanent political infrastructure for managing the [[capital region]]. Prior attempts to do so in the previous 50 years had been temporary. These included plans from the 1899 Ottawa Improvement Commission (OIC), the Todd Plan in 1903, the Holt Report in 1915 and the Federal District Commission (FDC) established in 1927 with a 16-year mandate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ncc-ccn.gc.ca/about-ncc |title=About the NCC |access-date=20 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128030922/http://www.ncc-ccn.gc.ca/about-ncc |archive-date=28 January 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1054 THE ANNUAL REGISTER, 1927 Federal District Commission.—The Federal District Commission, replacing the Ottawa Improvement |url=http://www66.statcan.gc.ca/eng/1927-28/192710961054_p.%25201054.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221214912/https://www66.statcan.gc.ca/eng/1927-28/192710961054_p.%201054.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 December 2018 |access-date=13 August 2022 |website=www66.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>

From 1931 to 1958, City Hall had been at the [[Transportation Building (Ottawa)|Transportation Building]] adjacent to Union Station (now part of the [[CF Rideau Centre|Rideau Centre]]). In 1958, a new [[Old City Hall (Ottawa)|City Hall]] opened on Green Island near Rideau Falls, where urban renewal had recently transformed this industrial location into a green space.{{sfn|Taylor|1986|pp=186–194}} In 2001, [[Ottawa City Hall]] returned downtown to a 1990 building on 110 Laurier Avenue West, the home of the now-defunct [[Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton]]. This new location was close to Ottawa's [[First City Hall (Ottawa)|first (1849–1877)]] and [[Second City Hall (Ottawa)|second (1877–1931)]] City Halls.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Islands of Ottawa: Green Island a historical microcosm of the city |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/islands-of-ottawa-green-island-a-historical-microcosm-of-the-city |access-date=14 July 2022 |website=ottawacitizen |language=en-CA |archive-date=26 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026060247/https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/islands-of-ottawa-green-island-a-historical-microcosm-of-the-city |url-status=live}}</ref> This new city hall complex also contained an adjacent 19th-century restored heritage building formerly known as the [[Ottawa Normal School]].{{sfn|Taylor|1986|pp=186–194}}

From the 1960s to the 1980s, there was a large increase in construction in the National Capital Region,{{sfn|Hale|2011|p=217}} which was followed by large growth in the [[high-tech]] industry during the 1990s and 2000s.<ref name="Shavinina2004">{{cite book |author=Larisa V. Shavinina |title=Silicon Valley North: A High-tech Cluster of Innovation And Entrepreneurship |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cSjv-acTkoUC&pg=PR15 |year=2004 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-08-044457-4 |page=15 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504120907/https://books.google.com/books?id=cSjv-acTkoUC&pg=PR15 |archive-date=4 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Ottawa became one of Canada's largest high-tech cities and was nicknamed Silicon Valley North. By the 1980s, Bell Northern Research (later [[Nortel]]) employed thousands, and large federally assisted research facilities such as the [[National Research Council (Canada)|National Research Council]] contributed to an eventual technology boom. The early companies led to newer firms such as [[Newbridge Networks]], [[Mitel]] and [[Corel]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=National Research Council |date=19 March 2019 |title=NRC's innovative people profiles |url=https://nrc.canada.ca/en/corporate/history/nrcs-innovative-people-profiles |access-date=10 July 2022 |website=nrc.canada.ca |archive-date=1 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201030121/https://nrc.canada.ca/en/corporate/history/nrcs-innovative-people-profiles |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=CBC News Ottawa |date=29 June 2009 |title=Is Ottawa still Silicon Valley North? |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/is-ottawa-still-silicon-valley-north-1.801035 |access-date=13 August 2022 |archive-date=13 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813201230/https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/is-ottawa-still-silicon-valley-north-1.801035 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1991, provincial and federal governments responded to a [[land claim]] submitted by the Algonquins of Ontario regarding the unceded status of the land on which Ottawa is situated.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Algonquin land claim |url=http://www.ontario.ca/page/algonquin-land-claim |access-date=13 July 2022 |website=ontario.ca |language=en |archive-date=26 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326095148/https://www.ontario.ca/page/algonquin-land-claim |url-status=live}}</ref> Negotiations have been ongoing, with an eventual goal to sign a treaty that would release Canada from claims for misuse of land under Algonquin [[Aboriginal title|title]], affirm rights of the Algonquins, and negotiate conditions of the title transfer.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Algonquins of Ontario |last2=Government of Ontario |last3=Government of Canada |title=Agreement in Principle |url=https://docs.ontario.ca/documents/4668/maa-proposed-aip-en.pdf |page=2.3.5 |access-date=13 July 2022 |archive-date=14 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714034324/https://docs.ontario.ca/documents/4668/maa-proposed-aip-en.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

Ottawa's city limits have expanded over time, including a large expansion effective 1 January 2001, when the province of [[Ontario]] amalgamated all the constituent municipalities of the [[Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton]] into a single city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_99c14e_e.htm#BK3 |title=City of Ottawa Act, 1999, Chapter 14, Schedule E |publisher=Service Ontario/Legislative Assembly of Ontario |year=2010 |access-date=29 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808101635/http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_99c14e_e.htm#BK3 |archive-date=8 August 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Regional Chair [[Bob Chiarelli]] was elected as the new city's first mayor in the [[2000 Ottawa municipal election|2000 municipal election]], defeating [[Gloucester, Ontario|Gloucester]] mayor Claudette Cain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Canadian Municipal Elections |url=https://pdba.georgetown.edu/Elecdata/Canada/mun00.html |access-date=10 July 2022 |website=pdba.georgetown.edu |archive-date=20 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620035602/http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Elecdata/Canada/mun00.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The city's growth led to strains on the public transit system and road bridges. On 15 October 2001, a diesel-powered [[light rail transit]] (LRT) line was introduced on an experimental basis. Known today as the [[Trillium Line]], it was dubbed the [[O-Train]] and connected [[downtown Ottawa]] to the southern suburbs via [[Carleton University]]. The decision to extend the O-Train, and to replace it with an electric light rail system, was a major issue in the [[2006 Ottawa municipal election|2006 municipal elections]], where Chiarelli was defeated by businessman [[Larry O'Brien (Canadian politician)|Larry O'Brien]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=CBC News Ottawa |date=13 November 2006 |title=O'Brien runs away with Ottawa mayoral race |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/o-brien-runs-away-with-ottawa-mayoral-race-1.573629 |url-status=live |access-date=10 July 2022 |archive-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310075902/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/o-brien-runs-away-with-ottawa-mayoral-race-1.573629}}</ref> After O'Brien's election, transit plans were changed to establish a series of light rail stations from the east side of the city into downtown, and for using a tunnel through the downtown core.<ref>{{Cite web |last=CBC news Ottawa |date=29 May 2007 |title=Transit task force to propose extensive LRT plan: source |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/transit-task-force-to-propose-extensive-lrt-plan-source-1.664972 |url-status=live |access-date=10 July 2022 |archive-date=10 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710161525/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/transit-task-force-to-propose-extensive-lrt-plan-source-1.664972}}</ref> [[Jim Watson (Canadian politician)|Jim Watson]], the last mayor of Ottawa before amalgamation, was re-elected in the [[2010 Ottawa municipal election|2010 election]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/watson-wins-ottawa-mayor-s-race-1.905765 |work=CBC News |title=Watson wins Ottawa mayor's race |date=25 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027095621/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/watson-wins-ottawa-mayor-s-race-1.905765 |archive-date=27 October 2010}}</ref>

In October 2012, the City Council approved the final [[Lansdowne Park]] plan, an agreement with the [[Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group]] that saw a new stadium, increased green space and housing and retail added to the site.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/final-lansdowne-deal-passed-by-council-1.1245290 |work=CBC News |title=Final Lansdowne deal passed by council |date=10 October 2012 |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111093629/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/10/10/ottawa-lansdowne-waterfall-agreement.html |archive-date=11 January 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/Council+gives+final+ahead+Lansdowne+project/7369051/story.html |work=Ottawa Citizen |title=Council gives final go ahead to Lansdowne project |date=11 October 2012 |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705053632/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Council+gives+final+ahead+Lansdowne+project/7369051/story.html |archive-date=5 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2012, City Council voted unanimously to move forward with the [[Confederation Line]], a {{cvt|12.5|km}} light rail transit line, which was opened on 14 September 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-lrt-confederation-line-1.5258684 |title=4 key dates as Ottawa's LRT becomes a reality |work=CBC News |access-date=6 September 2019 |archive-date=3 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903005542/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-lrt-confederation-line-1.5258684 |url-status=live}}</ref>