Facts about Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital city of Canada, with a population of about 1.1 million. It has the fourth largest municipality in the country. Its citizens are known as the Ottawans. This new city of Ottawa was created in 2001, after the amalgamation of Ottawa-Carleton and eleven other local municipalities.

It is located on the banks of the Ottawa River, where the Rideau canal meets the river, in Southern Ontario. In 2007, the Rideau canal was announced as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Queen Victoria had designated Ottawa as the capital of Canada on December 31, 1857. In the earlier times, Ottawa was known as Bytown, named in honor of Lieutenant-Colonel John By, who contributed a lot to the construction of the Rideau canal. However, after incorporation of Bytown as a city in 1855, the name was changed to Ottawa.

The city gets its name from the Algonquin word adawe, meaning 'to trade'. It is located on the banks of the Gatineu, Ottawa, and Rideu rivers.

Ottawa is a bilingual city; the residents speak mainly English (50 percent population) and French (32 percent population). Other languages spoken in the city include Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and Portuguese.

Ottawa is ranked as the most educated city in Canada; more than 50 percent of its residents have completed their post-secondary degree, certificate, or diploma. In terms of scientific research and technical development, Ottawa is among the world's top five.

It is one of the youngest cities of the country; about 50 percent of the citizens are under the age of 35. Politically, most of the citizens support the Liberal party.

The temperature in Ottawa measures about 33° C in summer and -40° C in winter. However, the average summer temperature is 20° C and average winter temperature is -10° C.

The Ottawans celebrate 35 major festivals, including the Canadian Tulip Festival and BluesFest, which are evenly-distributed in the four seasons.

Ottawa is the agricultural and economic center of Eastern Ontario. The overall income of the city is directly or indirectly related to agriculture. With the largest farmland area, this city's farming revenue is more than any other city in Canada.

Other industries of the city include chemical, fish products, paper and pulp, and petroleum and natural gas. As per 2001 financial review, families in Ottawa had the highest average income among all Canadians.

According to a survey conducted in 2005 by the Mercer Human Resources Consulting, the city of Ottawa was rated the least expensive city in North America. It was also ranked as the best place to live in Canada by MoneySense Magazine, after comparing 123 other Canadian cities on the ground of housing costs, household income, and unemployment rate.

The Forbes Magazine has rated Ottawa as the 4th cleanest city out of 300 major cities in the world. This clean city is also one of the greenest capitals in the world, surrounded by wetlands, parklands, and forests.

More than 94 percent residents expressed that Ottawa is the best place to raise a family, taking into account the city's art and culture, recreation, and administrative services. About 78 percent Ottawans opined the city's sports and recreation facilities as one of the best in the world.

This city has Government organizations like the Government of Canada, the Senate, the Parliament, and the Supreme Court located there.

This city has nearly 1800 technology companies, two colleges and five universities (including Carleton University and University of Ottawa), and fourteen National Museums.

These are some of the interesting facts about Ottawa city. With such a strong economy and a stable employment rate, what more can a citizen of Ottawa expect.