Ottawa - The Nation's Capital

Ottawa is the capital of Canada. Founded in 1826, it is the second largest city in Ontario and the fourth largest city in the country.

The name "Ottawa" is derived from the Algonquin word adawe, meaning "to trade". Initially an Irish and French Christian settlement, Ottawa has become a multicultural city with a diverse population.

The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, located on the north bank of the Ottawa River; together they form the National Capital Region (NCR).

The Hill

Parliament Hill (French: Colline du Parlement), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings—the parliament buildings—serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural elements of national symbolic importance.

Originally the site of a military base in the 18th and early 19th centuries, development of the site into a governmental precinct began in 1859, after Bytown was chosen by Queen Victoria as the capital of the Province of Canada. Following a number of extensions to the parliament and departmental buildings and a fire in 1916 that destroyed the Centre Block, Parliament Hill took on its present form with the completion of the Peace Tower in 1927.

Happy Birthday Xandar!

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank balance smaller, home happier, clothes dirtier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.