Downtown Ottawa Preview

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1. Welcome to the Rideau Canal!

Covering a distance of 202 km, the Canal extends to the south all the way to Kingston on Lake Ontario. In front of you flows the majestic Ottawa River that the Algonquin Anishinabeg named the Kìchì Sìbì. The Anishinabeg have lived in this territory for millennia and their oral history evokes the natural history of the Great Lakes basin and the Ottawa River watershed in the aftermath of the last great ice age.The Algonquin Anishinabeg describe their territory as all the lands drained by the Ottawa River and the tributary rivers and streams flowing into it, from the headwaters of Lake Capimitchigama in north central Quebec to its outlet near Montréal.Artefacts found at the ancient toll station on Morrison Island suggest that the Algonquin Anishinabeg and their ancestors were major players in a vast technological and ideological exchange network which extended to the Great Lakes and the whole of the St. Lawrence River drainage system. The peoples of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation continues to live on its unceded territory in Quebec and Ontario. The sustainable and respectful use of the land and waterways remains essential to them.

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2. Bytown Museum

As you follow the road uphill, watch for vehicles and cyclists. Next to you is a building directly associated with the history of the Rideau Canal: the Commissariat Building. Built in 1827, it originally stored military equipment, building materials for the construction of the Canal, and food for workers. The oldest stone building in Ottawa, it has been home to the Bytown Museum since 1951.Look around you at one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 19th century. This section of the Canal was entirely dug by hand. A series of eight successive locks form the Ottawa Lockstation. Each is closed by immense gates. Similar to a staircase, these locks allow the boats to climb or descend the Canal. Today they operate in much the same way as at their opening in 1832. Many of the parts are original and most of the mechanisms used to open and close the lock gates are still manually operated.

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3. Château Laurier

Note the beautiful Château Laurier hotel perched majestically on the eastern side of the Ottawa Locks. Built in French Gothic Revival Châteauesque style between 1909 and 1912 this hotel would be an important stop along the Grand Truck Railway. In 1923, the Grand Trunk Railway became part of the Canadian National Railway (CN), and the Château Laurier, one of its most important hotels. Similar CNR hotels across Canada with which you may be familiar are the Château Frontenac, the Royal York Hotel in Toronto and the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta.

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5. The Landscape

At the time of the construction of the Canal, this region was covered in forest. It was therefore necessary to excavate, dig or blow up whatever was in the way. With the exception of the occasional use of explosive powder, this work was done by hand. Equipped with rudimentary tools such as shovels, pickaxes and wheelbarrows, the workers – mostly Irish immigrants – performed their tasks in the face of freezing cold or excessive heat.They sometimes lived in huts dug into the ground, or sometimes in temporary dwellings often infested with fleas and bedbugs. As there were many swamps and other wetlands along the route, hundreds of workers and their families contracted malaria, a disease caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquitoes. The project proved fatal for some 1,000 people who were buried in improvised cemeteries along the route.

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6. From Bytown to Ottawa

When construction began on the Rideau Canal in 1826, Lieutenant-Colonel John By saw the value of creating a town to accommodate the thousands of workers. After completing the survey work, he established the first grid plan of Bytown. Along with the many workers who settled in Bytown, set up shop to serve the growing population. In the wake of the opening of the Rideau Canal, Bytown experienced significant growth.Activities related to commercial shipping and the development of the forest industry contributed to an increase in the population. By 1842, Bytown had become the largest town in the region, and then a municipality in 1847, with more than 7,000 inhabitants.

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7. Corktown Footbridge

In January 1855, Bytown became a city and its name was changed to Ottawa. Two years later, Queen Victoria chose this small city as the capital of the Province of Canada, a British territory that combined Lower Canada and Upper Canada, now the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. In 1867, when Confederation was established, Ottawa officially became the capital of the Dominion of Canada. Since then, the city has not stopped growing and evolving.When Ottawa became the capital city, it began a transformation that saw its population nearly double between 1861 and 1871. As new buildings were built to accommodate hundreds of new civil servants, the timber industry grew and an increasing number of sawmills appeared along the Ottawa River.

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8. Decline

Construction of the Rideau Canal is a remarkable feat of engineering. Soon after its completion in 1832, it became a busy trade route between Montréal and the Great Lakes, but only 20 years later, its popularity began to decline due to the arrival and importance of the railway in the region.

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9. Former Union Station

Look to your left. Today known as the Senate of Canada Building, this imposing building is the former Union Station. Its construction dates back to 1909. Union Station connected the Château Laurier to other station hotels in Canada. Thousands traveled through here, including celebrities like Elvis Presley and King George VI. The east bank of the Canal was occupied by railways, but in July 1966, the central train station was moved away from downtown and the removal of tracks brought about a massive landscape transformation. Two years later, the building was transformed into a congress centre.

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10. Plaza Bridge

Standing here on the Plaza Bridge which connects Wellingston Street and Elgin Street, there is a feeling that you are right in the heart of Ottawa. Historically, this was the original location of the Sappers’ Bridge named for the British Sappers and Miners, the soldiers who performed a variety of military engineering duties during the construction of the Canal such as building roads and bridges. The Sappers' Bridge was one of the first bridges built over the Rideau Canal in Bytown in 1827. It was demolished and replaced with the bridge you see here in 1912.The Rideau Canal is the oldest continually operating canal system North America. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007. The Canal is recognized worldwide as a marvel of engineering and ingenuity. Both the surrounding area and the Canal itself are important international attractions. Throughout the year, the Rideau Canal is an invaluable meeting place for millions of Canadians and visitors to the National Capital Region, especially in the winter, when boats disappear and the Canal becomes the world’s longest skating rink, a 7.8 km path of ice called the Rideau Canal Skateway. This completes the tour. We hope you enjoyed your tour of the Canal!

Go under the wide arch

Keep following the Canal and go under the bridge.

Follow the Canal

Follow the western bank of the Rideau Canal just below the National Arts Centre, a fully bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts here in the Nation’s Capital. Your next stop along the Canal is adjacent to Confederation Park which can be seen on your right.Go down the stairs on your left near the information kiosk and continue walking along the Canal.

Cross the bridge over the Canal

Climb the stairs to your right and cross the bridge to get on the other side of the Canal.

Go down towards the Canal

At the end of the bridge, go down the stairs on the right, towards the Canal.

Follow the Canal

Turn right and follow the Canal towards downtown. Watch out for cyclists!

Turn right and cross the street at the lights

Cross Colonel By Drive at the lights. Follow traffic signals and be careful of oncoming traffic.

Turn left and cross the street

Cross Daly avenue and follow Colonel By Drive past the Westin Hotel. Stay on the sidewalk.

Cross Rideau Street

Keep going straight to cross Rideau Street at the traffic lights. Follow traffic signals.

Turn left towards Château Laurier

Turn left and cross Sussex Drive at the traffic lights. Then keep going straight on Rideau Street towards Château Laurier. Stay on the sidewalk.

Go down to the river

Follow the path along the locks, heading towards the Ottawa River.

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4. Lt Colonel By

Lieutenant-Colonel John By of the British Royal Corps of Engineers was appointed Superintendent of the Canal construction project. He not only supervised the work, but also chose the locations and designed the plan for its construction.Following the War of 1812, relations between the United States and England were not at their best. The St. Lawrence River was then an important route between Montréal and Kingston. As New York State’s border was along the St. Lawrence, the British feared that Americans would attack their ships along the way. For England, it was imperative to secure a supply and communication route between these two cities. How? By building a canal that would link Montréal and Kingston yet bypass the St. Lawrence River.

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