National Capital Region (Canada)

The National Capital Region (NCR; French: Région de la capitale nationale, pronounced [ʁeʒjɔ̃ d(ə) la kapital nɑsjɔnal]), also known as Canada's Capital Region and Ottawa–Gatineau, is an official designation encompassing the federal capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, the adjacent city of Gatineau, Quebec, and surrounding suburban and exurban areas. Despite its designation, the NCR is not a separate political or administrative entity and falls within the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Defined by the National Capital Act (1985), the NCR covers an area of 4,715 km2 (1,820 sq mi), straddling the Ottawa River, which serves as the boundary between Ontario and Quebec. This area is smaller than the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA), which spans 8,046.99 km2 (3,106.96 sq mi). Ottawa–Gatineau is the only CMA in Canada that crosses provincial boundaries.

History

Early history

The area that would become the National Capital Region was first settled 6,500 years ago by Algonquins, who hunted, foraged, and traded in the area through the European exploration and colonization period. The area remained relatively untouched until 1800, when Wright's Town was established as the first permanent colonial settlement in the Ottawa Valley on what is now the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. At this time and for nearly a century, the principal economic engine of Wright's Town was the Ottawa River timber trade, which saw trees felled in northern Ontario and western Quebec pushed down the Ottawa River and on towards Quebec City for shipment to the United Kingdom and United States.

After the War of 1812, amid U.S. threats to the St. Lawrence River, the British military undertook the Rideau Canal as an alternative, more defensible shipping route, which led to significant growth and land speculation in the area surrounding Wright's Town.