Canada and Newfoundland

by Frank G. Carpenter

I have come to Ottawa to get a “close-up” of the government of Canada, and to see for myself if the city deserves its name, the “Washington of the North.” Ottawa gives one an impression of vigour, youth, and energy. It seems up to the minute, and not hanging on the coat-tails of the past like Quebec. It has some of the English flavour of Halifax, but is more modern. Like Washington, it is built on plans that, as they are developed, will emphasize its natural beauties.

Ottawa is becoming a centre of intellectual life as well as of political activity. The city is attracting people of wealth and leisure who find it a pleasant place of residence for all or a part of the year. The government service includes men and women of unusual attainments, who are less likely to lose their places on account of politics than those holding similar offices in the United States. Ottawa is also becoming the headquarters for scientific and other organizations, and is developing rapidly as an educational centre.

Washington has the Potomac, but this capital is on the banks of two rivers, the Ottawa and the Rideau. Its site was chosen only after a bitter struggle between rival cities. Quebec, Montreal, Kingston, and Toronto each wanted the honour, but in 1859 all gracefully accepted the arbitration of Queen Victoria, who chose Ottawa. It was then a town of less than ten thousand people. It now has more than one hundred thousand. It lies in the province of Ontario, but is separated from Quebec only by the Ottawa River.

In contrast with our national capital, Ottawa is an important city in its own right aside from the presence of the Dominion government. It is one of the chief lumber centres of all Canada, and besides saw mills and paper mills, has a match factory that is among the largest in the world. These industries are run by water-power. Ottawa is at the head of navigation of the Ottawa River, which here is broken by the Chaudière Falls. When Champlain saw these falls the tumbling waters presented a beautiful spectacle. Now they are reduced and obscured by mills and power stations. There is about two million horse-power available within fifty miles, one twentieth of which is developed.

Many of the industries based on the water-powers and the lumber of the Ottawa district are in Hull, across the river. Hull has about thirty thousand people, nearly all French Canadians. Its population is temporarily increased each evening, as streams of Ottawans cross the bridges from the bone dry province of Ontario to the beer and wine cafés of the adjoining territory.

To appreciate all the beauties of the capital one must ride over its thirty miles of boulevards and park drives. The Rideau Canal flows through the heart of the city, giving a picturesque appearance to its business districts, and lending a delightful aspect to the streets and homes in the residential sections. There are block after block of attractive houses that have the canal at their front doors, and others with the canal in the rear. I noticed more than one canoe moored, so to speak, in a backyard.

Indeed, the city seems entirely surrounded by water and parks. Besides the Rideau Canal, there is the river of the same name, with well-kept parks along its banks. The most commanding sites on the hillsides overlooking the rivers are occupied by fine public buildings and millionaires’ residences. There are numerous yacht and canoe clubs, while on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, above the Chaudière Falls, are several golf courses. In their clubs the Canadians seem to be content to do things on a less elaborate scale than is common in the States, thus making it possible for men and women of moderate means to belong without feeling extravagant. In fact, though none know better than the Canadians how to entertain elaborately whenever they choose to do so, they live more simply than we, and spend more time in outdoor recreations.

Imagine yourself at my side as I write these words, and look with me out of my hotel window. We are in the Château Laurier, a modern hotel built of light-coloured stone in the design of a French chateau. It was erected by the Grand Trunk Railroad, but now, like the railroad, is operated by the government. It faces Connaught Square, opposite the Union Station, with which it is connected by an underground passage.

If we were to fall from our window, we should land on the bank of the Rideau Canal as it comes out from under Connaught Square. The canal divides Ottawa into two parts. East of the canal is Lower Town, where most of the French residents live. To the east also is Sandy Hill, a fine residential quarter. Just below us the canal descends through a ravine down to the level of the Ottawa River. Here there are six locks forming a water stairway. The canal connects the Ottawa River with Kingston, on Lake Ontario. It was constructed chiefly for military purposes. After the War of 1812, the Canadians felt that they needed an inland waterway between Montreal and the Lakes that would not be exposed to attack from the American side. For many years Ottawa bore the name of Bytown, after a military engineer, Colonel By, who built the canal.

Now look across the ravine through which the canal drops down to the river. There are the government buildings, arranged in a quadrangle. They are massive structures of rough stone and Gothic architecture that crown the bluff one hundred and sixty feet above the water. They look more like one of our universities than any of our capitols. The Parliament building, with its back to the river, forms one side of the quadrangle. In front of it are several acres of lawn that slope gently down to Wellington Street. Facing the Parliament building are other government offices, business buildings, and the white marble home of the Rideau Club, where politicians from all Canada gather during the legislative sessions.