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ABOUT OTTAWA
Facts
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada and has a population of 1,200,000 which makes Ottawa the fourth-largest urban area in Canada.
Ottawa lies between the Ottawa River, the Rideau River, and the Rideau Canal. Convenient to major U.S. and Canadian urban centers, Ottawa is located 129 miles from Montreal, 295 miles from Toronto, and 413 miles from New York City.
Almost 50 per cent of Ottawa residents hold a post-secondary degree, certificate or diploma making residents among the most highly educated in Canada.
Ottawa is one of the nation’s youngest cities with nearly half of the population under the age of 35.
According to Statistics Canada, families in Ottawa had the highest median incomes of any Canadian city in 2001.
Mercer Human Resources International recently placed Ottawa 18th in a survey of 200 cities worldwide for best quality of life. Another study by Mercer found that Ottawa is the least expensive major city in which to live in North America.
Blessed with more farmland than any other city in Canada, Ottawa’s farming revenues are more than Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary combined.
As many as 10,000 jobs in the City's overall economy are directly and indirectly associated with agriculture, helping to make Ottawa the agricultural and economic centre of Eastern Ontario.
Ottawa’s active workforce comprises approximately: 78,000 in advanced technology, 73,000 in the federal government, 70,000 in health and education, and 57,000 in trades.
Ottawa is known as 'Silicon Valley North', home to Nortel, Corel, and many others!
More than 1,800 advanced technology companies employ more than 76,000 people.
With the highest-educated workforce in Canada, Ottawa has more engineers, scientists and PhDs per capita than any other city in the country.
With 90 per cent of Canada’s industrial telecommunications research and development conducted here, Ottawa is one of the world's top five sites for R&D.
Languages spoken include English (50%), French (32%) and a host of other languages including significant capabilities in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese and Arabic.
For the second consecutive year, 2005 saw the City of Ottawa rated the least expensive city in North America in which to live according to an international survey conducted by Mercer Human Resources Consulting.
The City of Ottawa has again received the highest possible AAA financial rating from Moody Investor Services in recognition of the City’s “effective fiscal planning, history of strong financial results and low debt level and associated debt servicing costs.”
Ottawa hosts more than 35 major festivals per year – including the Tulip Festival, Bluesfest and Winterlude.
Ottawa temperatures can range from 33°C (91°F) in summer to -40°C (-40°F) in winter, with average summer temperatures around 20°C (68°F) and average winter temperatures around -10°C (14°F).
In the winter, the Ottawa portion of the Canal is made into a gigantic skating rink -- the largest in the world.
The Rideau Canal is North America's oldest operating 19th-century canal. Most of the locks are still cranked open by old-fashioned muscle power.
The original purpose of the Rideau Canal was to provide a safe supply route between Montreal and the Great Lakes in case of attack by the United States.
The canal was one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century requiring the construction of 24 dams and 46 locks.
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada and has a population of 1,200,000 which makes Ottawa the fourth-largest urban area in Canada. 
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