Before the European settlers came, the Ottawa region was home to the Algonquin people, who called themselves “Kichesippirini” or “People of the Great River". They were later driven out by the Iroquois. French fur traders, however, named this place Ottawa, after the Outaouais tribe, although the tribe had only lived in the area for about a decade. However, they were the ones who acted as middlemen by carrying Iroquois furs to Quebec, and therefore were highly familiar to French traders.

In 1760, Britain won victory in the North American theatre of the Seven Year’s War (known in the U.S. as the "French and Indian War") against France, and the region now known as Eastern Canada fell under English rule. People from Britain and the American colonies began settling the area, including Philemon Wright, who first staked the claim of Hull Township on the Quebec side of the river. The town grew as the British government began encouraging immigration to the area after the War of 1812, and the Rideau Canal was built in 1832 to process the city’s increased transportation needs. In 1857, Queen Victorian chose Ottawa to be the capital of the Province of Canada, which led to the city’s further development.

It was not until 1899 that the government started taking steps to structuring Ottawa’s growth into a proper capital city. The Ottawa Improvement Commission was created to clean up the Rideau Canal and establish a park system. This concern over the environment manifested itself again in 1958, when the government established a greenbelt around the city to prevent urban sprawl.

Since the 1960s, Ottawa has grown into a world-class capital with numerous museums, art galleries, and cultural festivals.