Mature trees are in the many parks along the Rideau Canal.I want to be back in Ottawa. I just got back from a visit to Ottawa which is the capital of Canada. I am very familiar with Ottawa as I graduated from University of Ottawa. It is a much smaller city than Toronto. In fact, Statistics Canada 2007 recorded Ottawa's population at 1,168,788 while Toronto is well over 5 million.
Ottawa has a different flavour than Toronto. Because it has a smaller population, you notice the students more. There are two universities and a community college. Downtown is the University of Ottawa which has English, French and French Immersion students. It's natural for the French language to be in the capital of Canada.
Why does the French language thrive in Ottawa? One reason is Ottawa is near the border of Quebec. A bridge over the Ottawa River joins the two provinces, Ontario and Quebec. The first language in Quebec is French. Also, Ottawa is full of federal government workers. The two official languages in Canada are French and English, so many of the government employees in Ottawa are bilingual. There first language can be French or English.
In Toronto, English is the dominant language and there are seldom opportunities to speak French. When I moved to Toronto, it became difficult for me to practice my French. You know what happens if you don't practice a language. Now I can't use my French language very well.
Another noticeable characteristic of Ottawa is its attention to art and culture. It has many different kinds of museums from planes and rockets in the Aviation Museum to some of the best Canadian art in the National Gallery of Canada. Always a favourite is the famous paintings of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. I especially like the small paintings these painters did up north in the wilderness. They would use these to later paint the final bigger canvass paintings. The small ones sometimes have a spirit or feeling the larger ones can't capture.
Having lived five years in Ottawa, I always feel comfortable returning to Ottawa. I like the French culture there and enjoy visiting old friends who use both their French and English. To live in Ottawa, it's best to be bilingual and be prepared for a long cold winter as it is further north than Toronto.
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