How to Learn More About Canada’s History in Ottawa

Canada is a relatively young country, sitting at just over 150 years old, but its history stretches back thousands of years.  From when the first people crossed the Bering Strait on a landmass bridge that doesn’t exist in its complete form anymore, through the invention of penicillin, to modern times with its charming reputation: Canada has lived a lot of lives.

If you want to learn all of it, you may feel like you have to take a road trip around the entire country.  Fortunately, there’s one place that holds the key to the past: Ottawa.

The Capital of the County

The most crucial fact about Ottawa is that it’s the capital of Canada, of course!  Just a short drive away from the United States, this capital’s bold placement was decided because of its central location between Montreal and Toronto.  It’s a gem in the middle of the country that allows anyone to get to know more about the country.  Its precise permitted placement of this city to pick up pieces of history through time, develop the land into Ottawa homes for sale and turn Canada into the vast and incredible place it is now.

Museums

Have you ever wanted to learn about Canada’s most impressive inventions?  Do you want to slip away and learn more about the country’s history by admiring gorgeous paintings and sculptures?  Everyone has their way of doing things, and there’s nothing wrong with that!  Ottawa is the place to discover your learning style.  Whether that means you’d rather walk through paths that have marks where important historical moments happened, or you’d like to have a headphones-on audio tour of impressive older buildings, you can learn in your way.  

Important Buildings

As the capital, Ottawa has something for everyone when it comes to discovering good taste.  Parliament, the supreme court, the national libraries and archives of Canada, and others all call this city home.  Although nobody is expected to visit every single politically significant building in the capital, stopping in a few of these will give you insight into how the country runs better than you can get by not going.

Many of these have beautiful classical architecture, with every detail well planned and executed.

Although there are some disagreements about the importance or value of the buildings, the truth is these landmarks are the places where changes are decided for the future of Canada.  For that much, they matter.

The First Nation’s History

First nations people come from 630 different communities in Canada and speak over 50 different indigenous dialects.  Their history, how they got there, their relationship with the land, and their standing now are vital to understanding Canada. 

Although this country gets its reputation from being kind, it had a sordid past with its indigenous people. Even now, violence against first nations women is higher than in any other demographic.

There are museums, historical sites, live-reenactments, and monuments that work to piece together the past indigenous people have had to deal with.  Although there’s no undoing what happened in the past, understanding even the bad parts can help inform a better future.