Bytown Museum Locks.
Photo credit: Ottawa Tourism.

It all started with Bytown, a small settlement named for Colonel John By, the engineer who oversaw the construction of the Rideau Canal. The canal, much of which was dug by hand, quickly became the hub around which the city grew. It remains one of Ottawa's main attractions - in summer as a waterway for pleasure craft, and in winter as the world's longest outdoor skating rink.

Ottawa’s very origins lie in meeting and trading. This holds true today as Ottawa has become one of Canada’s top destinations to attend a meeting or convention such as the International Symposium on Recent Advances in Intrusion Detection (RAID). Not only is Ottawa a major national centre for high technology, biotechnology and medical research, it is also home to over 1,000 associations. The city is one of the most beautiful settings in the country with easy accessibility, a variety of meeting facilities, excellent tourism infrastructure, and proximity to the federal government.