Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre (French: Ottawa-Centre) is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. While the riding's boundaries (mainly to the south and west as the north and east borders have remained the Ottawa River and Rideau River, respectively) have changed over the years to account for population changes, the riding has always comprised the central areas of Ottawa, the nation's capital.
The House of Commons of Canada meets in the West Block of the Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill, which is located within this district.
The riding was created in 1966 from Carleton, Ottawa West and Ottawa East ridings. It initially consisted of that part of Ottawa north of the Rideau River, west of a line following the Rideau Canal to the Canadian Pacific Railway line (currently about where Nicholas Street is), and generally east of Bayswater Road (now Ave.), and south of that the CPR line where the O-Train currently is.
The 1976 redistribution saw significant changes to the riding. It lost territory around Mechanicsville (north of Wellington Street West, west of the current O-Train) and Old Ottawa East (north of Clegg St), while gaining all of the Civic Hospital and Hintonburg neighbourhoods east of Holland Avenue and south of Wellington, Carleton Heights, Riverside Park and the Hunt Club area west of the current O-Train line.
The 1987 redistribution saw the riding expand westward to Island Park Drive, while losing all of its territory south of the Rideau River. Additionally, the riding gained back all of Old Ottawa East south of The Queensway.
The 1996 redistribution saw the riding expand further westward to Sherbourne Road / Maitland Avenue north of the Queensway, as well as gaining the eastern half of Carlington (east of Merivale Road). Also, the area of Old Ottawa East north of the Queensway was added back to the riding.
