What is the Capital of Canada?

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Let me ask you. What is the Capital of Canada?

Toronto you may think. Wrong. The capital of Canada is Ottawa. Let's recall a little geography here. Toronto is the capital city of Ontario. Ontario is only one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada. Ottawa is the country's capital and it is one of the cities within Ontario, which is on the east coast of Canada. Ottawa is nearing the border between Ontario and Quebec. (Quebec is another province which has the popular Montreal.)

After visiting the gift shops in Montreal, we took off for Ottawa. It's approximately 3 hours down south. We left Montreal around 1pm and got in Ottawa a little late in the afternoon. It was not difficult to notice the Parliament Hill because of the three picturesque green-roofed buildings that are home to the House of Commons, the Library of Parliament, the Hall of Honour, the Senate, and the Peace Tower. They are so huge and majestic to look at. They say these Parliament buildings are described as one of the most beautiful government buildings in the world. I have not seen a lot of government buildings internationally but I am surely impressed with these buildings.

Temperature check... -14.3 °C

At the entrance is the Eternal Flame, or what they now call the Centennial Flame. Then behind it is the Centre Block Building, then the East Block, and the West Block. In between these building are wide spaces. And this time of the year, it was all white. We even wrote our names on the snow! It was cold, but not as bad as it was in Montreal. Thank God!

We were toured inside the building by batches. We took the elevator to the Peace Tower where I enjoyed a great view of Ottawa. The Peace Tower, so named to honour the thousands of Canadian men and women who sacrificed their lives for their country in World War I. It is located at the front of the Centre Block. The tower was overlooking the frozen Ottawa River that leads to Quebec. From the other side is the view of Downtown Ottawa and the Centennial Flame.

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