National Capital Commission


The National Capital Commission is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region, including administering most lands and buildings owned by the Government of Canada in the region.
The NCC is the capital's largest property owner, owning and managing over 11% of all lands in the Capital Region. It also owns over 1,600 properties in its real estate portfolio, including the capital's six official residences; commercial, residential and heritage buildings; and agricultural facilities.
The NCC reports to the Parliament of Canada through whichever minister in the Cabinet of Canada is designated responsible for the National Capital Act, currently the Minister of Public Services and Procurement.

History

Ottawa Improvement Commission (1899–1927)

Through the 19th century, the character of what is known today as the National Capital Region was blemished and transformed by industrialization. According to then-Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, what became the City of Ottawa was "not a handsome city" by the 1880s. Laurier, together with Lady Aberdeen, the wife of the governor general, advanced the idea of planning for a better capital.
In 1899, the Ottawa Improvement Commission was established with the core mandate of improving and beautifying the city. What began as the OIC evolved as an organization in terms of both mandate and scope over 120 years.
The OIC initially consisted of 4 volunteer commissioners: three federal appointees, as well as the mayor of Ottawa. The OIC was supported by notable Capital builders, such as Government of Canada botanist William Saunders and Robert Surtees, former city engineer and designer of Major's Hill Park. The Commission acquired land as early as 1901, and its first priority was to clean up the banks of the Rideau Canal, create and expand a park system, as well as a network of boulevards and parkways. One of the OIC's first projects was the Rideau Canal Driveway.
Four years following its establishment, the OIC hired Frederick G. Todd, a pioneer in landscape architecture, to aid in reshaping the city. Todd completed his plan, dubbed as the Todd Report, in 1903. Two of his major recommendations were the construction of a ceremonial boulevard linking Rideau Hall and the Parliament Buildings, and the preservation of large natural parks adjacent to the Capital. This plan was the first to recommend improvements north of the Ottawa River.

The Todd, Holt, and Cauchon Reports

Following the Todd Report was a master plan for Canada's Capital, tabled by Herbert S. Holt's Federal Plan Commission. Todd was appointment chairmen when the Federal Plan Commission was established in 1913 by Order-In-Council of Prime Minister Robert Borden's government with the purpose of "draw up and perfect" a comprehensive scheme for the future of the rapidly growing Federal Capital, called the "General Plan." The Commission was joined by a renowned architect and urban planner from Chicago, Edward H. Bennett, who prepared the General Plan.
The "Report of the Federal Plan Commission on a General Plan for the Cities of Ottawa and Hull," better known as the "Holt Report" or the "Bennett Plan," was released in January 1915 and was one of Canada's first comprehensive plans. The report recommended that the work of the OIC be broadened, expanding on the 1903 Todd Commission's beautification proposals for urban parkways and a linked city park system. This included formally establishing Gatineau Park.
Most notably, the Report recommended a major political reform: the creation of a federal district and federal authority to exercise control over planning and development. The General Plan recommended extinguishing the Ottawa and Hull municipal governments. In their place, a Federal District Commission, similar to the governance model of Washington, D.C., was recommended. This Commission, reporting to the Government of Canada, would benevolently dictate the planning, development and operation of Canada's Capital. Ultimately, the Holt/Bennett General Plan was shelved; however, many of its technical recommendations were implemented over 40 years after it was written.
In 1922, Noulan Cauchon, one of the founders of the Town Planning Institute of Canada, published a report containing a new planning strategy for the Capital. The report included numerous studies on the Capital done by Cauchon over a period of around 16 years. It also proposed the reorganization of railway tracks, the building of highways, the development of parks and parkways, and the relocation of industrial activities.

Federal District Commission (1927–58)

In 1927, the OIC was reorganized as the Federal District Commission. As its jurisdiction grew to include parts of Quebec, the FDC expanded the region's open spaces, extended parkways, improved Dow's Lake, and developed Confederation Square in conjunction with the City of Ottawa. In 1934, a citizens’ group urged the government to purchase land in the Gatineau Hills to save its forests. In 1937, three years later, the FDC began to acquire land for Gatineau Park and, by 1939, a total of 6,500 hectares had been acquired.
In 1936, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King invited French town planner Jacques Gréber to act as an advisor for planning in the Capital. A couple of years later, in 1938, Gréber was commissioned to develop a vision and plan for the National Capital Region, now famously known as the Gréber Plan.
Due to the Second World War, however, Gréber's plan was put on hold. At the conclusion of the War in 1945, an area of was declared the "National Capital District," and the Federal District Commission Act was amended to expand the responsibilities of the FDC, giving it a truly national scope.
Gréber was eventually invited back to develop his plan for the Capital, which was finally published in 1950.

National Capital Commission (1959–present)

In 1958, Parliament passed the National Capital Act, which established the National Capital Region as well as a new National Capital Commission to succeed the FDC as responsible for bringing Gréber's plan into reality. The replacement of the FDC came as result of it having repeatedly failed to convince municipal governments to cooperate in planning efforts regarding the National Capital Region.
The National Capital Region was expanded to a total of of land on both sides of the Ottawa River; for one thing, the NCC acquired the funds to purchase lands to create the Greenbelt. The National Capital Act gave, and continues to give, the NCC statutory authority to implement its plans, an authority confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling in Munro v National Capital Commission.
After the 2006 elections, the Government of Canada asked for a formal review of the mandate of the NCC. A panel conducting the review, in its report, suggested that the NCC needed more money and should become more transparent.
In 2018, the Government of Canada announced CA$55 million in funding to support critical repair and maintenance of NCC's major infrastructure assets. In 2020, the NCC secured $52.4 million in funding towards some of its most significant assets.

Assets

The NCC is responsible for managing and maintaining several assets in the Capital Region.

Scenic parkways

The NCC operates 90 kilometers of scenic parkways through Ottawa and NCC parks in Gatineau.

Gatineau

The NCC operates several urban parks in Ottawa and Gatineau.
The NCC is the steward of the Capital's six official residences:
Other assets managed by the NCC are:
The role of the NCC is to champion the interests of Ottawa, Gatineau, and surrounding region as the nation's capital, typically with regard to issues of national interest, such as the location of monument and museum sites, and major streetscapes such as Confederation Boulevard.
The objects and purposes of the NCC are "to prepare plans for and assist in the development, conservation and improvement of the National Capital Region in order that the nature and character of the seat of the Government of Canada may be in accordance with its national significance."
The NCC is the Capital's largest property owner, owning and managing over 11% of all lands in the Capital Region. It also owns over 1,600 properties in its real estate portfolio, including the Capital's six official residences; commercial, residential and heritage buildings; and agricultural facilities.
Over 70 NCC-managed buildings that are older than 40 years have been designated as "classified" or "recognized" federal heritage buildings by the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office.
The continuing preservation, evolution and management of Confederation Boulevard, the ceremonial route linking key attractions in National Capital Region, on both sides of the Ottawa River, in Ottawa as well as Gatineau, Quebec, are the responsibility of the NCC and its partners.
These roles are in contrast with the mandates of the various municipal governments, which serve the benefit of their immediate resident, under provincial legislation, on issues like road maintenance, sewer, water and public transport.