National Capital Commission

The National Capital Commission (NCC; French: Commission de la capitale nationale, CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), 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.

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 (OIC) 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 (later 6) 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 (now the Queen Elizabeth 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.

Following the Todd Report was a master plan for Canada's Capital, tabled by Herbert S. Holt's Federal Plan Commission (or, the Holt 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[ing] up and perfect[ing]" 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.