Before Ottawa became the Nation's Capital, Canada's parliamentary business was a bit of a travelling road show.

During the French regime, Quebec City served as the capital of France's colonies in mainland North America and kept that status after the surrender of the colony to Britain in 1763. But as English people began moving to the Great Lakes region and demanded a voice in government it became apparent that Quebec City was too far away.

In 1791, the British Parliament passed a bill that split Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada to give some political autonomy to the United Empire Loyalists who opted to live under British rule.

Quebec City remained Lower Canada's capital and Upper Canada's first capital became Niagara-on-the-Lake, where the first Parliament of Upper Canada met on Nov. 17, 1792. However, the British soon deemed Niagara-on-the-Lake unsatisfactory because it was too close to the United States, was too small a village and because most settlers were passing it by to put down roots in southwestern and central Ontario. So, the provincial capital was moved to Toronto where it remained until 1840, when the British decided to re-unite the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada following the Rebellions of 1837.

Between 1841 and 1867, the Province of Canada was served by a wandering Parliament, with the young nation's business being conducted in Kingston, Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto until 1865. But moving the legislature soon proved to be unwieldy because each time Parliament changed cities, its records, library and furniture had to be packed up and shipped to the next location, politicians and administrators had to find new lodgings and there was little sense of political continuity.

Eventually, arguments broke out over where the permanent capital should be located. French-Canadians wanted either Montreal or Quebec to be the capital while the Liberals in Canada West preferred Toronto or Kingston.

In 1857, the question of the location of Canada's capital was referred to Queen Victoria. Cities vying for the honour were Kingston, Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto.

However, Bytown, a lumber town which was later renamed Ottawa, won out after Sir Edmund and Lady Head, friends of the Queen, visited the town and lobbied for it. The legislature at first rejected this choice but eventually Ottawa was accepted as the nation's capital.

On Sept. 1, 1860, the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, laid the cornerstone for the centre block of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, and less than seven years later, on July 1, 1867, Confederation was a reality and the buildings, with the exception of the Library of Parliament, were built and ready for the new government to begin conducting business.