While Canadians of other provinces enjoy August 4th as Civic Holiday, we, in Ottawa,
dedicate this summer holiday to Lieutenant Colonel John By.
Why not someone else but Colonel By?
Please let me explain.
If you are familiar with Ottawa,
you will know in downtown there is a canal called the Rideau Canal.
Colonel By directed the construction of this Canal
between Ottawa and Kingston from 1826 to 1832.
Even now, this is considered a huge engineering
accomplishment in Canadian history.
Although Colonel By built the Rideau Canal for military reason,
nowadays it has become our top tourist destination.
In summer, we can travel this 198 kilometre waterway
with our recreational boats. During winter,
we can skate on the world's longest outdoor skating rink the Rideau Canal.
In 2001, the University of Toronto Press
reprinted a book called Rideau Waterway
by historian Robert Legget.
If you are interested in Colonel By or the Rideau Canal,
please check this book out.
Colonel By Day which used to be called Civic Holiday is not observed at the same date every year.
It is a public holiday on the first Monday of August.
In 2001, it was on August 6th and in 2002, it was on August 5th. This year (2003) it will be on August 4th for all of us to enjoy our summer.
Some information on Colonel By:
Lieutenant Colonel John By (1779 - 1836)
was a Royal Engineer from Britain.
He was sent to Canada as a British officer
to build a canal to link the Ottawa River
to Lake Ontario.