Ottawa in the spotlight: as Canada turns 150, has its capital finally come of age?

With hundreds of thousands of visitors descending on the capital for the 150th Canada Day, this humble and unassuming city is flashing a bit of skin

Ottawa is not a grand capital city. It lacks the stunning boulevards of Paris, or economic oomph of London. But it is a fitting capital for Canada all the same - or, at least, for the vision of the country many Canadians like to project: humble, unassuming, getting the job done in the shadow of more grandiose neighbours (in Ottawa's case, Montreal and Toronto).

The city's Parliament Hill overlooks the Ottawa river valley which divides Ontario and Quebec, and where the lines between the nation's two solitudes most obviously and frequently blur as a reminder of Canada's unity.