THE ANIMATION

The guided tour is narrated by Lt. Colonel John By and Lord Dalhousie. Colonel By was the Royal Engineer in charge of the Rideau Canal construction and early Ottawa, known as Bytown, was named after him. Lord Dalhousie was the Governor-In-Chief of Canada and Colonel By reported to him. In less than six years, the Canal was complete - an amazing feat considering that only hand tools were used. However, the project was not without its setbacks. Through construction accidents and disease, it is believed that between 500 and 1,000 workers (or Canal navvies) were killed during the construction period.

You can view the Commissariat Reconstruction Project by downloading the eight video-clips below in the format of your choice. If you are unable to view the video-clips, please click here for a photo gallery with accompanying text.

QuickTime MOV Format

Download Video-clip 1 in .mov format (4,172 KB)
Download Video-clip 2 in .mov format (3,905 KB)
Download Video-clip 3 in .mov format (4,395 KB)
Download Video-clip 4 in .mov format (3,268 KB)
Download Video-clip 5 in .mov format (5,171 KB)
Download Video-clip 6 in .mov format (5,806 KB)
Download Video-clip 7 in .mov format (2,892 KB)
Download Video-clip 8 in .mov format (4,894 KB)

Download the QuickTime Player

MP4 Format

Download Video-clip 1 in .mp4 format (3,116 KB)
Download Video-clip 2 in .mp4 format (3,114 KB)
Download Video-clip 3 in .mp4 format (3,097 KB)
Download Video-clip 4 in .mp4 format (2,530 KB)
Download Video-clip 5 in .mp4 format (3,848 KB)
Download Video-clip 6 in .mp4 format (4,435 KB)
Download Video-clip 7 in .mp4 format (2,173 KB)
Download Video-clip 8 in .mp4 format (3,668 KB)

Download Media Player (for Windows) OR download QuickTime (for Mac)

Disclaimer

Please note that this project recreates the Ottawa Locks site, including a detailed reconstruction of the Commissariat Building. However, it does not show the early development of Bytown in the surrounding area. In this production, the area appears as a green landscape.