Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton

The Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton was a regional government area and census division in Ontario, Canada which existed from 1969 until 2001.

It was created in 1969 when Carleton County became large enough to become a regional municipality. At the same time, Cumberland Township was added from Russell County. At this time the City of Eastview was renamed the City of Vanier.

In 1974 the police villages of City View, Kenmore, Manotick, Metcalfe, North Gower, Osgoode Station, and St. Joseph d'Orleans were dissolved. Goulbourn Township annexed the villages of Richmond and Stittsville. The Townships of Marlborough and North Gower merged to become Rideau Township. At the same time the Townships of Torbolton, Fitzroy and Huntley merged to become West Carleton.

In 1978 the Township of March became the City of Kanata and annexed parts of Nepean and Goulbourn. At the same time the Township of Nepean became the City of Nepean. In 1981 the Township of Gloucester became the City of Gloucester. In 1999 the Township of Cumberland became the Municipality of Cumberland.

The Region was created to manage the municipal services that crossed municipal boundaries. Over time, more and more services were transferred from the municipalities to the region and, by the end of the 1990s, 85% of municipal services were delivered by the region. This included mass transit, policing, and much infrastructure. Originally, the Region was controlled by a council consisting of members cross-posted from the municipal councils. The Regional chair was selected by these councillors. In 1991, the Regional chair was directly elected by the people of the region. In 1994, the system was made more democratic. Regional councillors were directly elected by each ward and made distinct from municipal councillors.

To cut costs and simplify the government, all the municipalities of the region were amalgamated to form the City of Ottawa megacity in 2001. This city retained many attributes of the region, including ward boundaries and the RMOC building, which became city hall.