Island Park Drive Island Park Drive Island Park Drive is an important and scenic north-south thoroughfare in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with a length of about 4 km. It is one of several parkways in Ottawa administered by the National Capital Commission providing scenic routes throughout Canada's capital region. Many luxury homes and several embassies line the street. The north end connects to the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway and the Champlain Bridge, which crosses the Ottawa River into Gatineau, Quebec. Island Park Drive is named for Bate Island, the largest island crossed by the Champlain Bridge, which has a small park with road
Gatineau Park was to be the first national park created by the first parks service in the world, the Dominion Parks Branch. On December 3, 1913, Dominion Parks Commissioner James B. Harkin wrote to Deputy Minister of the Interior William Cory, arguing for the creation of a nationwide system of parks, the first of which was to be Gatineau Park. In his memo, Harkin said: A few months later, on Cory's suggestion, Harkin wrote Quebec Minister of Mines and Forests Charles Devlin inquiring whether he would help establish a national park in the Gatineau district. Although provincial officials wrote back that the