The Federal Civil Service in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada during the
1800's May 4, 2005: Beginning in 1867, with Confederation, a
large number of civil servants arrived in Ottawa from each of
the new provinces. In the early days government was small. The
largest departments reflected the priorities of the day --
Agriculture, Post Office, Customs and Excise. Archibald Lampman,
poet, worked in the Post Office Department. There was an early
Department of Finance (1867) but it was only involved in
accounting functions. There were no economists until the 1920's.
The federal Income Tax was instituted in 1917 as only a
temporary measure. They'll probably be abolishing it soon. When
I first started working in the Department of Finance (for 30+
years), we were located in the Confederation Building. Prior to
that time, the building housed the Department of Agriculture.
The Post Office Building was located at Confederation Square,
across from the East Photo Source: James Ballantyne collection,
Library and Archives Canada Vie