The valley is flanked on the west by Parliament Hill and on the east by the Chateau Laurier.

The valley is also home to the Commissariat Building, home of the Bytown Museum, the oldest stone building still standing in the city.

[5] In celebration of the city's 150th anniversary, the valley was officially named in 1976 for Lieutenant-Colonel John By, who engineered the canal.

However, a member of Heritage Ottawa, author and historian Bob Haig insisted on giving it a name, and used a map from 1828 which called the area "Canal Valley" as proof, and the Government of Ontario decided on giving the name to the valley.

A plaque was unveiled on September 26 1976,[6] 150 years to the day that By and the Earl of Dalhousie, the Governor of British North America, chose the site as the beginning of the canal.