It is bordered on the south by Laurier Avenue and Ottawa City Hall; on the east by the Rideau Canal and National Defence Headquarters; on the north by the Mackenzie King Bridge, the Rideau Centre and the National Arts Centre; and to the west by Elgin Street and the Lord Elgin Hotel.

[3] The park also is the site of a totem pole donated to the City of Ottawa to commemorate British Columbia's 1971 centennial, the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument and a Boer War memorial statue.

The memorial was overseen by Lloyd Swick, assisted by Shalindhi Perera and Laureen Harper as honorary patron.

The area was part of Ottawa's downtown for many years, the site of businesses related to the nearby Rideau Canal, such as Dey's Boat Works.

As part of the 1949 Greber Plan, the site was to be cleared for a "Confederation Park" along the Canal from Laurier Avenue to Wellington Street surrounded by public buildings.

[9] In 2017, the community advocacy group Bookmark the Core proposed that the southeastern portion of the park could be annexed as a home for the new central branch of the Ottawa Public Library.

This prompted Mayor Jim Watson to launch a counter "Save Confederation Park" campaign on Twitter.

[11] Other festivals that spill over from the neighbouring Cartier Square plaza in front of Ottawa City Hall use the park.

The Occupy movement's presence in Ottawa began on Saturday October 15, 2011 with around 500 people participating at Confederation Park.