[1] It is the largest publicly owned green belt in the world[2] and the most ecologically diverse area in Eastern Ontario.

[3] The National Capital Commission (NCC) owns and manages 149.5 square kilometres (57.7 sq mi), and the rest is held by other federal government departments and private interests.

[4] The Greenbelt was proposed by Jacques Gréber in 1950 as part of his master plan for Ottawa, and the federal government started expropriating land in 1956.

In an effort to stop low-density suburban expansion, the City of Ottawa successfully annexed rural township lands to the future proposed inside boundary of the Greenbelt in 1948.

The rural townships fought the annexation and continued to refuse to zone parts of their land to accommodate a Greenbelt after their loss.

The surrounding rural townships of Nepean and Gloucester retained zoning jurisdiction on lands outside the Greenbelt and encouraged their continuing development to increase municipal tax revenues.

The Greenbelt was easily crossed by car in a few minutes, and this did not stop civil servants from seeking more affordable homes outside of it.

He concluded that without an active program of planning control by the local municipalities involved, or by the province, growth would continue unabated outside the Greenbelt.

Urban planner and geographer Barry Wellar has estimated that this subsidy may be as high as CA$25,000 per house when the long-term maintenance costs of roads, bridges, pipes and transit equipment are factored in.

All views expressed in [the] White Paper are those of the City of Ottawa and not those of the National Capital Commission[12] which owns and operates the Greenbelt.

In 1961, they entered into a 50 year forest management agreement with the Government of Ontario, which lead to the reforestation of abandoned and marginal farmland.