Imagine there are two rooms:
Room A is with only South East facing window. SunCalc shows that in Ottawa no matter the season, this window will always receive direct sunlight until 2:30-3:00pm.
Room B is with only North West facing window. SunCalc shows that in Ottawa no matter the season, this window will start to receive direct sunlight only after 2:30-3pm, until 4:30pm (Dec. 22) to 9:00pm (Jun. 22).
So Room A will be bright most of the day, but will become dark after 2:30-3:00pm. On the contrary, Room B will be dark most of the day, but will become bright after 2:30-3:00pm.
Which room do you prefer? Just saying more sunlight is better makes no sense here. You have to consider WHEN your family actually stay in that room and need more sunlight.
Even the room facing direct South may not meet your particular needs: although it certainly receives the most sunlight throughout the day, it won't receive any direct sunlight in summer after 5:00-5:30pm, while Room B can still enjoy another 3 hours of sunlight (save hydro bills for sure).
Personally I will rank the backyard facing as: 1) West, 2) South West, 3) North West. 4) South, 5) South East, 6) East, 7) North, 8) North East.