No new promises for Ottawa

Good morning! 

I’m pretty sure I saw the leaves on a tree start to turn colour the other day. Can it really be? Surely it’s too soon… It turns out, extreme drought conditions can cause the process to start sooner than expected. 

Another patch of bushes near my place look like it’s the end of November. The leaves have dried up and wilted brown. It’s sad to see. But thankfully, we have got some much-needed rain over the last few days. But an open-air fire ban remains in effect. 

Today's story is about the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, which was held again in Ottawa, and why some people are frustrated to see the Capital city get little to no attention from the province. 

Let’s get to it.

— Charlie Senack, Ottawa Lookout managing editor, [email protected], X: @Charlie_Senack

Editor’s note: In the last issue of the Lookout we incorrectly stated that in 2023, there were 72 opioid overdoses every day. What should have been written is that during that year, there was an average of 72 (confirmed) opioid-related emergency department visits per month in all of Ottawa. Updated data from Ottawa Public Health can be found here. We regret the error. 

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WEATHER

Wednesday: 22 🌡️ 13 | 🌧️

Thursday: 26 🌡️ 15 | ☀️ 

Friday: 28 🌡️ 17 | ☀️ 

PROVINCE

Doug Ford was in Ottawa this week; but still no word on when the province will follow through with local investments

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was in Ottawa this week for the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference, which brought city leaders from across the province together to make “stronger and more effective” governments. 

There was some hope the Premier's return to the Capital could have brought more support for the city, but no new announcements or local funding commitments were made. 

What Ford did promise, though, was a $1.6 billion funding boost for municipal housing infrastructure. Previously, the  Ontario government had already put $2.3 billion toward housing-enabling infrastructure. 

“(It) will support the construction of hundreds of thousands of homes across Ontario. Our government will continue investing in infrastructure and doing everything we can to get shovels in the ground,” Ford told the crowd of 2,500 delegates at the Rogers Centre. ”I had the chance to speak with Prime Minister Carney and let him know that we want to work together to remove the HST for first-time homebuyers and look for ways to be even more ambitious so we can lower the cost of building.”

That work cannot come fast enough. Ontario is not keeping up with its own goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031. In 2024, construction began on 94,753 housing units, which is well below its interim goal of 125,000 homes for that year. And that was after it began adding long-term care homes and university dorms to the statistics. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the country is picking up pace while Ontario falls behind. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said in new statistics released Monday that housing starts rose four per cent every year. Ontario, on the other hand, declined 28 per cent. 

AMO is calling for a stimulus investment of $3.45 billion annually over five years from both provincial and federal sources for municipal infrastructure and social housing. In return, the group says it would help protect 14,000 jobs that would be lost in 2026 alone — including almost 5,000 in the construction sector. AMO suspects it would add $17.6 billion to the Ontario economy over the next five years.

The push for a return to full-time in-person work 

Ford had a strong message for municipalities during his AMO speech: It’s time for city employees to return to the office five days a week. 

In Ottawa, 85 per cent of the city’s 17,000 employees are in the workplace for the entire week, noted city staff. It comes after the city mandated workers back to in-person work two days a week last October. 

“The City’s top priority is delivering efficient, responsive service to residents; our employees have continued to do just that through a time of significant change,” LeMaistre said in a statement to CTV. “We regularly review our hybrid work approach against industry best practices and comparable public-sector employers to ensure our workforce policies continue to evolve and align with any changes to broader standards.”

The Premier said having municipal staff back in buildings would “help bring the public service and the municipalities closer to the people they serve and will revitalize our workplaces in downtowns across Ontario.” He credited Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who mandated all his staff back full-time in January. 

A week ago, Ford announced provincial workers would be forced back to the office four days a week starting in November, before then going up to five days in the New Year. 

No new investments for Ottawa 

During Ford's speech, he referenced how the Critical Minerals Processing Fund would help places like Thunder Bay or Sudbury, or how new subway cars would benefit Toronto. What was not discussed was how Ontario planned to help Ottawa, which has been practically begging upper levels of government for help. 

In case you forget, in March 2024, the city announced a ‘New Deal For Ottawa’ which included a phased plan to guide the upload of Ottawa Road 174 to the province. Over a year later, there has been no traction.

Then, during the recent provincial election, Ford committed to offloading the city’s light rail transit system to the province. While Ontario would retain its costs, day-to-day operations would continue to be run by OC Transpo. There was also a commitment to fund Stage 3 light rail out to Kanata, Stittsville, and Barrhaven. But to date there has been no further information shared. 

“I would have liked to have heard a little more about what’s going on with the transit file for Ottawa. We’re looking for more detail on that and some timelines,” Kanata Coun. Allan Hubley told CTV. ”In my end of town, transit is an issue. Ridership is dropping because of changes that have been made to the system, and we need to reverse that.”

On Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney’s mind is a new ring road that would help alleviate congestion on the city’s highways. City council recently decided to remove it from its updated Transportation Master Plan — which is essentially a guidebook for what transit and road projects should be built over the next 20 years. Carleton MPP George Darouze, however, has indicated he’d like to see the province step in and get it built. 

During the four-day conference, Tierney said he planned to meet with Ford to discuss the file alongside Ontario’s Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria.

There is also talk of building a new bridge over the Rideau River between the city’s south end and Barrhaven to help ease traffic in rural and suburban parts of the city. 

New data finds province was wrong with Somerset crime rates 

During last year's AMO conference, Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced the government intended to close safe injection sites located within 200 metres of daycares or schools. 

That resulted in the closure of the consumption site at the Somerset West Community Health Centre in Ottawa’s Chinatown neighbourhood. At the time, the province said crime rates in that area were 250 per cent higher than elsewhere in the city. But now we are learning that actually wasn’t true. 

The province has never released where they got their data from. CTV Ottawa filed a freedom of information request and found that in reality, the crime rate was only 14 per cent higher than the citywide average.  

Police statistics found that the rate was 5,078.83 per 100,000 residents, compared with 4,430 per 100,000 residents citywide. 

During this year's AMO conference, Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster questioned Jones on the data and what the government plans to do to help the area's social challenges. The health minister responded by referring to the death of a woman who was killed by a stray bullet outside a Toronto safe consumption site in 2023. 

“With the greatest of respect, I never, ever want to have a mother who is killed because she happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in front of a consumption site in the province of Ontario,” responded Jones. 

The safe consumption sites closed earlier this year. In their place, HART Hubs have opened — referring to homelessness and addiction recovery treatment programs. They provide primary care, mental health services and addiction care support, amongst other services  — but illicit street drugs can’t be used on site. 

Since then, the community has reported an increase in crime and rowdy behaviour in the Chinatown area. One resident said they regularly pass people who have passed out or are incapacitated on the street, reported the Kitchissippi Times. 

Troster said Somerset West being prevented from performing lifesaving work has not helped keep anyone safe. 

“Whether it’s open or whether it’s closed is not going to make much of a difference in the public drug use issue, which is related to the closure of the supervised consumption site,” Troster said. “That’s something that was done without consultation of our community.”

THE OTTAWA NUMBER

4.9M

🏠 That’s how much Ottawa’s most expensive home along the river in Crystal Bay was listed for — and it sold over asking! It’s also the highest property to sell since January 2023, when a Rockcliffe Park home sold for $6.3 million. Read more. [Ottawa Business Journal]

THE AGENDA

🏠 Housing starts in Ottawa were up 68% in the first 7 months of 2025, according to new data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Read more. [CTV]

🛫 Departing flights on Air Canada and Rouge scheduled for this week are still being cancelled at the Ottawa airport, as the airline gradually resumes operations following a tentative agreement with flight attendants. YOW is advising passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport. Read more. [YOW] 

🏖️ Beach season will not be extended to Labour Day, according to a new memo circulated to city councillors. Despite attempts to extend the season - and the budget to do so - not enough staff were available to act as lifeguards. The supervised beach season will officially end on August 24. Read more. [City News]

🌊 Central Ottawa, Smiths Falls, Perth, and Westport residents and businesses are being asked to conserve water and suspend non-essential activities that use water. While the level three water advisory is not an emergency declaration, it was issued in response to the Rideau Valley watershed’s inability to meet the public’s water demand. Read more. [CBC]

✈️ Ottawa residents are being asked to look in their yards for debris from a plane crash on July 31. Residents in Westboro, Carlington, Central Park, Fisher Heights, Parkwood Hills and Fisher Glen are the most likely to find debris from the crash, which took place near the Ottawa airport. Read more. [CBC]

🇨🇦 Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Barrhaven Tuesday to meet with area politicians. The Nepean MP sat down for a meal at Greenfields Pub with Barrhaven Councillors Wilson Lo and David Hill, Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine, and Nepean Liberal MP Tyler Watt. Read more. [CBC]

🔥 Police are seeking witnesses to Saturday’s fire on Rideau St. A 60-year-old man has been charged in connection with the incident. Read more. [OPS]

🌳 Residents of an affordable housing development in the city’s east end are receiving new insulation, heat pumps, energy-recovery ventilation systems and extensive air sealing in their rental units, as part of a pilot project between Carleton University, Ottawa-based non-profit EnviroCentre, and the Multifaith Housing Initiative designed to measure the environmental impacts of the retrofits. Read more. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚲 Olympian, Tour de France alum, and Ottawan Michael Woods has announced his intention to retire from professional cycling. Read more. [CBC]

HOME OF THE WEEK

Now this is a stunner of a place.

Located out in Chelsea, this is rural living at its finest. With 3,000 square feet, four bedrooms and three bathrooms, it’s the architectural design that really stands out, with a mix of modern and old. You also get access to a private dock.

Of course, a place like this will set you back a little…

House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labeled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team.

OTTAWA ARTS GUIDE

Performance

Josiah at the Gladstone Theatre is an inspirational story about Josiah Henson and his family, who helped create an Underground Railroad in Canada to provide safe haven for runaway slaves in the 1800s. The show is on now until Aug. 23 at the Gladstone. 

Great Canadian Theatre Company’s program for 2025-26 is out. It includes the absurd and haunting Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre starting Oct. 28, married comedy duo Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus’ Big Stuff starting Nov. 25 and Piano, a story about love, loss and music in 2026.  

Not to be outdone, the National Arts Centre has a number of upcoming performances in September, including Ornithorynques, about a dysfunctional family, Hippocampe, about a father-daughter road trip, and Le Taureau, all about a teenager accused of a crime and the secrets they’re keeping.  Full show list here. 

Movies

Love movies? Then you’ll want to catch Mirror Mountain Film Festival, showcasing independent alternative cinema from Sept. 5-7. Tickets here.

Cinema (and action movie) fans will enjoy the options at Bytowne this week, including Kurosawa’s High and Low,  Ari Aster’s Eddington, one of the best making-of documentaries of all time Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse and Speed. 

Art

On the Shoulders of Giants is a series of exhibition works celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa, featuring 58 artists, with a wide range of subjects and techniques. On until Oct. 19. 

Semiotica is an immersive art exhibit at Boredom Clothing and Things, featuring local artists working on all mediums. All ticket sales go towards the artists. 

The Urban Art Collective will be at the UNCOMMON SPACE at 376 MacLaren St. on Aug. 24 and you can come learn all about different street art techniques, including spray paint, stencil and slap tags. 

Music

Four Eyed Muscle Man plays Rainbow Bistro on 21 August. Experience the Ottawa alternative rock quartet's genre-bending blend of rock, new wave and indie. Tickets $15.

Rebelle rocks Club SAW on 22 August. Catch the Wakefield alt-rock quartet described as "filthy with a beat" delivering anthemic hooks and raw emotion. Tickets $20.

Motherland hits Dominion Tavern on 22 August. Come and hear the Ottawa alternative rockers’ bluesy, scuzzy riffs and catchy hooks. Tickets $15.

Motorists plays LIVE! on Elgin on 23 August. See the Toronto trio channel stadium-sized power-pop through gauzy '90s alt rock fuzz with influences from R.E.M. and Teenage Fanclub. Tickets $20.

Ellen Braun performs at Red Bird on 24 August. Come along to hear the Canadian indie-folk artist's poignant storytelling and soulful melodies. Tickets $33.

Listings for music shows are provided by OttawaGigs.ca, the best place to discover live music in Ottawa. Check out Ottawagigs.ca for full listings across the city.

Want to see your event here? Submit them to our event calendar.

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Barrio’s dishes impress, even if the bill runs high

For those who have enjoyed the Peruvian cuisine at Raphaël, it’ll come as no surprise that chef/owner Lizardo Becerra has once again delivered the goods at Barrio.

Read the review

OTTAWA GUESSER

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Chef Ric’s is opening at the Taggart Family YMCA. [Facebook]

• A free public screening of Moana 2 will be part of the Summer Carnival and Movie Night at Balena Park on Saturday, 23 August. [Reddit]

• What’s behind that bookcase? (It’s a bar) [Ottawa Citizen]

• There’s a new boxing program in Nepean. [Reddit]

• Reddit is helping an Ottawa senior find a beginner yoga class. [Reddit]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

ON THIS DAY

August 20, 1948: The Township of Nepean said it was hoping to give a discount on taxes to anyone who prepaid. 

• “In asking the people of Nepean to co-operate by tax prepayments, he (Reeve Harry Parslow) explained that the practice would benefit everyone,” reported the Ottawa Citizen. “With money coming in in advance, the township would be better able to finance itself and much of the need for borrowed money with the attendant payment of interest would be eliminated.” 

During the meeting, two Nepean officials got raises. Building inspector William Bourne had his yearly wage raised from $2,250 to $2,500. In making his formal request for the pay bump, Bourne said the total value of building permits would be around $4 million — up from the $800,000 when he started the role. 

• Also on that day, it was confirmed a fireball over Arnprior was identified as a meteor. Over 60 calls went into the Dominion Observatory from curious onlookers who reported the sightings. It was a big deal for the rural township. The last meteorite found in Canada was near Dresden, Ontario in 1939.