Ottawa’s noise rules back in focus as council faces competing priorities

As Ottawa heads into another festival and patio season, city hall is quietly preparing to revisit a rulebook that shapes everything from backyard air conditioners to late-night concerts. 

A long-anticipated review of the city’s noise by-law is expected to land before the next term of council, reopening debate over how Ottawa balances a growing nightlife economy with residents’ expectations for quiet neighbourhoods.

In a recent interview with Ottawa Lookout, nightlife commissioner Mathieu Grondin said a review of the regulation has not undergone a comprehensive review in more than two decades, even as Ottawa has pushed to expand entertainment districts and support live-music venues.

“That’s probably going to be part of the next nightlife strategy. It hasn’t been revisited in 24 years, and the landscape has changed a lot,” Grondin told Ottawa Lookout.

That tension resurfaced in recent months as councillors debated proposed changes tied to the licensing and regulation of food-premises operations, with music venues raising concerns about new enforcement tools that could affect how they operate.

The City’s noise by-law was created in 2004 post-amalgamation and updated in 2017, and while noise violations are not among the most serious problems the city faces, they still impact the quality of life for residents. Regulating noise also affects the city’s nightlife, a sector of the economy that the city is attempting to nurture.

The noise by-law governs everything from ringing a bell to exhaust fans to general construction to concerts. Regulations often refer to the time between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. and fines range from $400 to $10,000 per offence. 

A general exemption applies to outdoor musicians or performers providing “involving sound reproduction devices” during the events hosted by the National Capital Commission, which includes Winterlude or Canada Day celebrations.”

According to the 2025 By-law and Regulatory Services 2025 Annual Report, service request calls related to noise have decreased to nine per cent (from 11 per cent) of toprequests from 2023 to 2025. 

Over the last five years, noise-related service requests peaked during the pandemic but have since decreased.

However, in recent months, the issue of noise has resurfaced with discussion centering around entertainment provided at smaller bars or restaurants because of proposed amendments to the licensing and regulation of food premises by-law. They have also surfaced in relation to air conditioners on apartment buildings.

Councillor Sean Devine tabled a motion at the Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committee, addressing what he called industry “concerns” around some recommendations to change regulations for restaurants, bars or other music venues. 

Certain venues would be mandated to relocate the “noise-generating equipment with license premises, at the licensees' expense, and “obtain professional acoustic engineering reports, and undertake associated remediation,” according to the motion, which passed on April 8. 

“That was of concern (for) the music venues, because the chief licensing inspector could do this, even though we don't have any set guidelines or thresholds that are relevant to a music venue,” said Devine. “The music industry was saying, ‘We don't mind what you're doing broadly and generally with this food premises licensing thing, but these two items are going to be very, very possibly threatening to us in the way that you framed it.’” 

As a result, Councillor Devine presented the motion to remove these suggestions in the meantime and consider consultation with industry stakeholders. 

Devine adds that this type of conflict over noise violations is a “problem that doesn’t really happen that frequently in the first place.”

Melanie Brulée, executive director of the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, says her membership was concerned about the way the licensing review was being presented. 

“They were feeling as though there was an additional risk to operating their business with the way the licensing review was written as is,” she told the Ottawa Lookout. 

In particular, the industry was concerned that the review would give the chief licensing officer the power to mandate the relocation of sound equipment as well as the power to mandate acoustic engineer reports. In addition, by-law officers do not have the tools to be able to measure bass, she adds, another issue that is problematic with the noise by-law. 

As a result, Brulée is calling for not just a review of the noise by-law but a wholesale review of the way sound is governed in the city. “There are loops in the system right now,” she says. “These are the super unsexy things that need to be sorted out behind the scenes so that everybody knows where the lines are.”

Devine agrees that a review of the noise by-law is necessary to address a variety of issues. For example, the review may seek to distinguish between a lawn mower and a concert. 

And it doesn’t necessarily mean that a review will create a more restrictive landscape, Devine says. “A noise by-law review could theoretically end up with a different landscape that is perfectly aligned with what the city wants to do with its downtown nightlife.”

It appears a review is forthcoming if the next elected council agrees.  

“Council has asked staff to consider a review of the Noise By-law as part of the next term’s work plan, which staff support. Approval of that work plan will ultimately rest with the next council, in line with the council-approved by-law review framework,” Ryan Perrault, general manager of Emergency and Protective Services, told Ottawa Lookout in an email. 

 Robert Dekker, president of the Centretown Community Association, which encompasses bar and restaurant hotspots like Elgin Street and Bank Street, says his organization has not fielded any complaints about noise from these establishments. 

“Not that we're the by-law office, but we get complaints about many things from the community association,” Dekker said. “But we haven't received any complaints, so my question would be why are we changing the noise by-laws? We want to make sure that the businesses on Bank Street and Elgin and anywhere that's within the Centretown catchment area are successful.”

Neighbourhoods like the Glebe are affected by relatively loud noises from everything from festivals to air conditioners, and the community association says in October, it passed its own motion calling for a review of the noise by-law, according to president John Crump.

In Toronto, research by one expert found that noise is not just an irritant but can compromise health and cause sleep disturbances, high blood pressure, and diabetes. 

Tor Oiamo, associate professor in the department of geography and environmental studies at Toronto Metropolitan University, says that noise issues are a matter of public health, but are often not viewed that way. Dr. Oiamo was hired by Toronto Public Health several years ago to conduct a city-wide assessment of noise exposure.  

He says that noise by-laws are often problematic for several reasons, including that they are designed to respond to one-time events such as concerts. In addition, more sustained sources of noise, such as transportation, are regulated by the provincial government, which leaves gaps in the regulations.

“They're just not by design really suitable to address noise as a public health hazard,” said Dr. Oiamo. 

When it comes to balancing the enhancement of a nightlife economy with protecting residents from the public health hazard of noise pollution, Dr. Oiamo says it is simply not possible. “You shouldn’t have a nightlife economy where people live,” he says. 

“They don't speak the same language. You're talking dollars versus quality of life. Now you can monetize quality of life and health impacts, but on the level and scale that these things are being discussed at, it's not really possible.”

This balancing act will be the challenge facing city councillors in the next term of council as they examine the noise by-law.