Memo to mayoral candidates: We are Ottawa and we need to think big — much bigger

Ottawa is a city of just over a million people who call this home.  We are also a national capital of a G7 country, which is of great interest to us, the local residents, and to visitors from across the country and all over the world.

Our national capital is failing and flailing and we must do better.  It’s time to think positive and think big.  How do we make this a world-class capital city that would make all Canadian visitors proud and foreign visitors impressed?

There is much the National Capital Region has to offer and here are just some ideas that can be implemented in the next ten to twenty years.  Let’s get a conversation going on what we should do.

Wellington Street’s future

It’s time for the federal government to have a grander vision for Parliament Hill.  and the City of Ottawa to move forward with turning Wellington Street into a pedestrian plaza. When Canadians visit their Parliament and Capital they deserve to be impressed. As it stands, Wellington Street is falling short. Pedestrianizing this iconic road is not only an opportunity to change the face of our capital and provide amenities to residents and tourists, it will also enhance security around Parliament for parliamentarians, staff and visitors alike.  At the same time it would facilitate public celebrations and demonstrations—a vital aspect of our democracy—without the current need for road closures and the consequent disruption to residents.  This will entail better traffic ability on the streets south of Wellington, nothing a bit of planning can’t ensure.  And a possible tram link to the Gatineau side of the river.

Make Parliament Hill more instagramable!

We should look for more pedestrianized areas in the city and while doing that some bike lanes too.  Let’s act like we are a world-class city in 2026.

Science and Tech museum downtown

Let’s move the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology to a modern, downtown site. If we want to promote Canada as a scientific and innovative country and inspire the next generation to take up STEM, we need an exciting museum downtown rather than one tucked away in a former random bread factory in a distant industrial park. Make this a key stop on Ottawa’s museum circuit, not an afterthought.

LeBreton Flats is to be developed in the decade ahead and now is the time to add this idea to the roster.

A portrait museum – a museum of the Canadian people!

The concept of a portrait museum has been discussed for decades and actually did get approval by the Chrétien government around 2000, only to be shelved by the Harper government before it got launched. With the Ottawa Public Library moving out to LeBreton Flats, some prime real estate is going to become free in downtown Ottawa: a perfect spot to showcase some of our national heritage. Failing that, once the current renovations to Parliament are completed in 2031, the former Ottawa Union Station, currently host to the Senate of Canada, will be available. This stunning Beaux-Arts building deserves an equally grand purpose for the long term, and a portrait gallery might just be the perfect fit.

And a portrait gallery is not just about old dead kings and queens and aristocrats.  The ones in Washington, London and Canberra are exciting galleries of the people – of famous people and ordinary people with a range of art genres.  Telling the story of the people of the country, and the world.

Indigenous art museum

Congratulations to the Winnipeg Art Gallery for opening Qaumajuq, the first significant Inuit art museum wing in the country.  Canadian Indigenous art – First Nations, Métis, and Inuit – are completely unique.  It is both historic in nature and bravely contemporary, which merits public display if only there were the right venue. Years ago, there was a plan to build such a gallery on Victoria Island. It’s time to revisit that whether it be on the island, a downtown building, or a new building adjacent to the National Gallery, run with the complete involvement of Indigenous curators and administration.  This idea needs a lot of attention and discussion.

A graffiti art gallery

Graffiti attracts a larger following than traditional art galleries. Done well, a graffiti venue could be bold, engaging, and exciting. Miami has developed an industrial neighbourhood around two venues: Wynward Walls and the Graffiti Museum, which draw thousands of visitors.

A project centred on high-quality graffiti (yes, there is such a thing) could be launched in an area such as the ByWard Market or Mechanicsville and would be of huge interest to kids and families.  Such a gallery bleeds into the community around promoting murals and artistic designs in the vicinity.

Think about it – the Graffiti Art Gallery….the GAG!

A mural program

Many cities in North America and Europe have developed imaginative mural programs that produce large, engaging, privately funded, and multi-story murals. Designed with social media in mind, they are perfect for Instagrammable moments. These are the kind of things that help bring attention to cities in the current era.  We can have a program that promotes more art, provides awards and encourages tourists.

Architectural Magnet

We need to set high standards for architecture.  Let’s recognize and award buildings that are imaginative and bold….and environmentally friendly. Over a century ago Chicago city council planned for a city that would attract all the best architects of the world. Today, that kind of foresight has paid off and Chicago has some of the most interested buildings anywhere. Make this a feature that Ottawa will be known for – public and privately owned buildings.  Facilitated through encouragement and zoning.

Chicago thought big and thought long term and we can do the same.  

Botanical Garden

The plans for a botanical garden in Ottawa — Canadensis: The Garden of Canada — are well developed. Ottawa is the only G20 capital without the opportunity to showcase its natural heritage, diversity, and beauty in this manner. Toronto has one. Montreal has one. In both cases, they do a great job. But it is far beyond time for the capital to have one too. We even have the land ready: 34 acres between Prince of Wales Drive and the Rideau Canal. An alternative would be in Major’s Hill Park.  All that’s left is to get on and build it.

High-Efficiency Rail to Montreal and Toronto

Oh my!  Rail has always been central to Canada’s existence and identity. The intercolonial railway featured in the British North America Act and British Columbia was drawn in with the promise of a transcontinental route. Neglected through the 20th century, rail is back with a bang. Plans for a new railway in the Quebec-Windsor corridor have been announced, exact details to follow. The benefits of getting this built are obvious: improved productivity, lower emissions by replacing automobile traffic and short-haul air routes, and opportunities to build homes along the line with rapid, car-free, access to urban cores. Connectivity matters. Linking Ottawa-Gatineau with the commercial centres, and bigger international airports, of Toronto and Montreal should be a priority.  While the current application is for “high speed rail” we might want to think about something a bit less disruptive and expensive – “high efficiency rail” which uses much the same tracks as VIA Rail, but on tracks built for VIA alone, so trains can be faster and on time.  

Gatineau Park – National Park

Senator Rosa Galvez has introduced a bill into the Senate to define the boundaries and purpose of Gatineau Park in law. This is the 15th attempt to do so but this time has a lot of government support.  The bill has widespread support from MPs and Senators around the National Capital Region. Gatineau Park is a jewel in the crown of the national capital, enhancing the well-being of residents and drawing tourists to its natural beauty and hiking and cross-country skiing trails. It is the second most visited national park in Canada. Yet for all its fame and significance, it remains the only national park that isn’t defined in statute. This lack of parliamentary oversight has led to its boundaries being reduced. It is time Gatineau Park received the legal protection it deserves so that we can be sure that it remains for future generations. 

24 Sussex Drive

The Prime Minister’s official residence is in dire need of replacement, with perhaps only a portion of the historic façade preserved for heritage purposes.  At last, a current PM is prepared to move on this, to be ready after the next election.  Whether rebuilt on the current site or relocated elsewhere, Canada needs a prime ministerial residence that reflects our stature as a nation. Surely a prime minister of a G7 country should have more than a home known as “Rideau Cottage”!

The Other Hill – Sandy Hill

There is a wonderful effort to build an exciting and dynamic infrastructure in Sandy Hill, which has a great history of residences of politicians and embassies.  The Other Hill is creating venues and programs that creates conversations with authors, artists and activists.

A new bridge

Crossing the interprovincial bridges to work or play is often a source of frustration for residents of Ottawa and Gatineau. The last bridge to go up, Portage, was completed 50 years ago. In that time, the population of the National Capital Region has more than doubled and Canada has become nearly five-and-a-half times wealthier. Inexcusably, our infrastructure hasn’t kept pace. Improved public transport (see below) would ease the situation, but it won’t change the need for new interprovincial road, pedestrian, and cycle transport connections. The crumbling 120-year-old Alexandra Bridge is being replaced and the proposal to build a bridge at Kettle Island revived, although without a timeline or funding. The intention is there, but if we want the National Capital Region to keep growing in size and standing we must act. Montreal’s new Champlain Bridge, including the REM light rail line, is a model of modern infrastructure, and it was completed in only four years.  That said, we could have a new Alexandra bridge that respects the history of the current bridge an adds to the good architecture of the capital.  Please nothing cheap and ugly (nothing like our sad Light Rapid Transit). 

Public transport

Oh my again! The LRT has been nothing short of an embarrassment. If one visits cities such as New York, Mexico City, Paris, London, Beijing, we see how minimalist Ottawa’s public transit is. “Pathetic” is not a throw-away line. The LRT is almost non-existant.  Going forward we need to compare our system not to what we have had, that bar is too low, but what so many other countries have. Current and past city councils have let us down. Better is needed.

Lastly, let’s have vision.  Let’s demand that our civic leaders are visionaries, who dream big that can make us proud of our national capital!

Andrew Cardozo is an independent senator representing Ontario, and has been a resident of Ottawa for over 40 years. He is an artist and has been on the boards of the YM-YWCA, immigrant settlement centres and arts organizations, and been a student and an adjunct prof at Carleton U.

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