Treasury Board President Anita Anand has recently been in the spotlight for spearheading the federal government's mandate to bring public servants back to the office three days a week this fall. While the rationale behind this decision seems rooted in preserving workplace flexibility, it’s clear that a more vibrant downtown Ottawa, bustling with activity, will greatly benefit from this increased foot traffic and contribute significantly to the revitalization of our urban core.
But if we’ve learned anything from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that we can’t simply return to the way things were before. We must learn, adapt, and emerge more resilient to change. While a return to office mandate for the federal public service will bring more activity to downtown, it won’t be enough to rejuvenate the downtown core, which is grappling with a serious decline in regular visitors.
We face the formidable challenge of bringing life back to our city center. How can we transform downtown Ottawa into a more vibrant area for the future? The answer is clear: together.
It’s not one thing - one person - one program – one mandate - that will bring life back to downtown. It’s a collection of actions that will result in a more desirable, resilient, robust, and inclusive downtown. And it is a goal that necessitates support and investment at all levels of government, from Ottawa’s City Hall to Canada’s federal leadership.
The Ottawa Board of Trade, in collaboration with the Canadian Urban Institute, set out to create a community action plan to address the decline of our downtown. Along with our partners across the city, including the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Tourism, Invest Ottawa, BOMA Ottawa, and the National Capital Commission, in May we unveiled “A Living Capital: Downtown Ottawa Action Agenda.”
The agenda embraces the vision of a holistic live-work-play environment. One that creates a culturally rich, inclusive, and accessible downtown for all. One that boosts our local economy. And one that attracts artists, investors, innovators, leaders, talent, and young people. Our action agenda targets four big moves to realize that vision.
We propose adding 40,000 new residents and creating 50,000 new jobs by 2034, which will convert the city centre into a bustling hub of activity, creativity, and innovation. It also aims to create a $500 million fund to generate a series of projects, enhance the public realms of Sparks Street and the ByWard Market, and establish a new Business Incubation District and Arts/Culture Corridor.
To many, what we are proposing may seem like obvious solutions to our city's problems. But turning our vision into a reality requires coordinated action, strong leadership, and a clear vision. The Action Agenda is calling on the Federal Government to play their part in the five immediate actions that the city should promote. These include prioritizing housing; investing in the future through financial mechanisms for ongoing downtown ventures; addressing homelessness, addiction, and mental health; improving regional mobility through enhanced transit options; and positioning downtown nationally and internationally through marketing efforts.
Downtown Ottawa is the heartbeat of our whole region – and where tourists and visitors from across the country, and world - come to explore. As the centre of our nation’s capital, it is a symbol of Canada’s identity and culture internationally. What happens downtown has a direct and immediate impact on every business, every resident, and every visitor. We must focus on making downtown a source of national pride, and a place where businesses and people choose to be.
To learn more about how you can support the Downtown Ottawa Action Agenda, visit: livingcapitalottawa.ca.
Sueling Ching, President & CEO, Ottawa Board of Trade