At the meeting of the finance and corporate services committee this week, councillors heard an update on the city’s economic development strategy, which includes millions of dollars in provincial funding, a toolkit to help residents and businesses understand the U.S. tariffs, and what’s next for nightlife in Ottawa.
To support downtown improvements and revitalization, the provincial government is providing Ottawa with $18.5 million over five years, committee heard, which can also help improve public spaces and assist projects included in the ByWard Market public realm plan.
Additionally, the city has developed a tariff toolkit to address new tariffs and is in the process of creating a similar online dashboard. The idea is to assist residents and local businesses in understanding how the tariffs might impact them. City staff added that in March, the Conference Board of Canada indicated that Ottawa’s economy, relative to other Canadian cities, would not be overly impacted by tariffs, relative to other cities in Canada, given that Ottawa’s economy is largely service-focused. However, the tariffs’ impacts to the technology and construction sectors are “evolving”, staff said.
Meanwhile, all 10 recommendations in the Nightlife Economy Action Plan are underway, committee heard, under the guidance of nightlife commissioner Mathieu Grondin.
Currently, nightlife is a big part of the Economic Development Strategy’s goal of creating a more diverse local economy. So far, a lot of focus has been put on the downtown core, especially as the city gears up to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bytown in 2026 and the ByWard Market in 2027.
That said, Orléans East-Cumberland Coun. Matt Luloff was especially pleased to hear that progress has been made with the Orléans Economic Action Plan, which he has been advocating for.
He said Sparks Street downtown and many Orléans neighbourhoods, like near St. Joseph Boulevard, have the same challenge: “People don’t really live there.”
“Frankly, they suffer from the same affliction,” he told Ottawa Compass. “Once the businesses close at the end of the day and whatnot, there’s no one there to sustain anything after-hours.”
Now, he said things are changing, and local business owners can “feel the support” from the city.
As a former musician, Luloff is passionate about the live music scene in Ottawa, and said that the city needs to take an “equitable approach” that supports entertainment infrastructure across the city.
“It is very important that we make great efforts to revitalize the ByWard Market and recognize the great live music venues downtown,” he said. “However, in Orleans, we have more than three great live music venues that are working right now and creating vibrancy in our neighbourhood.”
He also argues that Ottawa nightlife should be considered from a suburban perspective, too, to ensure it can benefit the whole city. This includes cohesive transit to bring people around the city smoothly, he explained, and increase access for local musicians. Both of these are among the top priorities for the nightlife council.
But beyond that, he said it is vital to have a holistic approach that taps into the unique economies of each area of the city — and the Orléans Economics Action Plan is a step in the right direction.
“I think that economic development and all of its forms, is incredibly important, especially if you want to have a prosperous city and a city where people can work in different industries,” he said. “I think that kind of local economy is very important. That’s how people live, work and play in their own area, and then, of course, go downtown for bigger shows or special occasions or to hang out with friends or to meet up with people that are coming to visit. I think that’s entirely normal.
“But if we’re developing a nightlife strategy, it can’t just be about one area of the city.”
