With the heat of the summer now descending on Ottawa and Canada Day less than a week away, Ottawa Tourism said it’s gearing up for a “special” national holiday as the country comes together.
Jerome Miousse, director of public affairs at Ottawa Tourism, said while Canada Day is always a major event for tourism in the nation’s capital, the current “geopolitical context” suggests that this year will be a “special” occasion.
“This context brings us together, and it’s conducive to a little bit more of Canadian unity, Canadian pride, and people want to celebrate that this year, I would say, more than other years, possibly,” he told Ottawa Compass. “So we’re expecting something bigger than the past few years that will bring people together.”
The federal government’s celebrations will proceed “as usual” with a ceremony at midday followed by entertainment in the evening, both at LeBreton Flats Park. Sarah McLachlan is set to headline the evening festivities and both the noon and evening events will be livestreamed across the country and on screens at Parliament Hill and the Supreme Court.
OC Transpo will also offer free ridership and extended service all day, with the LRT expected to bring a number of attendees in to the events from around the city, including the various fireworks shows that will be on display in nearly every neighbourhood in Ottawa.
“It’s going to be easy for people to make it from wherever they’re staying to the site of the celebrations,” said Miousse. “We are hoping for good weather, that would be a bonus. But all in all, we’re expecting a very lively, very busy and vibrant day in Ottawa.”
At Ottawa Tourism, Miousse said the goal has been to encourage visitors to extend their Canada Day trips and see everything else Ottawa has to offer. Namely, the organization has been promoting the Ottawa Visitor Pass and the Canada Strong Pass, which allow families to tour Ottawa’s biggest attractions at better prices, allowing people to “curate” their experience, Miousse said.
While events like Winterlude and the Tulip Festival are huge attractions for Ottawa, Miousse said “different events attract different visitors,” and Canada Day tends to be attended by the domestic market more than some other events.
“While the Government of Canada will try to attract everyone to Ottawa for the big national celebration, our role here, beyond just getting people to book in advance, is to fill the gaps once it comes to last minute decisions,” he explained. “So if our hotels are not full yet, then it’s our role to convince people to make the last-minute decision to drive to Ottawa for Canada Day and make it worth their while.
“They can come see our landmarks, our cultural experiences, our outdoors experiences,” he continued. “It’s a city that can offer a lot to people at any pace, any segment of visitors.”
After years of recovery, tourism in Ottawa is back up to 2019 numbers, Miousse said — the goal now is just to continue growing, and with July and August “trending ahead of last year,” Miousse says “we’re looking at the very busy and lively summer in Ottawa.”
