The ByWard Market in Ottawa is a historic district east of Parliament Hill that was once the home of workers who built the Rideau Canal. Now, the area contains about 500 restaurants, bars, cafés and other businesses.Spencer Colby/The Globe and Mail
The ByWard Market, a major tourist destination and entertainment district in the country’s capital, is set for a major overhaul, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says.
During a Thursday forum, Mr. Sutcliffe outlined a plan that includes renovating a historic building central to the market, creating a plaza along a key street, adding major outdoor murals and, in the long term, turning a parking garage into a cultural hub.
Mr. Sutcliffe, who is facing re-election later this year, also said a new housing strategy soon to be released will include measures to address homelessness issues that have raised concerns about the state of the market.
“I don’t think we can have a successful downtown without a successful ByWard Market,” he told a news conference after presenting his proposals to an Ottawa Board of Trade gathering.
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Mr. Sutcliffe, who is seeking a second term after first being elected in 2022, said he would bring his ByWard Market proposal to a city committee and council in March, and that aspects of the plan can be enacted before the fall election.
“There’s some immediate stuff and there’s some long-term stuff, but the plan is going to get approved by council in March,” he said.
The ByWard Market is a historic district east of Parliament Hill that was once the home of workers who built the 194-year-old Rideau Canal. Today the district contains about 500 restaurants, bars, cafés and other businesses, and is home to about 3,000 residents.
Next year, the area will celebrate its 200th anniversary.
But the market has faced challenges around public safety and homelessness, which Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs acknowledged after Mr. Sutcliffe’s speech.
“For the most part, it’s very safe there, but there is no doubt that in certain areas, the vulnerable population have created some safety concerns there,” Chief Stubbs said in an interview. “It’s something we’re trying to address.”
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is seeking a second term after first being elected in 2022.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The former Mountie told the forum his department will be releasing a plan in four to six weeks to address safety issues across downtown Ottawa, with specific details on how many officers will be deployed and what their mission will be. That will include the ByWard Market, he said.
In January, the force added 14 officers to the downtown core. It is also planning to deploy a mounted unit of eight officers and horses to the market this summer.
Mr. Sutcliffe said major renovations are needed to the central, two-storey ByWard Market building – “the symbolic heart of the market” – which is now 98 years old. His proposal would add a second-floor patio to the building, along with new local pop-up retail vendors, outdoor dining terraces and other fixtures.
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In the short term, he said, a four-storey parking garage will be limited to three-hour access to accelerate vehicle turnover. In the long term, he advocates turning it into a cultural hub.
And he called for turning central York Street into a plaza for events. Mr. Sutcliffe said the Ottawa Art Gallery is involved in an effort to bring up to 10 murals to prominent buildings and public spaces starting this summer.
He also proposed enhanced lighting and cleaning in the corridor between the market and the nearby Rideau LRT station.
The mayor noted that the city has allotted $1-million in the 2026 budget for private security to help improve public safety, and that there is a police office in the Rideau Centre shopping mall across the street from the market.
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On housing, he said the city will be releasing a renewed 10-year plan next month that he suggested would, in part, address the homelessness concerns around the market.
“The future of the ByWard Market can’t be bright if we don’t also address the chronic social issues that have been evident for several years,” he said.
Cara Vaccarino, president and CEO of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, which includes the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, said she was pleased with the mayor’s proposals, but that business development needs to be balanced with action on social concerns.
“People aren’t going to move into the market unless we have a sustained success story around homelessness and active drug use and crime in the market,” she said.