{"id":486710,"date":"2026-02-20T03:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T03:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/486710\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T03:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T03:03:12","slug":"ottawas-byward-market-set-for-major-overhaul-mayor-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/486710\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa\u2019s ByWard Market set for major overhaul, mayor says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

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, caf\u00e9s and other businesses.Spencer Colby\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

The ByWard Market, a major tourist destination and entertainment district in the country\u2019s capital, is set for a major overhaul, Ottawa<\/a> Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we can have a successful downtown without a successful ByWard Market,\u201d he told a news conference after presenting his proposals to an Ottawa Board of Trade gathering.<\/p>\n

In downtown Ottawa, businesses are eager to see public servants return to office<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some immediate stuff and there\u2019s some long-term stuff, but the plan is going to get approved by council in March,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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, caf\u00e9s and other businesses, and is home to about 3,000 residents. <\/p>\n

Next year, the area will celebrate its 200th anniversary.<\/p>\n

But the market has faced challenges around public safety and homelessness, which Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs acknowledged after Mr. Sutcliffe\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the most part, it\u2019s very safe there, but there is no doubt that in certain areas, the vulnerable population have created some safety concerns there,\u201d Chief Stubbs said in an interview. \u201cIt\u2019s something we\u2019re trying to address.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is seeking a second term after first being elected in 2022.Sean Kilpatrick\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Mr. Sutcliffe said major renovations are needed to the central, two-storey ByWard Market building \u2013 \u201cthe symbolic heart of the market\u201d \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

Caught in Ottawa\u2019s drug crisis, a homeless woman searches for a new life<\/a><\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

He also proposed enhanced lighting and cleaning in the corridor between the market and the nearby Rideau LRT station. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Among Canada\u2019s most livable major cities, Ottawa is No. 1<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future of the ByWard Market can\u2019t be bright if we don\u2019t also address the chronic social issues that have been evident for several years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s proposals, but that business development needs to be balanced with action on social concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t going to move into the market unless we have a sustained success story around homelessness and active drug use and crime in the market,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The ByWard Market in Ottawa is a historic district east of Parliament Hill…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486711,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739,714],"class_list":["post-486710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}