Analytics in the Capital

 

For publicly accessible City of Ottawa data and statistics, the best starting point is the City’s Open Data portal, which includes datasets, maps, and dashboards that are available to the public:

ottawa.ca/opendata

If you are seeking more technical or specialized information, you may also contact opendata@ottawa.ca, which is the general point of contact for questions related to open datasets at the City of Ottawa.

Dig in!

Aviation Parkway Bridge...what we know

 

NCC report revives debate over proposed east-end interprovincial bridge

By Joshua MaranoOpens in new window
Published: December 06, 2025 at 4:28PM EST


long-debated 

National Capital Commission (NCC) involved
connect Ottawa’s Aviation Parkway to Gatineau’s Montée Paiement corridor, crossing the Ottawa River via Kettle Island.

 reduce heavy truck traffic downtown

 major impacts on neighbourhood roads.

online survey polled 5,113 people from Ontario and Quebec. According to the NCC, the most significant benefit indicated by respondents was reducing truck traffic by through Ottawa’s downtown core, ranked as a top priority by 38.5% of participants.
Other hoped-for advantages included shorter commute times (17.9%) and improved public transit connections (14.2%).
 25.6% of respondents pointed to potential traffic impacts on nearby neighbourhoods as their biggest worry, while 18.9% percent feared construction-related disruptions and 16.9% feared congestion on local roads.

 federal government included planning for an interprovincial crossing in its 2024 Fall Economic statement

 Manor Park community Guy Brunet says he’s concerned the bridge could intensify congestion that is already growing.

Ottawa Councillor Stéphanie Plante of Rideau-Vanier ward, says she is strongly in favour of the project.

  Beacon Hill-Cyrville councillor Tim Tierney argues the project’s estimated $4-billion -To address problem one, working with the province, hopefully they will look to go ahead and proceed with some kind of ring road in the south end of the city.”

A report released by the NCC last year found that approximately 3,500 trucks cross the Ottawa River each day, with 72% of them using the Macdonald Cartier Bridge.

My view:

The bridge is needed, is coming and politicians must be prepared to make the best of it.  Lead...do not follow. Get the best you can from it.

Your Landsdowne 2.0 proponents

 

How We Fight Lansdowne 2.0 and Win

Most people in Ottawa don’t want to spend half a billion dollars on a stadium. We win by calling out the Councillors who intend to vote for this (hoping that no one notices) — and asking our neighbours, friends and family to do the same. SHARE THE FLYER below, which explains how best to call out Councillors.

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Is Your Councillor on the Naughty List?

Lansdowne will be decided at a final go/no-go vote in October this year. If your councillor voted yes for Lansdowne in 2023, then let them know you would like them to VOTE NO to Lansdowne this October. Below is a list of Councillors who did not vote to stop Lansdowne in 2023. If this is your Councillor, let them know how you feel.

Stéphanie Plante	Rideau-Vanier	Stephanie.Plante@ottawa.ca	613-580-2482
David Brown	Rideau-Jock	David.Brown@ottawa.ca	613-580-2491
Clarke Kelly	West Carleton-March	Clarke.Kelly@ottawa.ca	613-580-2475
Marty Carr	Alta Vista	Marty.Carr@ottawa.ca	613-580-2488
Wilson Lo	Barrhaven East	Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca	613-580-2846
Catherine Kitts	Orléans South-Navan	Catherine.Kitts@ottawa.ca	613-580-2489
Isabelle Skalski*	Osgoode	Isabelle.Skalski@ottawa.ca	613-580-2490
Glen Gower	Stittsville	Glen.Gower@ottawa.ca	613-580-2476
David Hill	Barrhaven West	David.Hill@ottawa.ca	613-580-2473
Laura Dudas	Orléans West-Innes	Laura.Dudas@ottawa.ca	613-580-2472
Matt Luloff	Orléans East-Cumberland	Matt.Luloff@ottawa.ca	613-580-2471
Cathy Curry	Kanata North	Cathy.Curry@ottawa.ca	613-580-2474
Tim Tierney	Beacon Hill-Cyrville	Tim.Tierney@ottawa.ca	613-580-2481
Steve Desroches	Riverside South-Findlay Creek	Steve.Desroches@ottawa.ca	613-580-2751
Allan Hubley	Kanata South

Commercial Building Crunch time

 

Ottawa's commercial market was very strong pre-COVID (low vacancies across classes), but office has seen the clearest and most persistent increase in vacancies due to work-from-home shifts.

 Industrial and retail have been more resilient, with vacancies rising modestly but staying low and demand-driven. These trends align with broader Canadian patterns, though Ottawa benefits from government/tech stability.

Some of you may know that occupancy in commercial business space is down, some federal governments spaces are less than 50% occupied. 

Some commercial tenants will simply not renew their leases.

What will be the consequence of this in Ottawa? Do you know? Have you asked or surveyed landlords about their business horizons?

When building owners do not have tenants, who will support their mortgage payments?
This will affect their  supporting banks adversely.

Are those buildings convertible to residential space? Do city bylaws permit the transformation?

Office Vacancy Rate

• Pre-COVID (2019): Around 7.0–7.5% overall (e.g., reports noted a 10-year low of ~7.5% in early 2019 after strong absorption; downtown/Class A often lower at ~4.7–7.7%, suburbs similar or slightly higher). Ottawa was one of Canada's tighter office markets.
• Current (late 2025): 12.3% overall (Cushman & Wakefield Q4 2025), with fluctuations earlier in 2025 (e.g., 10.8–12.7% in Q1–Q2 per CBRE/Colliers). Downtown/core submarkets often higher (13–15% in recent periods).
• Comparison: Significantly higher now — roughly 5–6 percentage points up from pre-COVID levels. This reflects ongoing hybrid work impacts, slower federal government return-to-office, and some shadow/sublet space. Ottawa remains relatively low compared to national Canadian averages (often 17–18%+) or cities like Calgary/Toronto.

Are we willfully blind about the issue of low occupancy in commercial buildings?

Money Talks, Bullshit Walks

I try to watch Ottawa City Council meetings on youtube. Its truly mind numbing.

What raises my temperature is the disconnect between what councillors stated were their priorities and what they actually spend their time and money on.

Did they say they would spend another half billion on Landsdowne? No.
Did they plan for giant tents for immigrants? No.
Did they plan on spending millions on swampland? No.

Whose interests does it serve to deviate council and its bureaucrats time, energy and money. Well it is not yours, the taxpayers.

Certainly 90% of the crap that passes for council deliberation is way off their stated priorities...hours of bafflegab and "Whereas" bullcrap.

A big part of the problem is the sheer volume of material, the briefings, the delegations, the minutes, the lengthy meetings...no mere human can ingest, digest, process and synthesize it all. They need help!

These are not stupid people but at times they really think incorrectly. For example, the recent debate on renoviction where tenants get evicted over landlord capital improvements. Its a provincial matter! Why spend two hours debating it. Send your demand note to the province.

My recommendation is to introduce artificial intelligence to assist members with their workload. No council decision or debate should proceed without AI summarues, option analysis and recommendations against stated priorities.

Canada - the 51st State

 

The notion of Canada becoming a 51st state has raised hackles.

The problem is that our economic advantage through association is great. However, the world according to the USNational interests is a very cruel place filled with war, destruction and gross inequities.

Mind you we already have inequity in Canada, lack of housing, lack of food security, lack of fresh water on indian reserves, lack of income distribution its not all roses and maple syrup.

The notion of economic union is also a non starter given the 44 Trillion  USD debt  ( thats a Gazzilion DOLLARS CAD)

It is a strange arrangement. We need so much from the USA including sunny winters.  The states need our resources.
The US has 4 lanes coming to the border. Perhaps they will just take what they need while our fractious parliamentarians dither.