Viewpoint: The Rideau Canal is anything but overrated

By Michael Yang

Tyler Dawson sure knows how to pick a fight.

The Ottawa Citizen columnist decided to smear the Rideau Canal in an editorial published Jan. 23, calling the landmark “Ottawa’s most overrated and overhyped bit of infrastructure, especially when it comes to attracting tourists.”

“The pickings sure must be slim in this town,” he writes in the piece, “The Rideau Canal is a big pile o’ meh, despite its UNESCO heritage status.”

That certainly got some folks, including myself, riled up. And try as I did, and surely as Mr. Dawson didn’t, I was hard-pressed to find any tourists or Centretown residents who shared his view of our city’s best attraction.

Yes, Ottawa’s best attraction. The canal is not just a novel skating rink in the winter or scenic kayak route in the summer.  As even Mr. Dawson admits, it’s a cultural and engineering marvel that’s as much a part of Canadian history as Parliament Hill.

But more importantly, the stunning waterway embodies everything Ottawa is really about: understated beauty, an inviting charm and a communal, shared experience that leaves a lasting impression on both locals and tourists alike.

Sure, the Peace Tower is a sight to behold and, yes, our vast collection of museums is quite impressive. But if you want a uniquely Ottawa experience, take your friends and family out for a skate, stroll, bike ride or even a drive along the canal, no matter the season.

The numbers back up what locals already know. According to the National Capital Commission and Parks Canada, an annual average of one million people enjoy the canal during the winter months and nearly 60,000 boats passed through its locks in the last boating season.

Tack on another million visitors to the many summer festivals and nearly 800,000 land-based trips —  allowing for some overlap between the two —  and you have a draw comparable to the three million visitors who check out Parliament Hill every year.

To put that in broader perspective, Toronto’s CN Tower attracts only about 1.5 million sightseers a year. I can only guess that visitors really do find a game of shinny along Ontario’s only world heritage site more fun than straining one’s neck in a staring contest with its tallest free-standing structure. Shocker.

Tourism is the third largest driver of Ottawa’s economy, behind only the tech and federal government sectors, and the Rideau Canal is at the heart of that.  According to a 2010 economic impact study, it directly contributes nearly $43 million yearly to Canada’s gross domestic product despite remaining pretty much completely free to the public.

That number also excludes the indirect role the major artery plays in connecting crowds with local businesses and other tourist hotspots. Visitors, want to go for a paddle around Dow’s Lake, hop over to Lansdowne Park for lunch, then hit the downtown core? You know what to follow — and it’s certainly not Mr. Dawson’s advice.

The importance of the Rideau Canal to the city’s tourism industry will only increase over the next few years.  Canada’s 150th anniversary is expected to bring an influx of visitors to the nation’s capital this year and renovations starting in 2018 could cover the Centre Block for  a decade.

As great as the waterway is, there’s always room for improvement.  Opportunities exist for better amenities, like shuttle services and dining on the water, as well as new infrastructure to liven up portions of the waterfront.

But as far as attractions go, the Rideau Canal is world-class. Though he’s not fond of outdoor activities, meeting new people or the delicious Beavertail, Mr. Dawson will just have to take my word for it.