Parents, students urge OCDSB to rethink planned closure of alternative schools
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board wants to eliminate the city’s five alternative schools, and some members of the public — particularly parents of the children who attend the schools — are not happy. The board has undertaken an Elementary Program Review to determine whether its current model of delivering education serves the community most effectively. A number of planned changes...
The searchers: Young Ontarians struggle to find work in current economy
Young men and women are having a challenging time searching for jobs- here's why.
Choice, no choice: More young women finding themselves in part-time jobs, data shows
Last fall, Carleton University student Kate Yoshida was juggling her studies with a part-time job. The 20 year old media production and design student was working in the communications department of the Canadian Forces Housing Agency. “I took the job just because it was my first full-time summer job that was related to my field of study,” she said. Yoshida...
Growing food may soon be allowed alongside Ottawa roads if council approves
Ottawa residents may soon be able to grow food on city-owned property near roads, if a motion passed by the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee is adopted by full council. If the motion amending a bylaw is adopted, it would allow fixed planters placed half a metre away from the sidewalk and 1.5 meters away from the road on streets without...
‘It’s been anxiety-inducing:’ Ontario youth unemployment rate among the highest in Canada
In February 2025, 15 to 24 year olds in Ontario experienced the third-highest rate of unemployment in the country, according to a Capital Current analysis of Statistics Canada's labour force survey.
More staff needed before expanding community policing, says chief
Ottawa police are confident that they will be able to expand into the city’s communities soon in response to concerns about rising levels of crime, though police staffing issues will need to be resolved first.
Ottawa Public Library says cost for new Bookmobile has doubled — thanks, in part, to Trump
The Ottawa Public Library plans to use almost all of its $1.8-million budget surplus from the past year to replace an aging Bookmobile, one of the city’s two travelling mini-libraries for underserved communities. According to a staff report, the city’s next Bookmobile will cost $1.5 million to put into service by 2026 — double the cost of the last one....
Music Week to boost capital’s bid to be ‘Nashville North’ nighttime hotspot
Ottawa band Whiskey River played a live show at the Lowertown Brewery in the Byward Market on March 8. . [Photo © Gavin Ramnauth
Fake $100 bills circulating in Ottawa, police warn retailers, consumers
The Ottawa Police Service is warning residents about a rash of counterfeit $100 bills hitting retailers across the city. The fraud unit has received reports of fake currency being used December 2024. These bills are often used without retailers noticing, only to be identified as counterfeit later. In a recent press release, police were “asking Ottawa residents to be on...
No matter the weather, the City of Ottawa urges vigilance behind the wheel to limit collisions
With Ottawa’s weather constantly fluctuating and the new daylight hours in effect, city officials are urging commuters to be careful on the roads. On March 7, Ottawa Police responded to 36 vehicle collisions over four hours following a thaw-freeze weather event. Heidi Cousineau, the Manager of Traffic and Mobility at the City of Ottawa, says many factors contribute to the cause of...
The Beaver turns 50 as a Canadian symbol: Why we should give a ‘dam’
Before Canada became analogous with our beloved beer, hockey, and maple syrup, there was another emblem that captured the nation's heart and spirit 50 years ago: the beaver.
Watershed watchers issue flood alerts along swelling Rideau, Ottawa rivers
Flood season has arrived in the Ottawa Valley and conservation officials are warning local residents to prepare for the springtime swelling of the national capital’s waterways. After record-breaking mild weather — including a high of 16.3 C on March 16, the highest temperature for that date in Ottawa — heavy snowmelt and rain are rushing over frozen ground and gushing...
Cozy reads and romantasy: Ottawa library users increasingly turning to fiction
Ottawa public library users are increasingly turning to fiction, according to data from the Ottawa Public Library.
One in four struggle to afford food: How Ottawa’s Parkdale Food Centre is managing demand
The Parkdale Food Centre is barely able to keep up with the demand as amid rising food prices.
One person, two votes? What would the Ontario election look like with a different voting system?
The vote also exposed some of the oddities in our electoral system, as the Progressive Conservative majority came despite the party winning only 43 per cent of the popular vote. In an election where only 45 per cent of eligible voters showed up to the polls, the party won a strong majority with only 19 per cent of eligible voters....
Canadian voters prioritizing economic stability, incumbency amid Trump tariff threats
A perceived ability to protect Canada’s economic interests against U.S. President Donald Trump is one of the primary ballot questions uniting Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative success and Mark Carney’s popular rise with the federal Liberal party, according to one pollster.
Ottawa police data shows ‘consistent increase’ in intimate partner violence
The Ottawa Police Service responded to more than 6,600 intimate partner violence incidents in 2024 and has warned of an upward trend in such calls.
Carleton Ravens starts USports women’s basketball championship with a big win over Bishop’s
The Carleton Women's Basketball team scored their first victory in the USports National Championship tournament against Bishop's University March 13.
Perth laments Algonquin’s uprooting of heritage building program ‘that’s going to save the planet’
Algonquin College will shutter its satellite campus in the historic town of Perth at the end of August 2026 because of severe financial challenges facing many Canadian colleges and universities following the federal imposition of new international student cap. The Perth campus has been home for more than a half-century to the Algonquin College Heritage Institute, which offers a flagship...
Liberals keep firm hold on Ottawa-Vanier as 60 per cent of voters stay away
The Liberal party is hanging on tight to Ottawa-Vanier once again after the recent provincial election, marking more than a half-century of electoral domination going back to 1971 under the former Ottawa East configuration of the constituency. But voter participation in last week’s election was lower in Ottawa-Vanier than in any of the nine Ottawa-area ridings. Only 39.83 per...
Osgoode councillor Darouze takes Carleton riding for PCs amid low turnout
Longtime Ottawa city councillor George Darouze will now serve the residents of Carleton in a different capacity — this time, as their MPP. Elected in 2014, Darouze was a three-term councillor for Osgoode Ward. Previously he was the president of the Osgoode Carleton Snowmobile Trail Club and a telecommunications manager. Darzouze became the Progressive Conservative party’s nominee in December following...
‘The only wrong vote is a no vote’: Citizens have their say on casting a ballot in the Ontario election
Fewer than half of all eligible voters across Ontario — and in each of Ottawa’s nine electoral districts — turned out to vote in the recent provincial election. A team of Capital Current reporters captured the views of local residents about why they did or didn’t cast a ballot in the 2025 Ontario election. Some — ultimately representing the minority...
Voter turnout drops as Liberal wins tight race in Kanata-Carleton
Despite seeing the second-highest voter participation in the city, Ottawa’s Kanata-Carleton riding still showed a lower voter turnout in the recent Ontario election than in the previous provincial vote in 2022. Only 48.56 per cent of eligible voters showed up to the polls, lower turnout for the west-end Ottawa riding than in the 2022 election, when 45,695 voters or...
Intersectional art exhibits showcased resilience in Black History, Winter Pride
Black and queer communities flooded Arts Court in downtown Ottawa last month to celebrate intersectionality with two multidisciplinary art exhibits. The early February vernissage, an ode to Black History Month and Ottawa’s Winter Pride festivities, spearheaded the undercurrents theatre festival organized by the Ottawa Fringe Festival. In one room, Capital Pride and the Ottawa Trans Library curated a colourful display...
Historic first: Fewer than half of eligible voters cast ballots in Ottawa Centre
For the first time ever in Ottawa Centre’s history, those who didn’t cast a ballot in the Feb. 27 provincial election made up the majority of the riding’s eligible voters. Out of 116,980 eligible voters in Ottawa Centre, just more than 58,300 people or 49.85 per cent made the trip to a polling station. With a provincial voter turnout of...
Tories hold Glengarry-Prescott-Russell as voter turnout stays below 50 per cent
Voter turnout in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell was up slightly in last week’s election compared with the previous provincial vote in 2022. But for the second straight time, fewer than half the eligible voters in the riding cast their ballots — a significant drop from the 2018 Ontario election. Even with an election called in response to Ontario and Canada’s high-profile clash over...
Liberal keeps hold on Ottawa South in Ontario election that generated low voter interest
It’s no shock Ottawa South stayed red in the recent Ontario election. Liberals have held the riding steadily since 1987, with this vote marking the fifth consecutive win for John Fraser. What is shocking, however, is, despite Fraser taking half the ballots cast, only 22.6 per cent of eligible voters in Ottawa South put an X next to his name....
NDP keeps Ottawa West-Nepean as turnout matches provincial average
With a voter turnout of 45.02 per cent, the riding of Ottawa West-Nepean closely mirrored province-wide participation rates of 45.4 per cent in the recent Ontario election. Ottawa West-Nepean’s NDP incumbent Chandra Pasma dramatically expanded her support across the riding in last week’s vote, taking 49.33 per cent of the ballots — an 11.79-point increase from the last provincial election...
After strong push to get out the vote, student group laments PC victory
After making a strong push to get young people to the polls on Feb. 27, the federation representing 350,000 college and university students in Ontario is lamenting the re-election of a Progressive Conservative government that it believes “will not prioritize post-secondary education and students.” The Ontario branch of the Canadian Federation of Students worked hard to motivate and mobilize postsecondary...
Tories renew mandate in election that majority of eligible voters sat out
Ontario Premier Doug Ford secured a historic third straight majority government after winning a snap election on Feb. 27. In a vote that saw the second-lowest voter turnout in provincial history, Ford’s Progressive Conservatives won 80 of 124 seats in the legislature, the NDP captured 27, the Liberals 14 and the Green Party two. One independent MPP was elected. Ford...
Neighbourhood health hubs playing key role in city immunization efforts
Any Ottawa parent with a child who’s missing immunizations should be expecting mail soon — if they haven’t already received it. Since December, Ottawa Public Health has mailed about 11,000 incomplete immunization advisory letters to families with children missing one or more vaccines on their health record. Soon, the agency will send school suspension notices to those who have not...
Can I Skate? Ottawa couple develops app tracking Rideau Canal ice conditions
Skating on the Rideau Canal Skateway was always a family affair for the Owens. Every February, Stephen and Leslie Owens would drive more than four hours from Caledon, Ont. to visit their son Tyler in Ottawa. The couple, their sister and their two sons would spend Family Day on the Canal. “That’s been a tradition since I arrived (in Ottawa),”...
Somerset West health centre transitioning to HART hub
The Somerset West Health Community Centre will transition from a drug consumption site into a Homelessness Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub. This is part of the Ontario government's new rule to close all drug consumption sites within 200-metre proximity of schools and child-care centres.
Renewal of Bay Ward’s Frank Ryan Park to include new field house, playground
Renewal projects in a west-end Ottawa community park will begin in 2025. The city has planned renovations to the park's facilities and field house.
New dog park in Barrhaven to feature separate runs for big and small pooches
New and inclusive dog park to come in 2025.
Controversial Rockcliffe Park residence once again ready for construction
Residents of Rockcliffe Park have lost a fight to halt the redevelopment of a property in the upscale Ottawa neighbourhood. A Divisional Court appeal panel has rejected the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association’s bid to prevent the construction of a large home at 480 Cloverdale Rd. According to the RPRA, the home is oversized and too contemporary for the heritage district. ...
Ottawa Police Service to lose Algonquin College training site
Ottawa Police Service will soon lose its training facility at Algonquin College - here's why.
U.S. withdrawal from Paris Agreement may disrupt Canada’s climate push, but shouldn’t stop it, experts say
As wildfires raged across California in January, U.S. President Donald Trump lit a match on his country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change with one of his first executive orders. The move came as the World Weather Attribution, an international research consortium that tracks the impacts of global warming, says elevated carbon emissions in Earth’s atmosphere have intensified...
More government funding needed for Ottawa food banks, advocates say
Advocates say current levels of funding for food banks and services are no longer enough to address food insecurity in Ottawa.
OCDSB to offer wider range of French-language learning options to students
Education changes are proposed to come in 2026 for the OCDSB.
Skeptics question proposed sixth bridge to reduce truck traffic in downtown Ottawa
According to its fall economic statement, the federal government is committed to building “an additional multimodal bridge over the Ottawa River to further improve transportation connectivity in the National Capital Region.” It’s a pledge welcomed by many residents of Rideau-Vanier ward in downtown Ottawa but others living closer to the proposed location of the sixth interprovincial bridge in the city...
Tewin open house offers glimpse of controversial southeast Ottawa development
Shovels won’t hit the ground until the end of the decade, but the Tewin city-building project has been the talk of the town since 2020. At an open house held recently at the Carlsbad Springs Community Centre, hundreds of area residents learned about the project and voiced concerns about aspects of the plan. The third open house explaining the project...
‘At the tip of your fingers’: Survey points to growing plague of health misinformation, experts say
Nearly one-third of Canadians have taken medical advice they found online over recommendations from their doctors, according to a new survey. Conducted by Ottawa-based polling firm Abacus Data and commissioned by the Canadian Medical Association, the survey found 51 per cent of this group appear to be “highly susceptible to online misinformation.” As well the survey found that more than...
Councillors welcome plan to make Ottawa’s vehicle fleet zero-emission
City councillors welcomed Ottawa’s latest Green Fleet Strategy, which staff predict could drop greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from city vehicles 93 per cent by 2040, compared with 2012 levels. The strategy aims to move the City of Ottawa vehicle fleet, including ambulances, fire trucks, cars, and snowplows, to low carbon and zero-emission options by 2040. This is aligned with the...
Riverside South welcomes new transit hub, plaza, school along Earl Armstrong
New school and retail developments in Riverside South are underway for opening in 2025. Here is what is expected.
Crépu celebrates the creativity of Black hair in Ottawa
From a young age, Charifa Labarang had a fascination with hair. Long before she mastered her craft, the Gatineau-based hairstylist and designer spent hours experimenting, using her hair as a canvas for creativity and self-expression. As she taught herself to cornrow, braid, and twist, she discovered that hair could be more than just a style—it was a medium for innovation...
Beacon Hill-Cyrville community wheelie excited about skatepark makeover
Exciting plans on the redevelopment of Gailea Momolu Skateboard Park are finally expected to be unveiled this year, five years after LRT construction equipment took over the space. The park, renamed for local skating hero Gailea Momolu, was approved in 2022. Raised in Ottawa, Momolu grew up using the east-end park. He rose to prominence and moved to the U.S....
Ottawa artists celebrate a ‘deep’ and ‘nuanced’ culture during Black History Month
As Black History Month winds down, many artists are gratified for the opportunity to celebrate Black contributions to the arts and to reflect on the work of those who came before.
NAC Orchestra plans landmark spring tour to South Korea, Japan
The National Arts Centre Orchestra is to embark on a monumental tour this spring, including its debut in South Korea and a return to Japan for the first time in 40 years. The orchestra has performed in every Canadian province and territory, but it is also known as one of the most accessible and collaborative orchestras in the world. This...
Set to open in June, local residents have rallied around Navan pavilion project
It was a cold night in February 2024 when community volunteers came up with the idea for the Navan pavilion project.