Council updated on progress since 2024 Rural Summit

Council today received an update on actions taken since the 2024 Rural Summit to improve services and quality of life in rural Ottawa. 

The update reflects priorities identified through the summit, six community workshops attended by 450 residents, and a survey that collected more than 1,200 responses. Since the summit, the City has advanced work across six key areas:

• Investing in infrastructure and roads and protecting the environment: The City has doubled annual ditch maintenance funding to $3.6 million and completed more than 86 kilometres of ditch maintenance since 2025. In 2026, $80.4 million is being invested in rural roads, parks, buildings and other assets, including rehabilitation of more than 77 kilometres of road. Environmental initiatives include support for clean water projects, conservation programs, wildlife management and flood mitigation work in the Bear Brook watershed.
• Improving community spaces and recreation: Recent projects include expanding the Corkery Community Building, upgrading recreation facilities and museums, adding new pickleball courts in Vernon and park improvements across rural Ottawa. The City also invested more than $1.36 million in rural arts, heritage and agricultural organizations and expanded summer camp offerings to meet growing demand.
• Strengthening emergency services: Dedicated paramedic response units now serve Kinburn, Richmond and Metcalfe, and a new dispatch system has helped reduce Level Zero conditions, when no paramedic units are available to respond to new emergency calls. The City reclassified rural firefighters as municipal employees as well, supporting recruitment and retention. Future improvements are being explored through planned enhancements to fire station infrastructure and a new west-end paramedic deployment facility.
• Supporting businesses: New measures include implementation of the Economic Development Rural Plan, a dedicated rural business liaison and expanded access to business support services, including a rural business services showcase in Carp this summer and additional showcases being planned for the fall.
• Expanding rural access to social services: The City is improving rural access to housing and other social supports and will launch a rural Ontario Works pilot later this year. Feedback from the Rural Summit also helped shape the City's Older Adult Plan, which recognizes the distinct needs of rural communities and supports initiatives such as affordable housing for rural seniors.
• Improving transportation connections: Road safety, active transportation and transit improvements continue across rural Ottawa. Since 2023, nearly 41 kilometres of paved shoulders have been added, intersection safety projects are advancing, and transit improvements including O-Train Line 2 and the planned Bowesville Park & Ride expansion will help strengthen connections between rural communities and the City's transit network.

Council approved changes to advance the new Riverside South Community Centre and Library, bringing residents closer to a new community space, library and park. The Official Plan and zoning amendments will allow for a shorter, more pedestrian-scaled building, and allow it to be set back farther from the road. The changes will enable: 

• wider sidewalks
• new trees and raised planters
• additional seating areas
• bike parking 

The project also includes a new 10.9-hectare park that will provide space for recreation, community events and everyday gathering. 

Council approved allowing places of worship with existing parking lots in the downtown core or within 600 metres of a rapid transit station to lease space for commuters. This will allow for additional parking options and help some commuters connect to transit instead of driving their entire trip. 

Eligible places of worship will decide whether to participate and drivers must have permission to park on private property. Parking without permission is trespassing. 

The amendment would also allow select City-owned facilities near transit hubs to offer parking. Based on available space, the City will assess how many spots can be leased at the following locations:

• Pinecrest Recreational Complex (2250 Torquay Avenue), near Baseline Station
• Sandy Hill Arena (50 and 60 Mann Avenue), near uOttawa Station and Lees Station
• Trillium Recreation Complex (2030 Ogilvie Road), near Blair Station
• Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex (1490 Youville Drive), near Jeanne d’Arc Station
• Jim Durrell Recreation Complex (1265 Walkley Road), near Walkley Station
• Brewer Park Complex (196A Hopewell Avenue, 100 and 151 Brewer Way), near Carleton Station 

These temporary measures are in place until March 31, 2027. Before then, Council will review the results and decide whether to continue, change or end the program. 

Council approved the Rideau Canal Cultural Landscape Study, developed jointly by the City, the National Capital Commission (NCC) and Parks Canada. The study establishes a shared understanding of the area's cultural heritage value and provides a framework to guide conservation and management.

The study assessed an 8.2-kilometre section of the Rideau Canal, between the Ottawa Locks and the north end of Mooney’s Bay. Protecting the area is important because the Rideau Canal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a National Historic Site of Canada and a Canadian Heritage River. The City has long recognized the Canal’s heritage value with Official Plan policies that protect its unique character.

The study identifies the area's heritage value as a cultural landscape of international, national capital and local significance, providing guidance for planning, programs and development review within the study area. The City will consider the following areas for potential Heritage Conservation Districts (HCDs) to help protect their heritage character:

• Properties on and near Queen Elizabeth Drive between Somerset Street and the Queensway
• Properties on and near Queen Elizabeth Drive Between Pretoria and Bronson avenues
• Properties on Echo Drive and Colonel By Drive between Hawthorne and Bronson avenues
• Properties overlooking Commissioners Park (exact boundaries to be determined)

Council has already endorsed an HCD study for properties on both sides of the Canal. The Golden Triangle HCD will include properties along Queen Elizabeth Driveway. 

In response to recent additional tariffs affecting Canada, Council approved actions to support the local economy. In addition to previous Council actions including the purchase of local, Canadian and non-American goods and services, wherever possible and creating local supply chains for products and services currently being purchased from American companies, Council has decided to:

• Direct staff to continue working on the comprehensive review and feasibility assessment of a fair wage policy for labour engaged in work for or with the City
• Reinforce tools to continue to advance a Canada-first procurement strategy and make it easier for Ottawa-based businesses to work with the City.
• Direct staff to look for infrastructure solutions to connect Ontario and Quebec freight networks efficiently to improve supply chains.
• Collaborate with Ville de Gatineau to advance the Ottawa-Gatineau area as a single economic region.
• Request Ottawa Tourism market Ottawa as a great destination to visit, hold major events, conventions and sporting events to grow the visitor economy Working with partners, including Invest Ottawa, to promote local businesses to new markets and customers. This includes increasing business visibility, supporting diversification and risk reduction while continuing to drive investment attraction, business expansion, research and development and job creation.
• Relaunch the City’s “Buy Local, Shop Canadian” marketing campaign.
• Update the City’s ‘Tariff Toolkit’ on ottawa.ca to Help explain the impact of tariffs on the local economy and how residents and business owners can help support Canadian and local producers and businesses.
• Encourage residents and businesses to display Canadian flags as a visible expression of community solidarity and national pride.

In addition to the ongoing City response to extreme weather events, Council approved new temporary relief measures to support residents whose properties have been impacted by the July 1, August 10 and 12 extreme weather events and as identified by the Emergency Command Centre. These include the temporary suspension of the following applicable interest and fees for those affected by the recent extreme weather effective July 1 to September 30, 2026:

• Water account interest charges
• Property tax interest and penalty charges
• Corporate Accounts Receivable balances
• Reminder fees, non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees and similar administrative charges incurred by affected residents
• Refund fees related to tax relief applications related to the weather event

• Agenda