The City has launched a 'mobility dashboard' that provides a weekly snapshot of travel conditions across Ottawa Previous Newsletters

Ottawa celebrates its 200th with 200+ Culture to the Core (part 2!). September 1, 2026 By Robin Etherington In part two of this series, Robin Etherington discusses plans for Ottawa's 200th anniversary cultural celebrations with Courtney Gehling, Executive Director of the Bytown Museum and Alexandra Badzak, Director and CEO of the Ottawa Art Gallery. ACE District was launched on June 17th and a number of murals animate parking and heritage buildings throughout the Byward Market, along with street art and performances and museum/gallery exhibitions, celebrating Ottawa's arts, cultural heritage and extensive history. The Bytown Museum, the Ottawa Art Gallery, and partners have joined together to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Bytown's founding. Activities will showcase Ottawa's layered history: home to Anishinābe Algonquin Peoples who maintain connections to the Kichi Sìbì and area, construction of Rideau Canal by the British Military under Lt. Col. John By, Bytown's evolution into Canada's capital, and now a technology powerhouse, reflecting the city's transformation from lumber town to diverse urban centre. 200+ Culture to the Core is a collaboration between the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Tourism, community museums, arts organizations, health programs, Anishinābe Algonquin Peoples, the National Arts Centre, the National Gallery of Canada, Nuit Blanche, ByWard Market, and Rideau BIA. Its goal is to create and link public art, exhibitions, storytelling, heritage walks, and interactive projects across downtown. The 200+ Culture to the Core anniversary weekend, running from 24 to 27 September, will offer performances, public art, museum, heritage, and signature cultural experiences. The ACE (Arts, Culture, and Entertainment) District and Arts Corridor bring together industries, cultural leaders, and organizations, strengthening cross-sector support, and leveraging new opportunities for the arts, cultural heritage, and the economy to thrive together. Lowertown Echo is going big and bold. With its awesome teams, artists, heritage workers, and partners, Lowertown Echo has got the ingenuity to make stellar cultural moments. It's Ottawa's moment to shine, celebrate, and show the world, Ottawa's vibrant arts, cultural heritage and dynamism. 200+ Culture to the Core, the ACE District, and the Arts Corridor are about ways for people to live cultural occasions together. Technology will assist. Lowertown Echo will plan virtual tours, livestreamed talks, and online artist chats so people can take part. Technology brings art into the city: outdoor projections and animations that turn buildings into interactive experiences. Digital campaigns share stories, highlight events, and keep everyone connected. An incredible event is the New SoundScape Festival, from 27 August to 26 September, transforming the area beneath Plaza Bridge (at Sussex Drive and Rideau Street) into an immersive performance venue, featuring live music, installation art, and creative technology. The Bytown Museum, Ottawa's oldest community museum, is proud to help shape Ottawa's bicentennial year, collaborating with the City of Ottawa and partner cultural organizations. The Museum offers captivating programs, exhibitions, and off-site activations as part of Ottawa 200+. Its temporary exhibition, What's in a Frame? 200+ Years of Community Portraits, remains open until March 2028. On 26 September, the Museum will mark the bicentennial and honours the people who shaped and continue to shape Ottawa, with a full day of free programming for Ottawa 200+ Bytown Together. Art initiatives begun in 2026 are designed to be lasting contributions through the ACE District and Arts Corridor, keeping downtown lively with cultural creativity beyond the bicentennial. Through them, arts and heritage support downtown revitalization. Large-scale murals and public art installations connect the Ottawa Art Gallery, the National Arts Centre, and the National Gallery of Canada through vibrant cultural paths. A City of Ottawa funding initiative, celebrating Ottawa 200+, supports cultural identity and public spaces through the Artist/Creator Grant Program. With a funding envelope of $300,000, it offers grants of $10,000 for individual artists and $100,000 for local arts organizations mentoring emerging creators. Supporting visual, performing, media, and interdisciplinary arts across Ottawa, it prioritizes diverse voices: Anishinābe Algonquin Peoples, other urban First Nations, as well as Métis, and Inuit, and equity-denied communities. It was developed in partnership with Arts Ottawa and the Ottawa Art Gallery.

CHEO appoints Lindy Samson to lead new health and housing partnership with the City of Ottawa. Contact us Main switchboard 401 Smyth Road Ottawa ON K1H 8L1 P 613-737-7600 Email Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2026 Aug. 26, 2026, Ottawa, Ont. - CHEO is launching a new collaboration with the City of Ottawa focused on improving support forchildren, youth and families affected by housing insecurity by working in partnership across various sectors. Dr. Lindy Samson, who concludes her term as CHEO's Chief of Staff and Chief Medical Officer on Aug. 31, will take on a new two-year role as the Strategic Lead for Integrated Child and Youth Systems and Population Health Outcomes. Dr. Samson will remain at CHEO while working closely with the City's Community and Social Services Department to strengthen connections between health, housing and community services and improve health outcomes for children in our city. Housing is one of the strongest drivers of child and youth health and their current and future well-being. Research consistently shows that children who experience housing instability face greater challenges with health, educational success, long-term financial stability and access to necessary care and support. "Families are telling us they need help navigating complex systems and accessing stable housing, community supports, mental health services and health care," said Vera Etches, President and CEO of CHEO. "We know there are gaps that require greater attention and collaboration. This initiative gives us an opportunity to work differently with our partners and create better support for children and youth." This spring, the City of Ottawa launched its renewed 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan for 2026-2035. It focuses on addressing the housing needs of people with low-to-moderate incomes across Ottawa, spanning the continuum from unsheltered homelessness to affordable rental housing. As part of advancing this plan, Ottawa's Family Homelessness Strategy aims to help families stabilize and find the shortest path to safe, appropriate housing. Dr. Samson's experience will be instrumental in advancing key joint priorities across the health, housing and homelessness system, with the goal of improving outcomes for children and youth in Ottawa. Through the initiative, CHEO and the City of Ottawa will work alongside community organizations, educators and social service providers to improve service coordination, make it easier for families to access support, develop shared measures to better understand community needs and those of families experiencing housing challenges. "Many of the barriers families face cannot be solved by any one organization acting alone," said Dr. Samson. "This work is about bringing partners together around families' needs so they can access the right supports at the right time." This work will also look to establish a program that evaluates and measures the effectiveness and benefits of a more integrated system. "Housing stability is fundamental to the health and well-being of children, youth and families across the city of Ottawa," said Clara Freire, General Manager, Community and Social Services, City of Ottawa. "This partnership reflects the shared commitment outlined in the City's refreshed 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan to better integrate housing, health and community supports. By working together across sectors, we can strengthen coordinated pathways to care, better support families experiencing housing challenges, and ensure that housing is recognized as a critical foundation for health and well-being. We are pleased to partner with CHEO on this important initiative." The work supports CHEO's Connected Care strategy, which brings healthcare, community and social service partners together around the needs of children, youth and families. By strengthening relationships across sectors, the initiative aims to make services easier to access and more responsive to the needs of families. About CHEO. Based in Canada's capital, CHEO is a globally renowned health institution with a mission to provide exceptional care and support to children, youth and their families. Opening our doors in 1974, we offer a full range of specialized pediatric care and services to children from eastern and northern Ontario, western Quebec and Nunavut. Our site is home to a hospital, a children's treatment centre, a school, a research institute, and is affiliated with the University of Ottawa as an academic health science centre. We are home to more than 6,500 staff, clinicians, scientists and researchers, as well as volunteers - all of whom work together to help children and youth achieve their best lives.