This is Ottawa

In late August, police issued a warning about high-risk violent sexual offender Aaron Gilpin now living in the Ottawa area. The release included a photo of a man with facial tattoos whose criminal history included a brutal child-related sexual assault. It has caused a frenzy on social media, causing some to worry about the line between being vigilant versus a vigilante.

In part one of our “blind date” municipal series, we pair up a home builder with a green space advocate to talk about urban sprawl. Because if provincial projections are correct, Ottawa’s population will reach 1.68 million by 2051. So where is everyone going to live? And is it best to grow outward – or intensify upward?

Ottawa is marking its bicentennial on September 26, 2026. But what actually happened on the day the city was born 200 years ago? Longtime journalist and history buff Randy Boswell takes host Robyn Bresnahan to the spot where Bytown began and reveals the bits that have often been left out of the city’s official history. 

When Nick Paul started his teaching career, he loved it. But just a decade in - he quit. Nick tells Robyn Bresnahan about what led to his breaking point - and why he thinks Ottawa’s teacher “shortage” is actually a retention crisis. 

After eight years as an Ottawa city councillor, Catherine McKenney decided to run for mayor. They lost to Mark Sutcliffe. In the final part of our series In Hindsight, McKenney reflects on the campaign, bridging the city’s urban/rural divide and the moment in a pub when they realized they should have done something differently.