Ah… Ottawa. The hub of Canadian civics, bilingualism, and just about every gallery and museum you can think of. If you’ve never lived in Ottawa, you may just understand the city in terms of these things, and you may be prone to spreading myths about Ottawa. But if you have lived here, you will understand everything I’m about to say in an attempt to dispel some of these mistruths about our beautiful city. And with that said, here are 5 myths about Ottawa.
Myth 1: Ottawa Sports Fans are not Passionate
The first of many myths about Ottawa is that the sports fans here lack passion. For one, people act like Ottawa isn’t a hockey market. But the recent playoff runs of the Senators in the NHL and the Charge in the PWHL should prove all of these people wrong. The Sens were pulling roaring crowds for their home games in round 1 vs the Leafs, and the Charge are regularly pulling nearly 10,000 fiery fans into TD Place to cheer them on as they push into the PWHL Finals. It’s hard to pull full crowds every night with a metro population as low as Ottawa-Gatineau’s is compared to other markets, but when it matters, the crowd is always ready.
On top of this, students at uOttawa and Carleton are always turning up in droves for the annual Panda Game, where the two universities’ football teams face off against each other, which has been held at TD Place since 2014. Between regularly selling over 23,000 tickets and the dramatic walk-off field goal victory in 2023’s game, the Panda Game always show how fired-up Ottawans can get over a good ol’ sporting event.
Myth 2: Ottawa’s Public Transit System is Flawless
For whatever reason, when I tell people I live in Ottawa, they often bring up our public transportation system. And while, yes, we may be one of the better cities in Canada in that regard, we’re definitely no Europe. Between the O-Train Line 1 Extension taking a trillion years to complete and constant problems with scheduled bus times, I think everybody in Ottawa has a horror story with OC Transpo.
We in Ottawa have a city train – and that’s more than a lot of other cities can say for themselves – but by no means does it mean that we have a peachy public transportation system.
Myth 3: Ottawa is a Boring Government City
Let’s get one thing straight: Ottawa definitely is a government city; that much is not one of the myths about Ottawa. But the city is by no means boring. Because it’s also a university city, and a city with a vibrant young downtown. Between the vibrant student-led nightlife at Byward (rest in peace Blue Cactus) to the city’s various nightclubs, old-school pubs, dive bars, and everything in between, there’s a lot to do in Ottawa.
Myth 4: Ottawa is a Full-Fledged Bilingual City
One of the many myths about Ottawa is that the city is truly bilingual. Sure, if you go downtown or in most of the Vanier-Gloucester area, people will mostly speak both English and French. In the federal riding of Ottawa-Vanier-Gloucester, 54% of residents’ mother tongues are English, and 28% are French. But in certain parts of the city, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Let’s look at some of the neighbourhoods in the west of the city. In the riding of Kanata-Carleton, just 6% of people speak French as a first language. In Ottawa West-Nepean, this number is just 6.5%. In Carleton, this number is just 7%. Many of the people in these areas speak French as a second language, but even more speak only English. Ottawa is very bilingual, but 60% of the city are only fluent in English.
Myth 5: Ottawa is a Bad City to Live in
The last myth on our list is sort of a cop-out, but it’s also a real myth in that a lot of people think this way. Despite some of the other myths mentioned and other flaws that our city has, it’s still a lovely community, abundant with culture, activity, and natural beauty.
From the Rideau Canal to the Rideau River into the Ottawa river; from Kanata to Centretown to Orleans, Ottawa’s a vibrant city with friendly residents and a history of Canadian culture at its best. That’s why I love our city.
