ByWard Market sees boost in visitors, marked by Canada Day

While fireworks dazzled the sky at LeBreton Flats, many locals and visitors took to a different location on Canada Day. Ottawa’s ByWard Market District saw over 49,000 visitors during the official 12-hour Canada Day programming window.

That is just shy of the 58,000 unique visitors counted at LeBreton Flats.

Over the full 24-hour period on July 1, the District recorded 116,422 visits and welcomed 70,965 unique visitors.

“It’s a strong signal that this is a District on the rise. People are coming back to rediscover the soul of Ottawa,” Zachary Dayler, Executive Director of the ByWard Market District Authority, said in a press release.

The numbers provide promise for the District which has left many Ottawaans concerned after danger increased in the area. A part of the New Deal between Ontario and Ottawa signed in December 2024, $20 million is to be invested in the downtown core to make it safer and attract tourists to the area.

In a post on X, OPS said officers in the ByWard Market and Downtown Rideau will maintain a “zero-tolerance approach to disorderly behaviour, including offences under the Liquor Licence and Control Act, criminal activity, and aggressive panhandling”. They say all of these activities can negatively affect the community experience for residents, businesses and tourists.

Moves have been made to increase the integrity of the area. Notably in 2023, the Rideau Street McDonalds, the most infamous McDonalds location in Ontario known for violent confrontations and general chaos, permanently closed its doors.

Collectively ByWard market businesses and administration are working to make the district a place with something for all ages.

“There’s something for everyone here—morning, noon, and night—and there’s a renewed recognition that the area offers more than just nightlife,” Dayler said. “It’s a vibrant, community- driven space that’s dynamic and welcoming throughout the day, shaped by the people who live, work, and gather here,”