Ottawa’s More Than Just Montreal: THE VOTER

What’s with this obsession with Montreal?

Newsflash for city nightlife commissioner Mathieu Grondin (and others) – there are lots of other cities, both in Canada and internationally, that could be held up in comparison to Ottawa. Depending on what you’re looking for, each of them has its own strengths and weaknesses. We also can look at Ottawa’s strong points while acknowledging that it’s not perfect.

Although it’s not a night-time activity, as a small example, I would much rather attend the Changing of the Guard ceremonies here than in London where, at best, you’re behind a fence and some distance away even if you’re in the front row. Here, you can bring a blanket and sit on the grass with your kids while you wait for the ceremony to start. (It has, of course, been suspended while the renovations are ongoing on the Hill.)

Here in Ottawa, we have much better access to recreational facilities locally than they do in Montreal. They have no Gatineau Park on their doorstep or, on a smaller scale, Calabogie or Pakenham. Mont Tremblant is about equidistant from either Montreal or Ottawa if you want more challenging ski runs or for year-round recreation. While they have a transit system that actually functions and so is vastly superior to ours, a ‘long commute’ here might be about an hour whereas there it can be more than two depending on how far you are from the centre of things in Montreal.

I say all this as a resident of Ottawa who, in my younger days, went often to Montreal for the entertainment and the shopping among other things. I saw concerts and theatre performances there that Ottawa might have been too small to attract. I ate at amazing restaurants and went to intimate clubs with incredible singers. Pre-Sens, I even went to hockey games there. Then I’d come back to Ottawa and have great, expertly-cut, smoked meat sandwiches at Nate’s on Rideau and see outstanding musical performers, some famous, others not so much, at Le Hibou. Each city offered up its own different experience and continues to do so. That didn’t and doesn’t make one better than the other.

I also went to Toronto for experiences that were different from either Ottawa or Montreal. Where’s the comparison by  Grondin between the attractions of Toronto and those of Ottawa? Is this because he doesn’t know Toronto as he does Montreal? What about Kingston which has some interesting nightlife including concerts? Does he know that you can see shows that also play Montreal in a more intimate setting and often cheaper when they play Kingston?

The approach that Montreal, from whence he came, is superior to other places and is what should be emulated is a very narrow and provincial one. I’m using the word “provincial” not to refer to the Ontario-Quebec differences but to the perception that what happens outside the sphere of your knowledge from the vantage point of a particular city (usually the capital but, in this case, Montreal) is somehow inferior and lacking.

I sincerely hope that anything this adventure in improving the offerings available after 6 p.m. brings forward reflects, first, our city with our strengths and foibles and then a broad menu of possibilities for adding to our experience that is drawn from around the world and also from here at home. This should not be an exercise in plunking down on Ottawa a made-in-somewhere-else citylife but something that respects who we are and what we already have. It needs to build organically on the existing framework, not sweep it away in favour of what fits elsewhere.

The Voter is a respected community activist and long-time Bulldog commenter who prefers to keep her identity private.

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