Comparing to Canberra

When trying to reimagine Ottawa, it’s helpful to look at other capitals, specifically those that share some common features. In an effort to investigate our city’s unique characteristics and challenges, Matt Harrison looks at Canberra, the capital city of Australia

Like Ottawa, which was created in the 1800s for security purposes and is situated between two of Canada’s largest cities, Canberra was chosen as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne. Canberra shares (or wrestles) authority with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) — like our National Capital Commission (NCC). It’s a landlocked city with extensive waterfront areas; recent developments have yielded mixed results.

Canberra is surrounded by mountains and natural parks, just as Ottawa is a stone’s throw from Gatineau Park and other natural areas. Both cities are “garden cities,” which describes a 19th-century movement to ring urban areas with swathes of natural spaces known as greenbelts. Greenbelts in both cities are routinely threatened by development.

Ottawa continues to build its tech sector, something Canberra shares. In a recent survey, the Australian capital was named the world’s third-most innovative city. While the population of Canberra is noticeably smaller, at roughly 450,000, within the country as a whole they share the “middle child” position: not a small town, not the big city destination, but big enough that it struggles with urban issues such as housing, transportation, and development. Canberra even managed to recently install light rail (without comparable setbacks).

Capital consciousness

Ottawa is really two cities: the nation’s capital — its monuments and parliamentary precinct which is run by the NCC — and the city of Ottawa. It’s no secret that there’s a certain amount of armwrestling between the two, as exemplified by the current debate over what to do with Wellington Street in the wake of 2022’s protest. Many Ottawans wrangle with this divided identity, yet Canberrans don’t seem to share a similar struggle, in spite of sharing authority with ACT.

According to Megan Doherty of the Canberra Times, Canberrans have come to terms with the city’s dual identity.

“I don’t think Canberrans regard it as an either/or situation. We are the national capital and we are a city. Canberra was a compromise between [Sydney and Melbourne]. I would say Canberrans are proud that they live in the national capital, and still get a thrill when events such as the Australian of the Year awards there receive national coverage.”

Ottawa is often envious of its larger, more internationally recognized neighbours — Toronto and Montreal. Similarly, Canberra is also sandwiched between Australia’s two largest cities, Sydney in the northeast and Melbourne in the southwest, and yet the city doesn’t suffer from the same envy, according to Doherty.

“Canberrans do get annoyed that some Australians — and quite a lot of people from overseas — do not know that Canberra is the national capital and assume that it’s Sydney,” continues Doherty. “But I think Canberrans have moved on from being worried about trying to compete with Sydney or Melbourne. They

don’t feel they need to. They used to get quite riled up about anyone criticizing Canberra because it was supposedly too boring, too planned, had no soul, was a city of roundabouts and not much else. But it’s not so much a thing anymore.

“Canberrans live here because they don’t want to live in Sydney or Melbourne. Canberra is almost a secret and the locals don’t want anyone to know how good it is … because that will attract more people!

If we can commute to work in 20 minutes and then at the end of the day be climbing a mountain in our neighbourhood with the dog by our side, while the sun is still out, then the traffic jams and long commutes of Sydney and Melbourne don’t compare.”

Waterfront woes

Ottawa may not have a coastline or hug a lake, but it is ringed by rivers, which provides the city with a substantial amount of waterfront to manage — for better or worse. The Rideau Canal used to be crowded with amphibious tour barges. But after the Lady Duck sank in 2002, killing four people, the boats were discontinued and the canal’s waters are now less populated. There are still a few canal-side dining spots, but not nearly enough when compared to other cities with canals. In winter, the canal can be swarming with skaters — but increasingly, as 2023 proves, climate is shortening that season.

Access to the Ottawa River is improving. Westboro Beach being redeveloped with a new modern restaurant and community space, children’s play areas, and more as part of the Ottawa River South Shore Riverfront Park Plan — a continuous, nine-kilometre riverfront park connecting LeBreton Flats to Mud Lake.

One of the best examples of recent waterfront development is Zibi. The reimagining of a once-derelict, industrial area on the Ottawa River is creating a vital urban “bridge” between LeBreton Flats and Hull on a spectacularly scenic spot. But it doesn’t come cheap — the approximate cost is $1.5 billion. Much controversy surrounded the project, given Indigenous people’s ties to the Chaudiere Falls.

Yet waterfront areas elsewhere in the city appear neglected, especially

Green Island, that parcel of land surrounded by the Rideau River, where it cascades into the Ottawa River. Once home to city hall, the prominent modernist structure by renowned architect Moshe Safdie is currently occupied by Federal Public Works employees. In other words, it’s wasted as a public space.

Canberra’s waterfront, too, has gone through ups and downs. The city is situated on Lake Burley Griffin, an artificial lake managed by ACT. Instead of building housing, ACT hosts events and small-scale cafés. Perhaps the NCC should open up more of its key areas to commercial opportunities, specifically around the canal, where a vibrant nightlife could exist with the right development of places to eat, drink, and socialize.

To the west and east of Canberra’s lake, there are two major areas that have recently undergone development: the west and east basins. Like Zibi, the

East Basin was once the industrial heart of the city, but a $1-billion makeover reclaimed it as an area dubbed Kingston Foreshore that offers housing, restaurants, and retail.

“The general feeling is that the Kingston Foreshore has been a success. Well worth the money,” Doherty says. “It has enlivened the area and opened the lake to more uses, whether that be picnic boats or just waterfront living and

“I think Canberrans have moved on from being worried about trying to compete with Sydney or Melbourne. They don’t feel they need to”

dining and socializing. There is much more concern and controversy about any potential development of West Basin,” she says. That project was budgeted to cost $28 million, but a 2022 audit found that it went almost $19 million over budget, and is taking years longer to complete.

“There are concerns that large-scale developments will destroy the amenity of the lake and surrounding parklands, turning a public asset into private compounds.” says Doherty. There have been public developments on West Basin such as a new harbour, park and beach, which have been well received. Like Zibi, one of those projects is a former parking lot turned into a playground.

There are plans in the West Basin to build a low-rise, mixed-use precinct of small-scale commercial, cultural and residential buildings, set back from the water’s edge. Concerns about obstructing views of this unique space have led to low-density, low-height developments. Still, “I’m not sure large-scale housing in the West Basin is worth potentially harming such a unique public place of beauty and tranquility,” says Doherty.

Affordable housing

Ontario has an affordable housing crisis — that includes Ottawa. The city admits that the demand for social housing is much greater than the supply, with approximately 10,000 households who might be on the wait list for five years or more. To help ease this crisis, the federal Liberals announced last year $90 million to fund 270 affordable housing units in the city, some converted from surplus government buildings around the city, such as on Carling.

Canberra is facing a similar crisis, according to Doherty. “Canberra is the most expensive city in Australia to rent a house. It is difficult to access social housing,” she says.

Their average wait time for affordable housing is

337 days. Every day, 2,000 Canberrans experience homelessness. Plus, the situation is complicated by the fact Canberra has the highest average income in Australia (the public service skews the figures). People with low incomes are unable to compete for housing, or even keep up with the rising cost of living.

While Ottawa architects and housing experts have recommended repurposing older, federal buildings for affordable housing, Doherty has not heard of such initiatives in Canberra. Instead, the city has committed more money to new public housing, but because there’s limited land available within the city, developers are encouraged to build upwards, rather than add more sprawl.

According to Doherty, officials have in the past “blasted” Canberrans for their “small-town, backwards, 1940s mindset,” when it came to their desire for far-flung suburbs, as well as criticizing their “height phobia,” even though the high-rise developments being discussed would be no higher than 10 to 12 stories.

There are several conclusions Ottawa can draw from Canberra.

In terms of our own dual identity, and in relation to our nearest big-city neighbours, perhaps Ottawans need to adopt a Canberran mindset by focusing on what we have, rather than what we don’t. (And count our blessings we’re not Toronto or Montreal.)

With regard to waterfront, it would seem that Ottawa has balanced natural spaces with the creation of parks, harbours, and beaches, and — similar to the reclamation of the former industrial area in the East Basin — Ottawa’s Zibi project represents a great reimagining of a space for public and private use, though not without controversy. The city also needs to figure out what to do with Green Island and how to maximize the Rideau Canal’s potential.

In the struggle to address the housing crisis, Canberra appears to be approving only those developments that build upwards in order to restrict sprawl — something Ottawa is starting to do. The city’s decision to repurpose underused downtown office buildings as affordable housing is a good piece of the puzzle. This will help ensure urban communities aren’t just for middle- and upper-income earners.