Maybe instead of talking about how fun has forgotten Ottawa (which I dont necessarily think it has), we could talk a bit more about how fun could be encouraged here!
To me, one of the things that is missing here, and something that IS improving ever since Nuit Blanche came to town, are temporary outdoor art exhibits/street art. In Montreal, for example, you have Sainte-Catherine lined with displays above the (closed) street in the summer. This encourages people to stroll, take tons of pics and inspires. Where would be a great place for this to go? Sparks or Elgin! They made some pathetic attempts with lights this winter along Sparks, but there is a huge room for improvement here.
Also, with respect to the Mayor suggesting we need more murals in the underpasses (similar to what exists on Preston), why not have one of these underpasses turned into a graffiti space. Graffiti doesnt need to be ugly and can produce some of the most amazing art around.
Finally, I think by improving the lighting on some of the buildings in the DT Core/Market, you will instantly make things look more exciting. There is a new club at Bank/Slater that recently installed some LED lighting (red/purple/blue) and it has improved the look of that intersection TREMENDOUSLY! Get some more interesting lighting on buildings and bam, everything looks better.
Overall, Ottawa seems to be obsessed with monuments, yet they are not often very monumental. I think we need to look away from these attempts at grandeur and start improving the street level experience by integrating interesting, and
temporary, exhibits that attract people to visit areas over certain periods of time (how awesome would this duck be on the Canal, for example:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n..._3200336_n.jpg).