It shouldn't be a surprise that Calgary and Ottawa are similar given that they have a roughly similar population. Calgary is slightly bigger and it has the benefit of having many more downtown office workers, which is balanced on Ottawa's part by being older and having a number of streets with a more enclosed, traditionally urban feel.
I was in both cities over the winter and my impression was that there were some parts of downtown Ottawa that felt more bustling than their Calgary equivalents. Byward Market is like a cross between 1st Street SW and Eau Claire Market but it's a lot busier than either of those. And Bank Street feels like a more complete urban street than 17th Avenue.
Still, based entirely on my own impressions, Calgary has more of a big city feel than Ottawa. Maybe it's because there are more towers and downtown is just that much more expansive. The East Village is impressive and the Beltline has developed a lot in recent years. The city feels way more substantial than it used to. I think if we return to this topic in 10 years, Calgary will have outpaced Ottawa by quite a bit in terms of how busy its downtown area feels. It's just that, for the moment, they are still equivalent.
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