Downtown Ottawa Revitalization Initiatives

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by harls

That hurt.

I wasn’t taking a jab at the urbanity of Gatineau. It’s more that on top of living outside the area that is the focus of his mandate, he doesn’t live in the same jurisdiction as the taxpayers that are paying is salary. It’s probably not a huge deal, but bad optics imo since people are starting to notice he hasn’t done much in the 6-7 months he’s been appointed.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by le calmar

I wasn’t taking a jab at the urbanity of Gatineau. It’s more that on top of living outside the area that is the focus of his mandate, he doesn’t live in the same jurisdiction as the taxpayers that are paying is salary. It’s probably not a huge deal, but bad optics imo since people are starting to notice he hasn’t done much in the 6-7 months he’s been appointed.

I'd be more concerned about that than where he chooses/can afford to live.

[rocketphish]

‘This doesn’t happen overnight’: Nightlife commissioner Mathieu Grondin sheds light on his role

Marissa Galko, OBJ
March 12, 2025

While some in the city have grumbled about not hearing much from Ottawa’s new nightlife commissioner, Mathieu Grondin says his job is to work behind the scenes and not be the frontman for new entertainment initiatives in the region. “I’m not organizing parties, I’m not opening new clubs and I’m not the official emcee for the City of Ottawa … it’s a bureaucratic job,” Grondin told Michael Reid and Valérie Bietlot, hosts of the City of Ottawa’s new podcast, OttaTalk. In the podcast’s first episode which was released Tuesday, Grondin spoke about the misconceptions people may have about his role. He explained that his mandate is not to kickstart projects, but to help others kickstart theirs.

“I’m an agent. I’m a liaison between the external partners, civic society, the business community, the cultural community and the different internal services to the city and council. My job is to help (others) kickstart new projects, see how we can help (remove) red tape and having discussions with this community to see what the city can do to make their life easier to do business after dark,” he said.

For example, Farid Dagher, a club owner who plans to open a new music venue on Rideau Street, told OBJ that Grondin and his nightlife council were instrumental in the creation of the project, adding he and Grondin spoke about the best course of action to open his new venue and how to manage negative biases associated with the nightlife economy.

“We’ve had a few calls to discuss and brainstorm (on) some of the challenges that we’ve had like zoning and by-law. He was the primary help in how we announced this. Sometimes, as venues, we feel that we need to be a little bit under the radar because there’s a portion of the population that has a certain prejudice about nightlife. He said, ‘You should be bold about this, this should be celebrated,’” Dagher said.

In the podcast, Grondin told Reid and Bietlot that, within his first month on the job, he was receiving emails from people saying they weren’t seeing proof of his work.

“This doesn’t happen overnight. It’s going to be a gradual and mid- to long-term project. The action plan runs until 2026. I can guarantee you, before the next election, you will have heard of new activations, new projects popping up because of the work of the nightlife office,” he said.

In the podcast, Grondin was tight-lipped about what those projects were. “By being here and opening this collective discussion, I’m hoping that people will come (forward) with these projects so we can help them. I don’t want to tell you what’s in the works because these are all discussions I’m having with private partners and they wouldn’t like me to be sharing that with you, but there are new projects popping up,” he said.

“We will be working on something to try and address this problem this year. Mind you, I want to manage expectations. We’re not going to go back to 1998 when there were these cultural newspapers with the listings at the end and what to do this weekend. Everything was centralized. We live in a decentralized cultural economy,” he said. While Grondin said residents will be able to find information on different social media platforms and on websites such as that of Ottawa Tourism, it will be up to individuals to “find (their) niche” and follow people within that community.

In May 2023, Ottawa city council voted in favour of a Nightlife Economy Action Plan to help guide the office of the nightlife commissioner as it works to improve the city’s economy after dark. When asked how he plans to balance the needs of each of Ottawa’s neighbourhoods in a plan that spans the whole of the city, Grondin emphasized the importance of developing “nightlife pockets” in each area, so residents won’t need to venture downtown to seek out food and entertainment.

“Which means that if you live in Manotick, you don’t absolutely have to take your car, come downtown to go to a restaurant, see a show, maybe have a pint. Although, historically, the ByWard Market has been the historic nightlife hub here in Ottawa. So is it a priority? It’s certainly something we’re looking into seriously right now,” he said.

Among the things Grondin listed as areas of interest for his 18-member nightlife council, which includes community representatives, were the untapped nightlife potential of Sparks Street, how the loss of venues such as Babylon and Barrymore’s on Bank Street had a huge impact on the area, and how the nightlife council can play a role in downtown revitalization.

Grondin emphasized the role Ottawa’s business improvement areas (BIAs) have played in identifying the needs and identities of each area of the city.

“I think it’s important to develop programming and cultural offer for every district and every ward. By working with the BIAs, there can be some place-making projects in the future (and) different festivals. Like the Taste of Manotick is a good example. (We’re) working with them and seeing what can be done. Can we extend a little bit by an hour or two? Sometimes it’s as simple as that,” Grondin said.

When speaking of the nightlife council, Grondin said it had its first meeting in December where members got the opportunity to formally meet each other. The plan is to have four work sessions throughout the year aimed at reviewing specific nightlife-related issues such as a bylaw review to identify and remove red tape, safety and communication, he said. “This year we're going to be working on the nightlife safety plan. So what should the priorities be? Should we put the Narcan kit behind every bar? Or should we address bystander intervention? The people on the ground, in the field, the boots on the ground, the people owning, operating these venues, are the ones who know what they need best. So they are the ones making a good part of that council,” Grondin said. Announced in November, the council consists of Grondin and 18 members separated into two groups: six reserved seats for institutions such as Ottawa Tourism and Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, and 12 at-large members who work in or are affiliated with the nightlife economy in the city.

Grondin was appointed as nightlife commissioner in June 2024 with his mandate running until 2026.

https://obj.ca/nightlife-commissione...light-on-role/

[Ottawacurious]

"While Grondin said residents will be able to find information on different social media platforms and on websites such as that of Ottawa Tourism, it will be up to individuals to “find (their) niche” and follow people within that community.

Sounds like I'll keep on finding about things after they happen....

[rocketphish]

Ottawans eager to know more about what their nightlife commish is doing, local influencer says

Marissa Galko, OBJ
March 18, 2025

Ottawa residents may feel a bit in the dark when it comes to the city’s new nightlife commissioner and what he is working on, says one local influencer who follows the entertainment scene. Jessica Traina, who runs social media pages under the name @jessicaexploring, said Ottawans were excited by the concept of someone responsible for improving nightlife in the city, but have perhaps felt let down by a lack of communication from his office.

“I think we created the job in our heads and we didn’t necessarily see the job description … I just feel like they are not really communicating a lot with the public. Whether it be a requirement of the job or not, they aren’t taking advantage of that. There is massive interest in this job from the public and I just think that it’s such a secret weapon that they’re not using,” Traina told OBJ. Traina shared her thoughts on Mathieu Grondin’s recent appearance on the City of Ottawa’s new podcast, OttaTalk, where he spoke about his work as nightlife commissioner, misconceptions of his role and what his nightlife council aims to work on from now until 2026.

As a content creator who has offered her views and opinions of the city’s nightlife scene since the announcement of the commissioner and his council last year, Traina’s social media platforms have become a space where Ottawa residents have made their feelings known.

“Since opening up that conversation, I’m still continuously receiving messages from followers. It’s an outlet that I’ve unintentionally created where people feel as though they can vocalize their thoughts,” she said.

The general consensus is that people feel in the dark about what the nightlife commissioner has been up to since his appointment in June, she said. “We’re approaching that one-year mark and a lot of us don’t really know if there’s been any changes. I think it’s just a lot of wonder as to, is this working?” she said. As someone who moved to the city in 2019, she said she is unsure how much Grondin, who is new to the Ottawa area, will be able to accomplish during his mandate. “Although I know that his resume is glowing, I do worry because it took myself five years to really feel as though I have a good hand on Ottawa as a city. It’s a very different city than any other city in Canada and if you don’t really know it inside and out it’s hard to kind of have that good hand on it,” Traina said. Grondin’s thoughts on a centralized listing of events resonated with Traina, who posts upcoming events to her social media pages every month. “We will be working on something to try and address this problem this year,” Grondin said on the podcast. “Mind you, I want to manage expectations. We’re not going to go back to 1998 when there were these cultural newspapers with the listings at the end and what to do this weekend. Everything was centralized. We live in a decentralized cultural economy.”

Grondin added that information on social media platforms may strike a chord with a younger audience but miss the over-50 crowd.

“In my personal experience, I found that kind of a unique point because my guide last month received around 70,000 views and my winter guide (got) over 100,000 views,” Traina said. “I released one in October that had almost 250,000 views so that’s almost a quarter of Ottawa’s population. “In my case, I have 40,000 followers and 20 per cent of those people are over 50 years old. I definitely disagree with that. I think (a centralized database) is a valuable tool,” she said. The nightlife council would benefit from having a content creator or someone who has their “ear to the ground" on what’s happening in the city, Traina said. “I’ve always thought that there would be great value in having an Ottawa-based influencer on that team because they’re basically walking concierges of the city.” In November, Traina spoke to OBJ about her plans to create a “creative-led council,” similar to the nightlife council. Traina applied but was not among the 12 at-large members chosen for the city’s nightlife council. In MONTH, Traina told OBJ that Grondin had reached out to her after reading about her views on Ottawa to speak about his plans for the council.

Traina said hearing Grondin’s thoughts on the podcast solidified her vision of creating resources for people interested in experiencing what the city has to offer and focused on small businesses and the everyday person.

“While I totally appreciate the directors and department heads with their wealth of knowledge and background, if I was coming to Ottawa as someone who’s never been here, I’m not looking on these sites and reaching out to directors. I’m going to a bar and asking the bartender that’s worked there for 15 years, ‘What do you think I should do for the night?’ It’s people like that that are actively in the nightlife community, whether they work in it or just consume it,” she said.

https://obj.ca/ottawans-eager-know-m...ng-influencer/

[Marshsparrow]

Both mayors the daytime one and nightimie one = absolutely useless

[Richard Eade]

Originally Posted by Ottawacurious

"While Grondin said residents will be able to find information on different social media platforms and on websites such as that of Ottawa Tourism, it will be up to individuals to “find (their) niche” and follow people within that community.

Sounds like I'll keep on finding about things after they happen....

So right. It’s frustrating to hear a review the next morning of something that I would have been interested in going to – if I had known about it.

Here’s an idea: Maybe a media studies class could take on the project of creating, researching, and maintaining a website that presents all of the Where it’s Happening information. It would be a great exercise for students to dig for the information from as many diverse sources as they can. And I’m talking about anything and everything that might be of interest to people. This would include the NAC, theatres, music, concerts, festivals, City information sessions, gatherings of organizations – everything that people might be interested in going to. Students can collate the information and organize it into an attractive Web presentation. And it would continue with each successive class that takes over (and could add its own signature to the work).

There might be lots of different social media platforms, but I see that as a big part of the problem. (And I worry that the Nightlife Commissioner doesn’t see that as a problem.) Some things are posted through some channels, but miss others. Having a single, well-advertised, place for people to go to find information is important. That is why, for example, the City has a 311 phone number.

[zzptichka]

https://www.ottawagigs.ca is a great resource, only for music shows though

[rocketphish]

What has Ottawa's night mayor actually done?
While critics call him 'invisible,' those who've worked with Mathieu Grondin have a different view

Arthur White-Crummey · CBC News
Posted: Mar 26, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

In the nearly ten months since Ottawa hired Mathieu Grondin as its first-ever nightlife commissioner, what has he been up to?

It isn't clear to Jason Laurans, owner of Absolute Comedy on Preston Street. He's never heard from Grondin, and has no idea what he has accomplished.

"If they're doing something, it's nothing that I've seen," he said. "I certainly haven't seen the numbers increase here because of it."

Several other nightlife spots contacted by CBC were in the dark about his work, from the Rainbow Bistro in the ByWard Market to Irene's in the Glebe and the Cheshire Cat Pub in Carp.

Paul Granger of House of Targ, who was among those who previously applied for Grondin's job, said he hasn't heard from him either.

"I don't feel like there's anything at all that has changed or happened apart from some excitement about the fact that somebody would be trying to do this, and then just kind of nothing after that," Granger said.

The same sentiment has shown up in the Ottawa Citizen, where a column suggested that Grondin has been "invisible since getting the job."

It has also emerged on social media, with a popular Reddit post stating that nothing has come of his work. More than three hundred people commented, with some calling the job "idiotic" or accusing the commissioner of doing "nothing at all" to earn his six-figure salary.

<more>

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...done-1.7492564

[Lakeofthewood]

Not sure if it's ironic or a sad reflection of local news needing to get clicks that the title calls him the "night mayor", when the article itself makes it clear his title is "nightlife commissioner".

Either way, nice to hear things are happening behind the scenes. It just seems like how the role was pitched or envisioned by the public is not in line with what the role actually is.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by Lakeofthewood

Not sure if it's ironic or a sad reflection of local news needing to get clicks that the title calls him the "night mayor", when the article itself makes it clear his title is "nightlife commissioner".

Either way, nice to hear things are happening behind the scenes. It just seems like how the role was pitched or envisioned by the public is not in line with what the role actually is.

It's a pretty commonly used term to describe the role.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_...unicipal_title)

[rocketphish]

This is what Ottawa’s night mayor is working on to boost the nightlife economy

By Josh Pringle
Published: March 26, 2025 at 7:32AM EDT

Ottawa’s night mayor is developing a “branded website” to promote nightlife venues and attractions, preparing a “nightlife safety plan” and working with Bylaw Services to relax rules on food trucks, all-night dance parties and noise exemptions for festivals during severe weather.

A report for the finance and corporate services committee provides the first glimpse on what Mathieu Grondin has been doing since being appointed Ottawa’s new Nightlife Commissioner last June. The Nightlife Commissioner is part of the new Nightlife Economy Action Plan approved in 2023, designed to support the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. economy.

“It’s a bureaucratic job,” Grondin said on the City of Ottawa’s new podcast series called “OttaTalk” that was released earlier this month.

“I’m not organizing parties, I’m not opening new clubs, and I’m not the official emcee for the city of Ottawa, either.”

Grondin described his position as a liaison between external partners and city council, working to help event organizers and business owners navigate bureaucracy.

“I’m the middle of all these different sectors and my job is to help them kick off new projects, to see if there’s different red tape—you know, there’s always red tape to get rid of. I have discussions with the community to see what can the city does to make their life easier to do business after dark more easily,” Grondin said.

Ottawa’s Nightlife Economy Action Plan outlines a list of actions to take between 2023 and 2026.

The report on the Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan Implementation Update says Grondin has visited most of Ottawa’s 18 Business Improvement Areas and met with 110 groups and individuals invested in the nightlife economy since being hired last June and has attended more than 30 economic development and cultural industries events at the request of organizers. A new Nightlife Council has been established with up to 18 members to support the Nightlife Commissioner’s Office.

A new website will be launched this summer to “promote nightlife venues, attractions and experiences,” according to the report.

<more>

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/articl...tlife-economy/

[ponyboycurtis]

"noise exemptions for festivals during severe weather"

What the heck does that mean?

[kwoldtimer]

"Healthy, responsible and safe nightlife experiences" - the City that fun forgot strikes again.

Actually a decent website that listed everything happening in town would be a godsend.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

"noise exemptions for festivals during severe weather"

What the heck does that mean?

If a show gets delayed, they can go past curfew.

[Lakeofthewood]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

It's a pretty commonly used term to describe the role.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_...unicipal_title)

Oh I know, I just feel like that article points out that expectations from the public may have been incorrect for what his actual job is. To me "Night Commissioner" gives off a much clearer interpretation of his job being bureaucratic and behind the scenes, as opposed to be out there leading the charge running events and such.

[ponyboycurtis]

Originally Posted by phil235

If a show gets delayed, they can go past curfew.

Gotcha. It just reads strangely to me.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

Gotcha. It just reads strangely to me.

Yeah, I think they mean « following severe weather delays »

[rocketphish]

Ottawa deserves a great nightlife, and it's building one
There’s an undeniable buzz surrounding Ottawa’s nightlife, and my job as nightlife commissioner is to amplify and support the creativity behind it.

Mathieu Grondin
Published Apr 02, 2025 • Last updated 8 hours ago • 4 minute read

When I was appointed Ottawa’s first-ever nightlife commissioner in June 2024, my role was clear: to implement the City of Ottawa’s council-approved Nightlife Economy Action Plan, with a target completion by the end of 2026. But this is just the beginning: transforming a city’s nightlife is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s also a lot of detailed work at City Hall; it’s not just about attending events and going to parties.

Right now, there’s an undeniable buzz surrounding Ottawa’s nightlife, and my job is to amplify that energy and support the creativity behind it.

Consider the exciting news from Live Nation. It has announced a partnership with global icon Drake to open HISTORY Ottawa, a 2,000-person performance hall in the ByWard Market. This venue will bring artists who once performed only in Toronto and Montreal to our city. Additionally, Ottawa Tourism has launched a “Nightlife in Ottawa” section on its website to showcase our after-dark attractions, festivals and experiences to both locals and visitors.

Just last month, alongside the owners of City At Night, we announced the opening of another live performance venue in the space formerly occupied by Mavericks on Rideau Street. Ottawa is truly becoming a hub for dynamic nightlife.

Later this year, during Capital Music Week (May 20 to 25), Ottawa will host delegates from across Canada for Canada After Dark. This event will focus on sharing best practices for managing night-time activities — an opportunity to inspire cities nationwide. We’re also seeing momentum at City Hall. Last fall, when I established the Nightlife Council, we received more than 500 applications, demonstrating the excitement and engagement from both the nightlife industry and residents alike.

The Nightlife Council includes a wide range of economic development and cultural organizations, event organizers and venue owners. These individuals and businesses are the ones who keep the pulse of Ottawa’s nightlife alive, week in and week out. By creating the Nightlife Council, we’ve built a platform for meaningful dialogue between stakeholders and city services to identify and address barriers to nightlife growth.

Since I began this role, I’ve met with more than 110 groups invested in the nightlife economy, attended more than 30 events, delivered numerous speeches, and given more than 40 interviews with local, national and international news outlets, all to advance the conversation about Ottawa’s nightlife future.

I am actively working with all city departments to develop a “nightlife reflex.” Whether it’s new condo developments, zoning bylaws, transit routes or recreational facilities, every aspect of city planning needs to account for the needs of the nightlife sector. These considerations are now critical for creating a sustainable, vibrant night-time culture.

Currently, the Nightlife Office is building a website to highlight spaces where night culture thrives, boosting visibility for residents, visitors and newcomers. You can expect an update later this year.

This fall, we’ll introduce a nightlife safety plan, designed to ensure that everyone involved in Ottawa’s nightlife — workers and participants alike — can engage in healthy, responsible and safe nights out. This will include resources to prevent substance abuse and harassment, ensuring that people of all backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations can enjoy a safe and inclusive nightlife experience.

Like many cities across Canada and the G7, Ottawa’s nightlife faces challenges such as shifting consumption habits, inflation, a rising cost of living and a housing crisis — factors that can slow down growth in the nightlife economy. The Nightlife Economy Action Plan as well as other city plans will tackle these issues step by step, benefiting residents who go out, artists who perform and the workers who make our nights memorable and safe.

With major developments such as a new Ottawa Senators arena, Lansdowne 2.0, the Downtown Ottawa Action Agenda, and the ByWard Market Public Realm Plan, the face of Ottawa’s nightlife will be vastly different over the next decade. My hope is that all stakeholders in the nightlife ecosystem will feel empowered to embrace creativity and boldness, as we develop a sector critical to our city’s economic vitality and quality of life.

In a city of a million people, there are a million ideas on how to improve nightlife. My role in implementing the high-level policies of the Nightlife Economy Action Plan is essential, foundational work and must be achieved brick by brick. Through this work, I hope to foster an environment where those million ideas can be unleashed, and where everyone has the opportunity to help create a vibrant, inclusive nightlife that reflects the spirit of our city.

Bonsoir, bonne nuit!

Mathieu Grondin is the City of Ottwa’s nightlife commissioner, appointed in June, 2024.

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/ot...tlife-building

[rocketphish]

Canada After Dark forum to discuss ‘left-field’ topics to inspire Ottawa, nightlife commish says

Marissa Galko, OBJ
May 6, 2025

An upcoming national forum about building a nightlife economy could encourage Ottawa officials to think about how nightlife can be activated in rural areas and on the city’s waterways, among other topics.

In an interview with OBJ last week, Ottawa’s nightlife commissioner Mathieu Grondin said the forum, a two-day summit bringing together national and international nightlife experts May 20-21 in the capital, will shine a light on what Ottawa can do to encourage more people to engage in the city’s nightlife.

He hopes it will be a “teaching moment,” helping stakeholders and policymakers in the city find ways to make a safer and more vibrant nighttime economy.

“We’re also going to reach out to more left-field topics like, ‘What could nightlife look like in rural areas?’” Grondin said. “We’re welcoming an expert from Amsterdam. Her name is Ella Overkleeft and she founded Rural Radicals … Another left-field topic I’m really excited about is how to activate waterways as cultural spaces. We’re welcoming a subject matter expert from Berlin who commissioned and worked on a study … about festivals that happen on boats around Europe.”

The first day of the forum will look at various approaches to nightlife with experts from the U.K., Toronto, Montreal and other Canadian cities joining local stakeholders to give insights about what worked for them. The second day will focus on developing rural spaces and waterways, creating quality spaces for nighttime activities, and best practices for nighttime safety.

The forum will host Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association for the U.K., and Samantha Mathys, senior policy officer for 24 Hour London and former nighttime economy manager for the London borough of Hackney.

“(Kill) is also the vice-president of the International Nightlife Association,” said Grondin. “The INA is present in 28 countries around the world. It’s not present in Ottawa. Part of the reason he wanted to come and visit is to see how Canada could get on board,” Grondin said.

Melanie Brulée, executive director of the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, said she hopes the forum will address many issues facing nightlife in the city.

“The discovery of local music is not happening like it used to. People just don’t have the money to go out anymore. The temperature of the political climate right now is not conducive to people going, ‘I’m just going to go and check out some new music’ on a Tuesday night,” she said.

Brulée also noted that younger people aren’t going out as much and, when they do, they don’t spend as much money on alcohol – revenue that typically help venues pay for artists.

The forum is taking place during the inaugural Capital Music Week (CxMW) in partnership with OMIC. Brulée said she sees CxMW as an opportunity to “activate dozens of partners in different worlds” and encourage people to experience Ottawa in a way they haven’t before.

“We’re struggling with this reputation of misinformation. This is our way of activating the city for economic development. It’s part festival, part economic driver. Eventually, I want to turn it into a similar model to Canadian Music Week, Junofest or South by Southwest. We’ve got such a strong tech and film community in Ottawa that I’d like to expand it into those communities,” she said.

Erin Benjamin, president and CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA), said the forum will “help to reinforce the power and potential of what the nightlife economy represents” for the city.

“This is a really important moment for the City of Ottawa to be paying very close attention to this work. We’re a city at a really interesting crossroads. I think our opportunity as the nation’s capital is to not just explore the potential here, but to mine it,” Benjamin said.

Benjamin will present the findings of the CLMA’s “Hear and Now” report, which looked at the economic potential of Canada’s live music industry.

“We have some really incredibly impressive and important numbers for us to contextualize as we move through the chaos of the current time we’re living in. That will be followed by a fireside chat with myself and the nightlife commissioner, talking about why data matters now more than ever,” Benjamin said.

She added that more venues with a variety of capacities is the key to becoming a “music city.”

Benjamin noted that, before History Ottawa was “even a concept,” venues such as the Bronson Centre were redeveloped and the city welcomed Red Bird, Queen Street Fare, Live on Elgin, and others. The Rainbow Bistro has continued its “journey as a legendary venue” as well, she added.

When it comes to attracting more small and mid-sized shows, Benjamin said that Ottawa is “closer than we’ve ever been before.”

Grondin said that Live Nation’s new History Ottawa venue on Rideau Street will fill a gap in the city, but for Ottawa to truly become a “music city,” it needs to have a more vibrant downtown.

“We have to develop more density downtown. The more people there are, the more vibrancy there will be. We need people to live downtown so that they can go out to enjoy the restaurants and the pubs, the cocktail bars and venues,” Grondin said.

A new arena at LeBreton Flats would help to attract more businesses and make the downtown core more attractive.

“When we’re going to have an arena downtown, that’s going to be a huge game-changer. There’s going to be a whole new district built around it, with more restaurants, more parks, more sports bars and more residents living there, too. These are big things that come over time. My job is to make sure the foundations are laid down right so when things move, we can avoid some of the problems that other cities have had when their nightlife grew too fast,” he said.

He also said that some by-laws will need to be amended to encourage music in the city.

“At Bluesfest in 2019, it was raining and Snoop Dogg started late. He was supposed to play until 11:20 and it ran much later and Bluesfest got fined for that. We’re looking at adding a provision inside the noise by-law that says that if it’s because of weather, it can go a little bit later to avoid that situation again,” Grondin said.

Brulée said that policies and strategies at all levels of government must reflect the need to grow the industry.

“We’re talking about how to make sure that people on all levels of government and from grassroots in the community to established organizers are working together with the intention to embed music into the fabric of the city,” Brulée said.

Brulée said she’s heard people compare Ottawa to Nashville, but she doesn’t think it’s a just comparison. “People are saying Nashville North. I like to say ‘Austin (Texas) North’ because there’s creativity. There are a lot of similarities between Ottawa and Austin, namely the very strong tech community,” she said.

Grondin said that the upcoming forum is just the beginning when it comes to hearing what nightlife stakeholders around the country and the world have to say about how Ottawa can become a nightlife destination.

“We’re the only city in Canada that has an action plan that was voted on unanimously by city council. We’re the only city in Canada that has a nightlife office and a nightlife commissioner,” he said.

“Ottawa has this small-town vibe and it’s a part of its charm. It’s easy to reach out to people and people are really engaged in this thing. They want nightlife to thrive,” he said.

https://obj.ca/canada-after-dark-for...tlife-commish/