‘Ottawa is Open for Business’ event encourages downtown investment

It’s been a challenging few years for downtown Ottawa following the pandemic, convoy occupation, and less foot traffic in the core.

An event was held on Wednesday at Constitution Square, called "Ottawa is Open for Business."

The event comes after a renovation at one of the largest office buildings in the city.

"I think we need to start changing the narrative of what downtown Ottawa is associated with," Shawn Hamilton, vice-president of Canderel, said.

There is a move to encourage investment in the downtown core following no more COVID-19 restrictions, Wellington Street opening, and federal workers heading back to the office.

"Prior to the pandemic, we were associated with a strong stable downtown core, with strong innovation and strong business, then we went through three years of what I would call distractions," Hamilton said. "Now we are back and it’s time to signal that Ottawa is open for business in all its form."

An event being held at Constitution Square follows a multi-million dollar renovation, aiming to bring the business community together to encourage investment in the national capital.

"The constitution square revitalization project has been a labour of love for the downtown core to create a reimagined work space and for people have come together for a common purpose," said Eileen Illingworth, the property manager at the building.

While there’s renewed optimism for the downtown core, experts point out that many local businesses are still struggling.

“Fifty-two per cent of small businesses in Canada are not back to normal revenues and so the restaurants, the coffee shops, the dry cleaner,  those businesses are still struggling because not all consumers are back and they’re not spending as much as they were prior to the pandemic,” said Jasmin Guenette, vice-president of national affairs at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Experts say factors include federal workers not going back to the office full-time and consumers keeping their spending in check amid the rising cost of living and inflation.