Rideau Canal Skateway won't open for 1st time in 53-year history
The Rideau Canal Skateway will not open for skating this winter.
The National Capital Commission announced the mild temperatures this winter will prevent the world's largest skating rink from opening for the first time in its 53-year history.
"Despite our best efforts, the weather got the best of us for the first time in our history," the NCC said on Twitter.
"You’re disappointed. We’re disappointed."
Ottawa has seen above-seasonal temperatures in January and February this winter, delaying work on the historic skateway by NCC crew members.
While the Rideau Canal Skateway remained closed during all three weekends of Winterlude this month, the NCC remained hopeful it could open the skateway with colder temperatures in the forecast.
On Friday afternoon, the NCC said Mother Nature did not co-operate with those plans.
"Despite all the efforts by our teams, and even with the colder temperatures of the last 24 hours, the latest ice tests show that the Rideau Canal Skateway remains unsafe for skating," the NCC said in a statement.
"With further efforts unlikely to yield a different result, we are unable to open the Skateway for this season. We share everyone’s disappointment with this outcome."
The closure of the Rideau Canal Skateway during Winterlude was a blow for Ottawa's tourism sector. The Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association said it expected hotel bookings would be down during Winterlude this year.
"This demonstrates how important skating on the canal is to the overall success of the festival," president Steve Ball said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa. "You can't control Mother Nature."
An NCC spokesperson said it’s too early in the season to say how much operations on the Rideau Canal will cost this year.
But generally, costs for the skateway amount to about $1 million a year, the spokesperson said.
When it’s open, the canal generates many times that amount in economic activity for the downtown core.
The Rideau Canal Skateway has been a popular tourist attraction since it first opened in 1971. The previous latest opening for the Rideau Canal Skateway was Feb. 2 in 2002. The shortest season on the skateway was 16 days back in 2016.
The opening date for the Rideau Canal Skateway has been getting later over the years.
In the canal's first 26 seasons, the median opening date was Dec. 27. In the 26 years since the 1995-96 season, the median opening date has been Jan. 10. Across all 52 skating seasons, the median opening date is Jan. 1.
"We’ve been assessing and preparing for the impacts of climate change for several years," the NCC said Friday.
A July 2021 risk assessment on the effects of climate change on the Rideau Canal Skateway warned that in the next decades, the skating season would be less than 40 days approximately 50 per cent of the time. The report said the opening of the skateway in December is unlikely to occur in the future.
The NCC has been working with researchers at Carleton University to collect data on the skateway and test options for ice management. Those options included a so-called slush cannon, which shoots freezing cold slush onto the surface of the canal to help build up a thicker layer of ice.
Disappointing news for businesses
The decision to keep the Rideau Canal Skateway closed for the season is a big loss for businesses around the Rideau Canal.
Staff at Dunrobin Distilleries says they are a "little disappointed" the canal will remain closed and they wouldn't be able to open its hut on the skateway this winter.
"We were looking extremely forward to it, but we were realistic and also the understanding it is Ottawa, the weather is temperamental at best," Adam Malemberg of Dunrobin Distilleries said.
This would have been the second winter for Dunborin Distilleries selling spirits on the skateway.
"It's something you can't say no to, it's a national attraction," Malemberg told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron.
John Hennessy of ZUPS ByWard says staff are "sad" they won't be able to open a stand on the canal this winter.
ZUPS sells poutine in the ByWard Market. Hennessy planned to expand the business on the Rideau Canal Skateway this winter.
"I sort of believe in resetting every opportunity that you get, and I see both the upside and the downside of it. The downside is we will not be on the canal, we will not be able to generate the income that we hoped to be able to generate nor would we be able to employ students and people on the canal that we hired," Hennessy told CTV News Channel.
"The other side of the coin is that we have now accelerated the preparation of our company to be able to get into a mobile mode. We now have a trailer."
Hennessy says ZUPS "mitigated spending a lot of money", because of the support of the NCC and the Rideau Canal Skateway team.
"(they) ensured that I didn't make a business decision too early that would have had me buy tonnes of potatoes and thousands of containers. We knew at every stage, every few days, what the update was and what the possibility of being on the canal happened to be," Hennessy said. "So fortunately, we didn't spend all of the money that we could have if it hadn't been for that kind of balance."
Last weekend, BeaverTails closed most of its food stands on the Rideau Canal for the season.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'No one has $70,000 dollars lying around': Toronto condo owners facing massive special assessment
The owners of a North York condominium say they are facing a $70,000 special assessment to fix their building's parking garage. '$70,000 is a lot of money. It makes me very nervous and stressed out of nowhere for this huge debt to come in,' said Ligeng Guo.
Police ID mom, daughter killed in Old Montreal; video shows person break into building before fatal fire
Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.
Tropical Storm Milton forms in Gulf of Mexico, could intensify as a hurricane threatening Florida
Tropical Storm Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico. It is located 220 miles (355 kilometres) north-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico.
Trump rallies at same Pennsylvania grounds where gunman tried to assassinate him
Donald Trump picked up where he left off back in July when a gunman tried to assassinate him but only struck his ear before he raised his fist and shouted “Fight!” and was whisked away with blood across his face.
'I screamed in shock and horror': Family faces deadly Vancouver hit-and-run driver during sentencing
The sentencing of the man who pleaded guilty in the deadly hit-and-run in Kitsilano two years ago began on Friday.
Frequent drinking of fizzy beverages and fruit juice are linked to an increased risk of stroke: research
New data raises questions about the drinks people consume and the potential risks associated with them, according to researchers at Galway University in Ireland, in partnership with Hamilton’s McMaster University.
Northwestern Ont. woman charged with arson with disregard for human life
A 30-year-old northwestern Ontario woman has been charged with arson following a structure fire Thursday night, police say.
Inter Miami star Lionel Messi draws a crowd for arrival at Toronto's BMO Field
Argentine star Lionel Messi was on the bench to start Inter Miami CF's game in Toronto on Saturday.
Looking for cheap flights for the holidays? Here are some tips to remember
Travelling on a budget can be stressful, but there are ways you can ensure you're getting the best deal on flights as the holiday season approaches.