Advocacy
Heritage Ottawa promotes the preservation of Ottawa’s distinctive built heritage and cultural landscapes. We speak out for and defend worthy heritage properties that are at risk of inappropriate intervention or loss.
Heritage Ottawa maintains contact with the City of Ottawa Heritage Department and makes regular presentations to the Built Heritage Committee, the Planning and Housing Committee, and Finance and Corporate Services committees at Ottawa City Hall relating to the rezoning, alteration and intensification of properties and areas protected by the Ontario Heritage Act.
We respond and comment on federal plans and studies as they relate to heritage properties in the National Capital Region: 24 Sussex Drive, Alexandra Bridge, Central Experimental Farm, Rideau Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site, and others.
We respond to dozens of media interview requests relating to the above properties as well as Lansdowne 2.0, Somerset House, Saint Brigid's, and the ongoing challenge of heritage demolition-by-neglect in our neighbourhoods.
To learn more about our major advocacy efforts, visit 50 Years | 50 Stories on our website.
HERITAGE OTTAWA
On June 10, Heritage Ottawa submitted the following letter to the Hon. Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage, responsible for the National Capital Commission (NCC…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
On April 9, Heritage Ottawa submitted a letter to Dr. Mechtild Rössler, director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, and Dr. Isabelle Anatole-Gabriel, Chief of Europe…
Originally published on May 25, 2019
HERITAGE OTTAWA | STATEMENT OF MAY 25, 2019
Heritage Ottawa has reviewed the fifth ‘’official’’ proposal for an addition to the Château Laurier…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
National advocacy group FRIENDS OF THE CHÂTEAU LAURIER has retained legal representation in the course of ongoing efforts to protect the Château Laurier from the…
FRIENDS OF THE CHÂTEAU LAURIER, Media Advisory
Taking action to bring about the redesign of the proposed addition to the iconic Château Laurier Hotel located across from Parliament Hill, a…
Councillor Mathieu Fleury tabled his "notice of motion" at the June 26 Council meeting, which passed by a narrow vote of 12-10. As a result, the…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Contact Our Elected Officials before Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Your Voice Matters—Ask Our Elected Officials to Support the Chateau Laurier Motion on June 26
…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
UPDATE | JUNE 26 —YOUR VOICE MATTERS! Contact the Mayor and Ottawa City Councillors before July 10, 2019.Click here for details: https://heritageottawa.org/chateau-laurier-…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Contact Our Elected Officials before Thursday, June 13, 2019
Fate of Château Laurier Lies with Planning Committee on June 13
Copy and paste the following…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Heritage Ottawa recently learned that at least two of the city's most important heritage structures appear on a list of city-owned buildings available for corporate naming…
HERITAGE OTTAWA | STATEMENT OF MARCH 4, 2019
For more than two years, Canadians have been witnessing with growing concern a sequence of various design proposals for an addition to the…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
A city staff report recommending designation of the Booth Street Complex as a property of cultural heritage value under the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA) received the support…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
An exhibition of alternative designs for an addition to the Château Laurier Hotel, created by students of Carleton University's Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism,…
OTTAWA CITIZEN | EDITORIAL BOARD, By David Jeanes
Re: Owner of Somerset House would rather tear it down, build a replica building, Nov. 16, 2018
So the owner of Somerset House has…
Heritage Ottawa is pleased to be hosting an exhibit of designs for an addition to the Château Laurier created by students at Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture and…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
The municipal elections on October 22 provided an opportunity to consider the vital role of heritage places in our urban, suburban and rural environments.
To see…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
In a media release today, Heritage Ottawa expressed support for strong measures being put in place to protect Somerset House from further deterioration. Located at the…
CBC NEWS, By Joanne Chianello
Worried about leaving a former convent in Westboro empty too long, city councillors on Ottawa's planning committee approved a plan Monday to attach a nine-…
OTTAWA CITIZEN, By David B. Flemming
The recent partial collapse of the late 19th-century Magee House – a heritage designated building on Wellington Street West – raises the question of how…
OTTAWA CITIZEN, By Jon Willing
The old Westboro convent is still at the centre of a development controversy, with the owner on Thursday failing to win approval from the city’s heritage…
GLOBAL NEWS | OTTAWA, By Beatrice Britneff
The committee that reviews applications to redevelop Ottawa’s heritage properties has rejected Ashcroft Homes’ latest bid to repurpose the site of…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
The following text was formally submitted by Heritage Ottawa to the Built Heritage Sub-committee for consideration at its meeting of June 18, 2018. President David Jeanes…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Architectural visionary Phyllis Lambert, widely considered one of the world's most influential figures in architecture, has written a letter to Mayor Jim Watson to express…
HERITAGE OTTAWA | STATEMENT OF JUNE 3, 2018
Owners of the Château Laurier have unveiled their latest design for a proposed addition to the venerable historic hotel, a National Historic Site…
HERITAGE OTTAWA | STATEMENT OF JUNE 3, 2018
Owners of the Château Laurier have unveiled their latest design for a proposed addition to the venerable historic hotel, a National Historic…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
The Built Heritage Subcommittee (BHSC) met on April 12 to consider two heritage applications.
The first was an application to alter 132 Lisgar Road in the Rockcliffe…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Recent MattersThe City of Ottawa's Built Heritage Sub-Committee (BHSC) met on March 8, 2018 to consider an application to alter the former Grant Consolidated School at 2720…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Last week, architects for owners of the Château Laurier Hotel revealed their latest design for a proposed expansion of the hotel, a National Historic Site of Canada.
…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Our heritage stands at a critical crossroads.
A controversial application for major alterations to Ottawa's Château Laurier Hotel, if allowed to proceed as proposed…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Recent MattersThe City of Ottawa's Built Heritage Sub-Committee (BHSC) met on February 8, 2018 to consider current heritage applications and related recommendations of city…
OTTAWA CITIZEN, By Jon Willing
The city’s built-heritage subcommittee on Thursday turned down the Uganda High Commission’s application to demolish a Sandy Hill building that was once home…
CBC NEWS, By Laura Osman
The City of Ottawa is taking Richcraft Homes to court, alleging the builder has neglected to make necessary repairs to a historic barn in the city's west end.
…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Upcoming MattersThe City of Ottawa’s Built Heritage Subcommittee (BHSC) meets on Thursday, January 11 with three items on the agenda.
• An application to demolish…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
What do you think the City should consider as it develops a plan for the revitalization of the Sparks Street Pedestrian Mall?
Share your ideas and comments! Take a…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Ashcroft Homes, owner of the Sisters of the Visitation Convent at 114 Richmond Road, is proposing to partially demolish the heritage-designated convent building and to…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Upcoming MattersThe next meeting of the City of Ottawa’s Built Heritage Sub-Committee (BHSC) takes place on Friday, December 1 at 9:30 am at Ottawa City Hall.
Agenda…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
The City of Ottawa's Built Heritage Sub-Committee (BHSC) meets monthly at Ottawa City Hall to review heritage applications and provide its recommendations.
The next…
THE HTA BLOG / By Peter Coffman
I addressed the City’s Planning Committee today as it met to vote on additions to the Heritage Register recommended last month by City staff. I blogged about…
HERITAGE OTTAWA, By Leslie Maitland, Co-Chair
The Heritage Inventory Project is a priority for the City of Ottawa. The Inventory Project was created to develop a proper Heritage Register to…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Cities value their unique heritage. Cultural and ecological benefits aside, studies have shown that designated heritage properties perform better than average in the real…
THE HTA BLOG / By Peter Coffman
Early last year, the City of Ottawa began what’s known as the Heritage Inventory Project. The idea was to enable…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
The City of Ottawa's Built Heritage Sub-Committee (BHSC) meets monthly at Ottawa City Hall to review heritage applications and provide its recommendations.
There was…
OTTAWA CITIZEN, By Matthew Pearson
Downtown Ottawa’s most infamous eyesore has made a national list of endangered heritage landmarks.
Somerset House is among 10 spots included on the…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
UPDATE | May 24: Ottawa City Council has voted in favour of the recommendations of city staff, the Built Heritage Subcommittee and Heritage Ottawa to refuse the…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
Update: Read Heritage Ottawa's position statement of March 5, 2018 regarding the latest proposed addition to the Château Laurier.
A summary of public comments…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
The City of Ottawa's Built Heritage Sub-Committee (BHSC) meets monthly at Ottawa City Hall to review heritage applications and provide its recommendations.…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
At its meeting today at City Hall, Heritage Ottawa president David Jeanes told the City of Ottawa's Finance and Economic Development Committee (FEDCO) that municipal…
HERITAGE OTTAWA
The City of Ottawa's Built Heritage Sub-Committee (BHSC) meets monthly at Ottawa City Hall to review heritage applications and provide its recommendations.…
CBC NEWS OTTAWA, By Paul Jay
If a proposed addition to Ottawa's historic Somerset House doesn't look quite like the original red brick facade the city tore down last summer, there appears…
CBC NEWS OTTAWA
Images of a proposed addition to Ottawa's historic Somerset House given to city staff provide the first glimpse of a long-awaited redesign of the heritage building, but…