NOMINATION OF BYWARD MARKET AS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Photo: Arthur White-Crummey/CBC
Heritage Ottawa wholeheartedly endorses the City of Ottawa’s nomination of the ByWard Market as a National Historic Site of Canada. The designation, through the National Program of Historical Commemoration supported by Parks Canada, recognizes a place, person, or event that has a national historical significance, and the ByWard Market meets all criteria for designation.
The ByWard Market is Ottawa’s oldest commercial area and the site of one of its first public markets. It led to the first permanent European settlement of ByTown, which would become Canada’s capital.
The designation would be a fitting recognition of the historical importance of the area as the ByWard Market prepares to celebrate its bicentennial in 2027.
Interviewed by the CBC in December, Heritage Ottawa president Katherine Spencer-Ross said the upcoming celebration makes it an ideal time, noting the market would gain added “cachet” as a National Historic Site. It could also help persuade developers to preserve the neighbourhood’s heritage features.
Heritage Ottawa specifically supports the recommended boundary, which largely mirrors that of the existing ByWard Market Heritage Conservation District, as it best reflects the stories and themes of the ByWard Market and how it has evolved over time. Heritage Ottawa also encourages the City’s planned consultation with the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.
WHY IT MERITS DESIGNATION
The ByWard Market features an impressive collection of restored 19th century buildings and storefronts, is home to over a dozen federally recognized and/or classified heritage buildings, and is associated with nationally significant people, such as Colonel John By, Bishop Joseph-Eugène-Bruno Gigues, and Mère Thomas d’Aquin.
From its inception, the ByWard Market attracted bilingual settlement, reflecting the two colonial nations that settled in Canada. It was also associated with the development of Ottawa as Canada’s national capital through its role as an entry point, gathering place, and workplace for many different populations, communities and newcomers to Canada. Its location links the area to key events and themes in Ottawa’s history, including connections to Indigenous Peoples, the fur and timber trade, the mix of French and English cultures, agricultural history and immigrant stories.
Designation of the ByWard Market as a National Historic Site would be honorific in nature; it would not impose new rules or regulations on property owners. A significant national recognition, it would raise the profile of the ByWard Market and the neighbouring community of Lowertown and the wealth of heritage infrastructure.
Lying steps from the Rideau Canal and within sight of Parliament Hill, the ByWard Market reflects the evolution of a fledgling town to our nation's capital.
