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Justin Trudeau’s Ottawa: See Canada's capital through the eyes of its PM
As Canadians go to the polls, Mike MacEacheran explores why the capital, with its outrageous good looks and loveable small town vibe, is so much more than a hothouse of politics
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Want to wolf down a cookie with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s face on it? Of course you do. The candy red, maple leaf-shaped shortbread, iced with a hockey-rink white “Canada” across its stem, is on sale at French-style boulangerie Le Moulin de Provence in the belly of the city’s Byward Market. Tasty? Yes. Moreish? That too. But also an opportunistic take on the bakery’s “Obama cookie”, so-named because the former US president once bought two (one for himself, the other for family) when visiting Canada’s capital in 2009.
Lately, there’s been a roaring trade for the Trudeau biscuit and it’s not hard to see why. Love or loathe the leader of Canada’s Liberal Party (the recent blackface scandal saw him rocket up the global news agenda), there’s no denying his impact overseas and at home. Indeed, whether he survives this week’s federal election for a second term or not, his political and cultural influence in restlessly modern Ottawa is visible throughout. It may not be the obvious Canadian city for a break, but when you arrive there’s a sense it’s transforming, with the side benefit that it’s the most enlightening place in Canada for discovering where the country is heading next.
All Trudeau tours of Ottawa need to begin on Parliament Hill, preferably around lunchtime on a summer’s day, with a square-on view of Canada’s neo-gothic parliament. Around this time, a mass of yogis practice on mats on the legislature lawn and many have spotted Trudeau during the weekly Yoga on the Hill class (free, Wednesday, mid-May to August). It’s a tribute to Canadian politeness that when he’s shown up, with heart beating and lungs puffing, he’s been quietly ignored by locals who’re far too involved in their practice to notice. Should yoga not be your thing, free tours of parliament marry 19th-century history with here-and-now witticisms about the buildings’ delayed, decade-long rehabilitation and homeless politicians.
Into this picture comes the nearby National Arts Centre (NAC), opened by then prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau (nowadays Trudeau Sr), and this year celebrating its 50th anniversary. You can’t miss its glass lantern design from Parliament Hill or the adjacent Fairmont Chateau Laurier, a turreted castle hotel that makes a show of having once been the haunt of other political luminaries such as Sir Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle and Herbert Hoover. Unveiled with an outward-looking tower in 2017 by Justin Trudeau, the NAC’s current line-up celebrates indigenous theatre, a programme which fits with the government’s work and national mood of reconciliation. Perfect for photo ops, it overlooks a concise yet extraordinary segment of the Rideau Canal National Historic Site. Don’t pass up the chance to sail it or skate it when the waterway freezes over, becoming rink-like in winter.
Another thing that changes with the seasons is the food. Come snowfall, out go the lobster and oyster platters, in come the wood-smoked bagels, pork-and-beef tourtiere pies and heartwarming bowls of poutine. BeaverTails (£2.60), paddle-shaped sugar and cinnamon fried doughnuts and an Ottawa original, are sold at food trucks and rinks across the city. They’re a delicious piece of history.
The coat-and-tie dining scene is also hardly stuffy and needs no national apology. A beneficial reminder of political patronage can be found at agenda-setting Beckta, where Justin Trudeau and partner Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau have been spotted. Terms such as organic, seasonal and “new Canadian” are thrown around in the kitchen here and the same vibe prospers at Riviera, where European heritage crashes headlong into Asian cuisine. Whatever the origins, entrees such as ling cod with maitake mushrooms (£15) and smoked king salmon with rosti (£18) allow everyone from conservative lobbyists to left-wing commentators to negotiate politics with a full stomach.
Neither restaurant is a one-off. Keep an eye out for Fraser Cafe, near Trudeau’s official residence 24 Sussex in the suburb of New Edinburgh, and Fauna, a small-plates specialist with dishes like bison tartare (£11) and suckling pig (£22) in Centretown. There’s not an exhaustive list of go-tos, but it’s one indication of the Canadian capital’s self-assurance and ability to fuel excitement over where to eat.
To see more of Trudeau’s Ottawa, you could hop on an open-top Gray Line bus to see his current residence Rideau Hall (24 Sussex, in a state of disrepair, controversially sits vacant). Or go the whole nine yards and trick-or-treat out on the front steps. In previous years, the governor general has hosted Halloween bashes at the address and Trudeau has come out wearing Han Solo, Sherlock Holmes and Clark Kent costumes. No blackface jokes here please.
If Ottawa is emerging as the most forward-thinking destination in Canada, it helps that it has the whole outdoors thing packed into the wider vicinity. Trudeau and his family are known to hike in Gatineau Park, an hour north of the city in neighbouring Quebec, and cyclists and runners have turned the centre into a model for sustainable living. For a deeper insight, join Maria Rasouli, Iranian-Canadian founder of Escape Tours and Rentals, for a pedal along the Rideau Canal to The Glebe, where you’ll find an almost provincial collection of sweet-as-table-syrup stores. Post a slab of pumpkin and spice chocolate back home from Alicja Confections, or pick up a bag of hand-rolled, Montreal-style bagels at Kettleman’s. Bafflingly, it never ever closes.
It turns out even most Canadians don’t view Ottawa as a tourist destination. Often, they only have the vaguest idea of what their national capital has to offer. But these days they – and you – should really pay a visit. Because it deserves to be taken very seriously indeed, whether you’re interested in politics or not.
Travel essentials
Getting there
Air Canada flies from London Heathrow to Ottawa, with fares from £471 return.
Staying there
With a prime spot overlooking Parliament, Westin Ottawa has doubles from £119.
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