Ottawa Winterlude 2025

Sharing a very cold bench with Oscar Peterson

We first visited Ottawa during Winterlude on Family Day weekend in 2009. I was unfamiliar with the city and did not know it was essential to have long underwear and layers of clothing if you spent any time outdoors in February. Recent winters have been milder than normal but the temperatures have been well below freezing all year without the usual "January Thaw". Two significant winter storms arrived back to back but the weather was clear and sunny for a couple of days last week.

We walked downtown after dark the evening before the first snowstorm and saw the ice sculptures along Sparks Street pedestrian mall. The wind was so cold that I stopped taking pictures. My hands were numb even with gloves and mittens. I didn't have the winter lining in my coat because I hadn't needed it recently. There is a lighted fire sculpture in Confederation Park but it was just for show and generated no heat at all!

Lumen Eira- "evoking the heat of a crackling fire" without actual heat

The next day Ottawa was dumped with over 30 cm of snow but city crews cleaned the streets quickly and we went back downtown on Valentine's Day. It was still cold but the sun was bright and warming in sheltered areas.

Center Block on Parliament Hill is undergoing a ten-year-long renovation and the close view of the Peace Tower view is marred by construction cranes. This angle from the National Arts Centre shows the National War Memorial, the East Block Tower and the Peace Tower in Centre Block.

Km 0.0 on the Rideau Canal Skateway

The Rideau Canal becomes a 7.8 km skating rink with old Christmas trees frozen in place and huts along the edges where you can rent skates and sleds and buy food including Beavertail pastries, samosas, soup dumplings, poutine, maple taffy, hot drinks and more. I was never a good skater and could not risk falling on ice so I walked the pathway along the canal instead while my daughter skated past the halfway point and back to the start, a little over 8 km.

Women are Persons!

I was pleasantly surprised to come across the Famous Five, Women are Persons! sculpture temporarily moved from Parliament Hill to the Plaza Bridge near the temporary Senate Building across from Château Laurier. Until 1929, women were not considered persons under Canadian law. Five exceptional Canadian women from Alberta;-Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Muir Edwards and Nellie McClung, led the fight for legal recognition as persons. They were Grandma D's heroes and she was the first to tell me their stories.

Two of the five bronze ladies beside the Senate Building (the old train station)

February 15th was the 60th anniversary of our Canadian flag. I was in Grade 5 when the Canadian Red Ensign was retired and our first official national flag was raised. On February 14, a team of young skaters carried our flag along the Rideau Canal. I missed this event and the picture on the left is from a local news site. There is a recent rise in Canadian nationalism as we face aggressive words and actions from our neighbour to the south. I have read many comments recently, but this message from Landish, a Canadian company, expresses my feelings well.

"To our fellow Canadians,

The noise beyond our borders may be unsettling, but let’s remember who we are. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, across the Arctic plains, our identity is built on compassion, respect, and cooperation.

We don’t need to shout about our resolve—it’s evident in the quiet acts of kindness that bind us together.

We meet hostility with strength, not hate. That choice speaks to our character and upholds a reputation that will outlast any passing aggression.

When outside voices try to shake our sense of self, we hold fast to what is uniquely ours—our land and its gifts, our values, our humanity, and the care we show one another. This is our home, shaped by perseverance and guided by steady strength.

We stand together, grounded and proud.

We stand together as Canadians."

Our grandchildren skating on the Rideau Canal