Share your thoughts on major events at LeBreton Flats in a brief survey from the DCA’s Mobility Committee!

The DCA’s Mobility Committee wants to know more about how residents feel about major events in our neighbourhood. So we’re getting started with a survey about your experience in recent years with major events like Canada Day and Bluesfest. It will help us identify the key issues for local residents we’ll need to emphasize in our future communications with the federal government, the National Capital Commission, the City of Ottawa, and Capital Sports Development Inc. 

This survey closed on December 19. We’ll publish the results on ottawadalhousie.ca in the new year.

Some background

On August 11, 2025, the National Capital Commission and Capital Sports Development Inc. announced they had signed an agreement of purchase and sale for 4.5 hectares of land on LeBreton Flats. CDSI owns the Ottawa Senators, and plans to build a hockey arena on the site, at Albert and Preston streets.

The announcement prompted residents in Dalhousie – in Little Italy, Chinatown, and on LeBreton Flats – to ask about the impacts a major event centre like the proposed NHL arena could have on adjacent communities – our communities. Some impacts could be beneficial, especially for local business, but other effects, like vehicle traffic, parking on residential streets, and late-night crowds, are potential issues.

We have experience in Dalhousie with major events on LeBreton Flats, including Canada Day, and the largest music festivals in the city, like Bluesfest. It’s getting better, but local residents still struggle to have their concerns heard and then addressed by both the organizers of these events, and by the city. 

With a new NHL hockey arena on the way, it’s very important that the voice of local residents be heard during the planning for major events in our part of the city. We are shifting from a short series of single summer events on LeBreton Flats to a future when there will be hundreds of major events here throughout the year.

For more information, please contact: president@ottawadalhousie.ca