Eight years ago, Victoria Williston arrived in Ottawa for a morning-anchor job with CityNews Radio. She was a Humber Polytechnic grad with a diploma in journalism who discovered she had a voice for radio.
But, when Rogers Media closed the CityNews operation and swept out the staff, she faced a dilemma. Back to Toronto or switch careers? To make the situation more complicated, Williston and her husband had a child.
A job posting at
the ByWard Market
District Authority caught Williston’s eye. Formed in 2023, the authority merged the ByWard Market BIA and Ottawa Markets, the organization administering farmers’ markets in the city.
“I can communicate. I can collaborate, and I thought to myself I needed something a bit a bit more stable, with more regular hours,” Williston said in a recent interview conducted on the second floor of the ByWard Market Heritage Building, within sight of the Market-inspired sculptural installation by Victor Tolgesy hanging from the ceiling.
She got the position
. Two years later, with then-BMDA director Zachary Dayler stepping down, she threw her name into the nation-wide race for a new leader.
Now 35, Williston has that job, too, although she will be handing over the communications position when a new candidate is hired. In the meantime, she’s on a meet-and-greet spree, sitting with business owners, residents and other ByWard Market stakeholders to introduce herself, to hear their concerns and to share her priorities for the area.
Here’s more from the interview (edited for length and clarity).
Q: You didn’t grow up in Ottawa. Do you have a connection to the ByWard Market?
A: When we moved here eight years ago, my husband and I first lived
in the ByWard Market
. I’m from Toronto, and I’m used to an urban environment. I thrive with sidewalks. I love the diversity of a downtown; it’s just where I thrive. So to be able to come here and work for the ByWard Market District Authority, I was able to be in the heart of Ottawa, be where the action is, be where the Ottawa sign is, and just be able to be with people and experience that lively vibrancy.
Q: You’ve been communications manager for a couple of years at the BMDA. Is this directorship a dream job for you?
A: Honestly, yes. I used to be the news director at 1310 CityNews Ottawa, so I’m familiar with leading teams and communicating and directing and things of that nature. And local news. What I wanted to do in journalism was make meaningful change and tell stories and help people who sometimes can’t help themselves. To me, this is a dream job because it creates change.
Q: How so?
A: The BMDA serves the purpose of being an aggregator of services and businesses in the district and can then funnel them through to the city. We can tell them what’s happening, be the eyes on the street, and we do hear about things like the reduction of parking and
social disorder
.
Q: What can the BMDA do about issues like those?
A: Funding is coming from the MAT tax, which is the Municipal Accommodation Tax that
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe
announced would increase this year. It’s the tax that tourists pay on hotel rooms that would then be given to the BMDA, via committee, to create a program to enhance the visitor experience. The funding will be aimed at community safety and well-being, and we want to make change with those dollars.
Q: Between the ByWard Market Public Realm plan, the potential new funding and the upcoming bicentennial, you’re arriving at this position during a major transition period. Any concerns about the timing?
A: I think that is probably one reason why I was promoted from within, so that there wasn’t another added level of change. I already have the base understanding of the organization, and I already work with the City of Ottawa. We share information back and forth about the city projects that are being implemented in the district. There was a bit of a lull period when we didn’t want too many false starts so, now that there is an executive director, we’re on the ground running.
Q: What’s the first step in the ByWard Market Public Realm plan?
A: The first stage is William Street between George and York Street. It’s slated for some time later this year. It’s a pedestrianization with a catenary wire lighting system, but it’s still a flex street, so it will be open for deliveries during certain times. We’re
coming up to our 200th anniversary
, and part of it is putting those things in place by then to have an enhanced experience for people who are coming down here.
Q: What are your thoughts on the big events like Barbegazi and Nuit Blanche? Some people complain that they turn the ByWard Market into a circus.
A: We’re always going to try things, right? Some are going to work, some aren’t going to work and that’s why I want that feedback loop. Before, during and after, we’ll be surveying the public, and surveying the businesses on what could be improved. We know closing the street (
during Barbegazi on Feb. 6-8
) and eliminating that parking isn’t going to be super favourable, especially for a three-day closure. But what’s the trade-off? How many people will come to the district, and how much cash flow will they bring? It’s three days, and, yes, it’s going to be loud. A revving snowmobile is not the quietest thing. But, with proper notice and understanding that it’s only a 20-minute show, we feel the benefits outweigh the negatives.
Q: What else are you looking forward to in 2026?
A: There’s going to be a St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 7, organized by the Irish Society (of the National Capital Region). The BMDA is helping out with notifying the businesses about street closures and, obviously, doing some marketing. It ends at the Heart and Crown on Clarence Street. We’re helping them navigate the city requirements because we work with (the city) all the time. Getting a parade back is a huge thing in Ottawa because we don’t have very many parades.
Q: Is the ByWard Market in danger of becoming a monolithic culture of nightclubs?
A: Well, I have a toddler, so I don’t go outside past 8 p.m. (laughs). But I know some of the residents in the area have a large fear of that. But, as I say, everyone has a place in the ecosystem. It’s an entertainment district, so there are clubs and bars here, but we need to offset them because there are also restaurants, accountants, embassies, shops … It’s the storytelling of this district being more than one thing, and that’s really what I want to bring to the forefront.
Q: Any other priorities?
A: If you look on on our website, the district is much more than just the immediate streets (adjacent to the ByWard Market Heritage Building). I want to be able to bring the outskirts of the district into the fold. If you can get a buy-in on the outskirts on what you’re doing here, and you bring that programming out there, you animate out there and you beautify those areas. It’s a lot of walking around, but that’s my intention. I can help collaborate and bring people together in the heart of Ottawa.
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