Saturday marked the earliest opening for the season since Dec. 30, 2018.
Shae Davies was wearing a smile almost as wide as the Rideau Canal Skateway early Saturday, laughing at herself for being a “stereotypical” Canadian.
When the National Capital Commission officially opened a four-kilometre stretch of the skateway at 8 a.m., Davies was all in with the already steadily growing crowd, not wanting to miss out on being a part of Ottawa’s signature winter pastime.
When she moved to Ottawa from Victoria last year, skating was high on Davies’ priority list. With the Canal skateway open for only 10 days in 2024, she took what she could get.
“I always wanted to live in Ottawa and last year was my first time on the Canal,” she said, stopping for a pitstop near Fifth Avenue. “I’ve heard stories about how there used to be sculptures on the ice and all these cool stories that bring people together. Even if there’s just a little bit of it, you get that feeling still.”
As has been well documented, enthusiasm about the Canal thawed due to the unusual warm of the past couple of winters. The brief opening a year ago followed 2023, when it didn’t open at all for the first time in the 55-year history of the skateway.
Saturday marked the earliest opening for the season since Dec. 30, 2018, and some didn’t bother waiting for the official start, taking to the ice well before sunrise at 7:40 a.m.
The skateway is currently open between Bank Street and Laurier Avenue, and for Saturday the NCC labelled the conditions in all open sections as “fair,” a notch below “good” and two rungs off “very good.”
Evening Update
Davies, who lives in the ByWard Market, is optimistic about eventually being able to skate the full 7.8-kilometre distance from the National Arts Centre to the Hartwell Locks later in the winter.
“I grew up in Victoria, so there’s no snow there. I feel like I’m such a stereotype,” she said. “I work for the government. I love skating. And I’m here.”
With that, off she went, back into the flow that included speedsters and novice skaters. It was an all ages group, with families well represented.
Emily McKenna wasn’t missing the chance to be part of the opening, either pushing her soon-to-be two-year-old daughter, Quinn, in a stroller while skating alongside her friend, Brenna Mitchell.
“We said we had to be out there as soon as it opens,” McKenna said. “We’re so excited to be out here because we love skating and we love Ottawa and it’s a great opportunity for exercise.”
McKenna said the lean years for the skateway had been “pretty sad.”
“I grew up here, so it’s part of my life,” she said. “It has been sad to miss out on such a cool thing. It’s so close to my house.”
Skating with the stroller was “a lot more work,” but exposing her daughter to the Rideau Canal early on was important to her.
“I’m determined to have a skinny Ottawa baby,” McKenna said.
Meanwhile, the Canal opening turned into a family affair for Andrew and Mitchel Ferraro.
Mitchel and his wife, Julia, live in Uxbridge, Ont., an hour northeast of Toronto. They had been planning on visiting Andrew and his partner, Sarah Gilmour, for a while.
“A couple of weeks ago, (Mitchel) asked me if there was any chance the Canal was going to be open,” Andrew said. “I said, ‘No chance, absolutely no chance.’”
Then came the frigid temperatures of early January.
“(Andrew) has always said it’s always a real fun time when it opens up and that you can use the Canal to get around Ottawa,” Mitchel said. “We were in Calgary earlier this winter to go skating on their lakes, and now we’ve got a real bug for skating.”
Last winter, the Ferraros’ parents, who also live in Uxbridge, missed out on the Canal skating experience.
“They came to Ottawa three times last year, and each time the Canal would close just as they were coming in,” Mitchel said. “So, now, they’re jealous that we come out here and it opens just for us.”
Ottawa resident Joan Duguid said she always aimed to hit the ice on opening day “before it’s all chopped up.”
She felt badly for all the skaters who had missed out on their daily winter routine for the past several years.
“I’m a terrible skater, so I can’t say I was heartbroken, but I am for the people that love to come out and use the Canal for a commuter way (to get around),” Duguid said.
Being on the ice in early January brought back good memories for John Brooman.
“I’m just excited to see the Canal open for the first time early in a couple of years,” he said, standing near the Fifth Avenue entrance. “I have a long time history here. I sold BeaverTails right there when I was 15 years old, right in that booth. It’s nice to see some cooler temperatures.”
But there are some mixed emotions for Brooman. He’s also chief executive officer of the Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival, which had already been cancelled for the fifth straight year due to uncertain weather conditions.
“I know the NCC is looking at some potential (artificial) ice surfaces to be installed in the Canal, if the money can be made available,” he said. “We had to cancel (early) just because we don’t have the trust of trust of clients and customers after having to cancel and refund hotels and all the rest of it (in previous years). Last year, we had a team come in from Pakistan and they had nowhere to go. To run the fvent, you have to decide a year in advance if you can pull it off.”
As a fan of winter, Brooman said it was impressive to see so many skaters out early.
“It was supposed to open at 8 a.m.,” he said. “But I was here at 7:40 and already there were so many people on the Canal. I’m sure people were here at four in the morning.”
X: Citizenkwarren
