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Canada Day 2026 will bring a midweek holiday that will change the operating hours of businesses, service industries and public transportation on Wednesday, July 1st.
Here’s a look at what’s opening and closing in Ottawa for Canada Day.
This is a general overview and is worth double-checking with the specific location you plan to visit.
Shopping
Stores in some areas of the city, including Glebe Market and ByWard Market, can open on holidays under the province’s Retail Business Holidays Act.
The Rideau Center and Tanger Outlets Ottawa will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Bayshore Shopping Centers, St. Laurent and Place d’Orléans will be closed.
Most grocery stores in the city will be closed.
All LCBOs will be closed. Some beer stores will be open.
Travel
There will be closures and other changes downtown to ease the flow of people coming to official events, sightseeing and food, or both.
The National Daytime Show at LeBreton Flats runs from noon to 1:30 p.m., and the evening show starts at 8 p.m. and ends with fireworks at 10 p.m.
Road, bridge and path closures in downtown Ottawa will begin at 6 a.m. on July 1, with another round at 7 or 8 p.m.
The former are located closest to the Ottawa River and typically block traffic north of Albert Street from 6 a.m. This includes the Chaudière and Portage bridges, and the Alexandra Bridge is closed to drivers heading south into Ottawa.
The Chaudière crossing is closed to pedestrians and vehicles.
The paths around the war museum also close at 6am.
The closure extends south at 7 p.m., meaning people cannot travel north of Laurier Avenue West, on Albert as far west as Bayswater Avenue, or along Booth north of Somerset.
The Chief William Command Pedestrian Bridge closes at 8 p.m.
The closure is scheduled to end by 2 a.m. on July 2.
There will be several road closures in the Byward Market Square area on Tuesday and Wednesday. The city is also reminding people who don’t frequent downtown about construction at the intersection of Laurier Avenue West and Elgin Street.
Local road closures may occur during small public events.
Snowbirds fly over Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats during Canada Day 2025 celebrations. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)
OC Transpo will be free for 24 hours starting at 3 a.m. July 1 and with special Canada Day schedules.
O-Train Line 1 runs from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday. Lines 2 and 4 operate from 7:00 to 1:00 Thursday.
Buses will run between Park and Rides East and West and the end of Line 1 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. One of them connects the Terry Fox and Eagleson sites in the west with Tunney’s Pasture station, the other from Millennium and Trim in the east with Blair station.
Unlike some previous years, Pimizi station will remain open except between 9am and 10pm. Buses will replace westbound trains after the fireworks display, and westbound trains will stop at nearby Lyon and Bayview stations.
Para Transpo trips on July 1st are automatically cancelled. The LeBreton Flats national event center is on Vimy Place in front of the museum.
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Rest
City outdoor pools, children’s pools and playgrounds will operate on modified schedules.
Many city recreation centers will be closed, while others will have modified operating hours and visiting hours.
The National Gallery, the Ottawa Art Gallery, and the agriculture, aviation, history, nature, science and war museums are open and free. The history and military museums have also extended their opening hours until 7 p.m.
City museums and arts centers will be closed.
Canada Day midday show at LeBreton Flats in 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
City services
There will be no green bin curbside pickup, recycling, trash or bulky item collections on Wednesday. The collection on this day is postponed to Thursday, July 2, and for the rest of the week the collection will be postponed by one day.
Multi-tenant trash containers will be collected on their regular scheduled day. Multi-unit recycling containers, large items and green containers will be delayed by one day.
The waste treatment plant site is open from 9:00 to 17:00.
All services at Ottawa City Hall, Ben Franklin Place in Nepean, 255 Centrum Blvd. In Orleans, the West Carleton community complex and the provincial offenses court at 100 Constellation Dr. will be closed.
All Ottawa Public Library branches will be closed. All city kindergartens will be closed.
The Site’s mobile van will operate from 5:00 pm to 11:30 pm.