Ottawa Chinatown History

Although there has long been a Chinese community in Ottawa, the official Chinatown designation is modern. In April, 1989, the City of Ottawa created a Business Improvement Area (BIA) called the Somerset Heights Business Improvement Area.

In 2005, the name was officially changed to the Chinatown Business Improvement Area. The major influence in the area is Chinese, but there is also a blend of Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and Thai influences and businesses. The BIA was extended to Preston Street in 2008.

In 2010, the Gateway Arch was built over Somerset Street, just west of Bronson Avenue. The elaborate gate is in the traditional Chinese style called a paifang. Ottawa had a Chinese population of about 170 in 1911 and did not have a Chinatown. The Chinese community grew slowly until it had a population of about 300 in 1931.

Now spring forward to 2019. Ottawa’s Chinatown now is a vibrant business and residential area offering local dining, shopping and entertainment. The area features tons merchants from all over the world including Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Philippino, Spanish, Lebanese, French and Middle Eastern, – each contributing their unique culture, foods and products to this exciting urban village. Come for the fine foods and eclectic shopping experience in this village showcasing the multiculturalism in the capital city of Canada and smell the fragrance of a strong Asian flavor.

Ottawa’s Chinatown really only became “Chinatown” after 1975, when Chinese and Vietnamese immigration to the area soared due to the changing political climates in China and Vietnam [1]. However, there are now many shops and restaurants of varying nationalities which are open in Chinatown, including Filipino, East and West Indian, Canadian, Japanese, and Thai.

LeBreton Flats has a long and detailed history in Ottawa’s past, dating back to when the locks and bridges were first being built over the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River in the 1800s. After the land was cleared in the 1960s, plan after plan was worked on for the area, until in 2000, a rejuvenation plan was put in place, and work began immediately to clear contamination left behind from its previous industrial uses. The Canadian War Museum was built there in 2005, to mark the tangible beginning of the redevelopment plan, and work will continue for the next decade to restore LeBreton to its former hustle and bustle as a major thoroughfare of Ottawa. Like the other major cultural area of Little Italy, Chinatown offers its residents and visitors a wide variety of food and dining options. Pho, Vietnamese noodle-based soup, is seemingly sold in every other restaurant on Somerset Street, while Japanese, Korean, and of course, Chinese food places entice passers-by with colourful signs and façades. There is something for everyone, whether one is in the mood for all-you-can-eat sushi or cooked-at-your-table Korean barbecue. Chinatown also boasts multiple grocery stores, the largest of which– the Kowloon Market, located on the corner of Arthur and Somerset– offers plenty of fresh produce in addition to imported goods.

LeBreton will eventually offer its own eating and grocery options once fully developed, and it remains to be seen what form those options will take– will Chinatown’s unique blend of nationalities spill over into the adjacent community? We will find out soon!

Header image courtesy of Wikimedia