Wimpy would have been the word to describe the last two winters in Ottawa too, when temperatures never plunged low enough, for long enough, for winter activities to abound. The canal skating rink never opened at all in 2023, a historic first, and in 2024 was open for only a handful of days on a very narrow portion, with poor skating conditions.
The ice sculptures as often as not were insulated under tarps trying to keep them from melting, and most did not make it through the entirety of Winterlude intact.
But Mother Nature in 2025 delivered what the city needed for its winter festival fun.
Winterlude, which concluded Monday, typically sees around 600,000 visitors each year over the three weekends, and around a third of them come from out of town, says the federal Department of Canadian Heritage.
The festival took place across two official sites – on Sparks St. and at “Snowflake Kingdom” in Gatineau – where visitors could try maple syrup taffy, see light shows and ride slides.
Ines Akué, a spokesperson for Canadian Heritage, said 2025 saw a return of the “buzz and excitement” surrounding the festival.
“With the weather co-operating and the iconic Rideau Canal Skateway being open, visitors came out en masse to our two official sites to enjoy events and activities that celebrated winter and showcased Canadian artistic and cultural diversity,” Akué said in an email.
The Rideau Canal Skateway – a key component of an Ottawa winter – has been enjoying its busiest season since 2019, said the National Capital Commission.
NCC spokesperson Maryam El- Akhrass said the organization has counted over 755,000 canal visits since the skateway opened on Jan. 11. The 7.8-km. skateway fully opened to the public on Jan. 18.
“We expect our millionth visit to happen next week,” El- Akhrass said, adding that consistently cold temperatures have helped ice conditions.
In 2018-19, the skateway was open for 59 days and was visited almost 1.5 million times.
Jérôme Miousse, director of public affairs for Ottawa Tourism, said Winterlude was particularly busy this year.
“This year, the first two weekends of Winterlude combined saw higher hotel demand compared to 2024, with the first weekend nearly matching the same weekend in 2020, a record year,” Miousse said.
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