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Nightlife commish Mathieu Grondin speaks with OBJ about recent wins and what comes next

September 4, 2025

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With a number of initiatives under his belt, Ottawa’s nightlife commissioner is already looking ahead to the next iteration of the nightlife economy action plan. This week, the city’s nightlife office launched a new website that enables residents and visitors to explore Ottawa’s nightlife scene and promotes local businesses. The Ottawa at Night site is “about all things nightlife in Canada’s capital city” and includes a directory of 99 nightlife businesses to raise awareness of what’s going on after dark. It also features safety tips in partnership with Ottawa Health and resources for current and emerging nightlife businesses. Mathieu Grondin, Ottawa’s nightlife commissioner, told OBJ on Wednesday that, as a first step, his office focused on the “cultural” side of nightlife businesses when developing the website. “When I took the position last year, I wanted to focus on the cultural aspects of nightlife. So, those venues, pubs and restaurants, they're all programming culture,” he said, adding that other nightlife businesses doing similar things can ask to be added to the directory. “A recurring theme I’ve heard since I got the position last year was that people don’t know what’s going on in Ottawa, so I think this (site) partly addresses that,” Grondin said. “It just enhances the profile of our nightlife businesses and shows that there’s a lot of stuff happening in Ottawa.” The directory can be filtered by location as well as by genre of entertainment or “vibe” found at the venue, from different types of music to comedy and more. In addition, the website has an “insiders” tab with links to apps and other websites that focus on events across the city. Among those featured are Ottawa is Not Boring, an events-focused website run by content creator Carla Salazar; Ottawa Gigs, an online directory of Ottawa’s various music shows; and the Vibes app, a locally developed app showcasing the city’s nightlife venues. Grondin said that the launch of the Ottawa at Night website, which started development this past spring, addresses the nightlife economy action plan’s recommendation on creating an online resource and the recommendation focused on improving nightlife safety and safety messaging. As part of the website launch, Grondin’s team created two safety booklets, one for nightlife consumers and the other for businesses, developed in partnership with the Social Collective, a non-profit organization that works to reduce sexual violence and promote a safer nightlife. An upcoming communications campaign on nightlife safety was developed with Mediaplus Advertising, an Ottawa-based advertising and content agency. The new campaign will be seen in the various nightlife businesses around the city as well as at post-secondary institutions. “I think it translates quite well to what the experience of going out at night is in Ottawa. It shows you that nightlife is exciting, there’s a lot of stuff going on. This is part of the new branding that we want to bring to the city, so I am quite proud of it,” Grondin said of the website. The new site is just one of the things the commissioner has been busy with lately. Most recently, he was a part of the team that launched Metcalfe Plaza, a new pop-up social hub at the corner of Metcalfe and Gloucester streets. “Metcalfe Plaza was a huge part of my year. This is a great example of how the nightlife office can help new cultural entrepreneurs kick off projects,” he said. Amashowza, a local event curator, came up with the idea last November, Grondin said, after identifying a gap for outdoor pop-up venues in Ottawa. “It’s seen elsewhere in Toronto and Montreal and they were like, ‘Why don’t we have this in Ottawa?’ I totally agreed with them. We spent a lot of time over the last nine months to find the right partners and finding the space. We were lucky enough to be able to count on Morguard, who leased us the space for free,” he said. Grondin added that it was an important first step to address the 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. crowd. “I think these placemaking projects are very interesting as they bring more vibrancy downtown. It’s a model that could also be implemented elsewhere around town,” he said. With the first iteration of the nightlife economy action plan coming to an end next year, Grondin said the next priorities will be to continue identifying nightlife projects and drawing up a new plan. “In terms of the nightlife office, I think what we need to do is keep developing nightlife projects and maybe other placemaking projects like Metcalfe Plaza. I think that should be our priority for the last year of the plan,” he said. “We also have to start thinking about what our next plan is going to be, what still needs to be addressed. This plan was a first step, but there are a lot more things to do to position Ottawa as a nightlife destination for Canada,” Grondin added. Looking ahead to a new nightlife plan, Grondin said he’ll be meeting with stakeholders and businesses to identify next steps. The new website also states that the nightlife council will be looking for 12 new at-large members starting next fall for the 2027-2028 mandate. As for Grondin, he says he isn’t going anywhere. “The position of the nightlife commissioner doesn’t run a mandate. It’s a full-time position. I will still be there next year, in 2026 and beyond,” he said.