New head of ByWard Market District Authority wants to ‘make a splash’ with impactful events

February 10, 2026

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The new head of the ByWard Market District Authority wants to add more high-profile events such as Barbegazi to the area, while also focusing on the structures and policies needed to make the organization function effectively. Last month, Victoria Williston was named executive director of the BMDA, concluding a search that’s been ongoing since Zachary Dayler left the position in September. In an interview with OBJ Monday, Williston said she’ll be looking to bring more events similar to this past weekend’s Barbegazi, a high-energy snowmobile acrobatic performance on York Street, to the Market. “This is my motto, ‘Do less, better.’ I think that’s where the BMDA is headed. We’re going to have larger, more impactful events, initiatives and programs that are going to make a real splash and will, down the road, help change that public perception of the Market,” she said. Williston was previously the BMDA’s communications and marketing manager – and technically still is until her replacement is found – so she enters the executive role familiar with the authority’s projects. She recognizes that events such as Barbegazi help increase foot traffic, which is good for business. That’s why the BMDA will be putting together its largest Canada Day celebration this summer, as well as helping Nuit Blanche, an all-night arts festival, come alive for the first time since 2015. “I was having lunch at one of the ByWard Market restaurants (this weekend), and it was absolutely jam-packed,” she said. The past few years have been a tale of two Markets. Long-standing and popular businesses such as Blue Cactus, Saslove’s Meat Market and Cafe Dekcuf, have shuttered and left the Market. Residents have raised the alarm about safety in the area. Other businesses have spoken out about the Market’s parking issues, saying the area lacks spots for customers and cargo vehicles, leading to idling in front of businesses. At the same time, new businesses have moved into the Market and the area saw its highest foot traffic since 2019 last summer. Williston said that, as she settles into her new role, she is reaching out to businesses to understand their concerns and work together to overcome challenges. “It’s not that I’m not aware that there are those challenges. We’re all aware that there are those challenges, but to ignore those challenges or not speak about them, other people are going to fill that void if there’s no communication about it. We don’t want people to fill that void. We want to work with businesses in order to make a ByWard Market that everybody wants.” The BMDA is working with the city to address some safety-related concerns in the Market, she said. Late last year, the mayor announced that the city was launching a pilot program that would see $1 million invested over two years to hire private security for the ByWard Market. Williston said work is progressing to create a community safety and well-being committee. “We will be meeting with various partners from various sectors. We have hoteliers, community associations, social services, law enforcement to create a holistic plan,” Williston said, adding that the program will launch in spring or early summer. Last summer, the ByWard Market partnered with the city’s nightlife office to launch a “night ambassador” program, a volunteer-led program focused on improving safety on Friday and Saturday nights between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. With a report on the program to be released by the end of March, Williston said it was successful enough for the BMDA to bring it back this summer. “It will be coming back (but) it won’t be the exact (same) program as last year. How it will shake out is still in the works,” she said, adding the revised program will likely work on an extended timeline spanning from early May to the end of October.

From journalism to executive director

Before joining the BMDA as its communications and marketing manager in early 2024, Williston spent a decade in journalism, working her way from on-air reporter to news director for Rogers Media in Toronto and Ottawa. Her work in journalism has informed her communication style, she said. “Objectivity and remaining unbiased,” Williston said of what she has retained from being a reporter. “Journalism and communications, they go hand in hand. (It’s) talking to people and conveying information in a digestible way. But having an opinion was the most difficult thing and I still find it difficult. “A lot of what I do now, I wouldn’t say it’s data-driven but data-informed. Much like in journalism, I use the data to inform the decision-making on what we’re going to do moving forward. I think having that caution and being really able to listen to people and get that public feedback to then inform your own thoughts and opinions is the most critical, and especially for the ByWard Market, because it's not something that's going to be solved by one person or even by one organization.” One area of focus will be the authority’s structure, policy and governance. “If you’re renovating a house, a lot of your money goes into the stuff that you can’t see. It’s not the sexy stuff. It’s the pipes, the electricity, etc. because that’s integral to make the house function. That’s the same thing with any organization. You need to have those structures and policies in place in order for the organization to function as it should,” she said.

ByWard Market in transition

In 2021, the city approved a $129-million plan to revitalize the Market by adding pedestrian plazas and a new “destination building” at 70 Clarence St., currently a parking garage. The city also approved plans to rehabilitate the historic ByWard Market Heritage Hall at 55 ByWard Market Sq. At a recent NCC board of directors meeting, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said the city is “working hard to improve the ByWard Market. We have a couple of properties in the ByWard Market that we are excited about and could be candidates for redevelopment in the future.” Williston said she expects to get updates from the city on the revitalization plan by the end of this month, adding the plan will help turn the area into more of a destination. “I love the idea of pedestrianization. I know people fear that word … but it all comes down to compromise and (doing) what is best for the area, the district, the people within it and the people who are coming here to visit. We want it to be an area where people do come shop and then sit and stay for a bit. In order to do that, we need to have the environment that allows for that to happen.” And, as Ottawa prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary this year, Williston said similar preparations are being made for the ByWard Market’s 200th anniversary in 2027. While no plans have been set yet, she said celebrations will kick off May 1, 2027, and the BMDA hasn’t ruled out the possibility of bringing back big events such as Barbegazi. “It’s (about) what can we dream up and how can we achieve it.”