Insider Only Ottawa

Stories to watch in 2023: The top 10 – Part 2

December 20, 2022

In the spirit of the season, OBJ has put together a list of the top 10 stories to watch in 2023. Here are the final five.

Already an Insider? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become an Ottawa Business Journal Insider and get immediate access to all of our Insider-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become an Insider

It has certainly been a year of fascinating developments in Ottawa and it seems the saga is set to continue into the new year. In the spirit of the season, OBJ has put together a list of the top 10 stories to watch in 2023. Here are the final five.

Nokia Canada to break ground on futuristic ‘hub’ in Kanata North

Nokia Canada confirmed in October its intent to transform its existing facility in the Kanata North Business Park into a “world-leading, sustainable research and development hub,” with construction slated to begin in 2023. According to the company, the project will transform Nokia Canada’s 26-acre campus into a “sustainable, accessible mixed-use corporate, residential and commercial hub where nearly 2,160 local employees, Ottawa residents and businesses and Canada’s entire tech ecosystem can collaborate, innovate and drive Canadian and global well-being and prosperity.” The new development would add thousands of additional residents to an area that’s already among the city’s fastest-growing neighbourhoods. Kanata North Business Association told OBJ in May that the development could play a big part in the tech park’s “necessary transformation” into a mixed-use district with vibrant commercial and residential components.

Whither the downtown core?

The downtown core suffered during the pandemic as thousands of employees who once commuted to office towers began working remotely. At one point, Statistics Canada estimated that 46 per cent of Ottawa’s workforce was working from home, compared with 28 per cent elsewhere in the country. Neil Malhotra, CFO of Claridge Homes, is co-chairing a task force aimed at creating a long-term plan to revitalize Ottawa’s downtown. He said the task force — whose members include Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi as well as social housing advocates, Indigenous leaders, sustainability advocates, local business improvement area representatives, and tourism stakeholders — has its work cut out for it. “It’s not a simple issue,” he said. “I’d love to give you a one-word soundbite, but it’s going to be very complicated. I think the best way to describe it right now is it’s a blank slate. Everything is on the table and we’re just at the start of that process. There are no easy answers here.”

New kids on the block

Ottawans voted in a new mayor and council in October and are waiting to see what the priorities and agenda will be for the fledgling municipal government. From transit to red tape and from zoning to tourism, Ottawa’s business community will have many points of intersection with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and his team. “We can help the city identify where there are impediments to building more homes in their processes and regulations and the city-imposed costs that negatively impact housing affordability,” said Jason Burggraaf, executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association, in reaction to Sutcliffe’s win. “Mayor Sutcliffe understands the business community and the value tourism brings to Ottawa, particularly in the downtown core where the absence of federal government employees is having such a negative impact,” said Steve Ball, president of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association. “Ottawa’s swagger is the single most important thing we can do right now. We have to compete and seize the moment and I know Mark knows that,” said Michael Tremblay, president and CEO at Invest Ottawa.

Up, up and away

Ottawa International Airport continues to regain altitude after air travel virtually ground to a halt during the pandemic, with significant upgrades to its facilities, including hangars and taxiways. CEO Mark Laroche warned that the airport, which drew more than five million passengers in 2019, won’t fully recover until more business executives start jumping on planes to meet customers face-to-face. The airport authority is projecting that the not-for-profit facility won’t hit the break-even point until at least the second quarter of 2023. In November, an airport spokesperson said the airport is “slowly but surely” rebuilding its network of direct flights to the U.S. but said it is still anybody’s guess when a full slate of U.S. destinations will return.

The new world of work

It seems everyone can agree that the pandemic changed the way we work — or at least expedited fundamental shifts that were already underway. Many of the kinks are still being worked out, as most HR experts can attest. Heather Tyrie, chief talent officer of Fullscript, points to her company’s policy of “work wherever you work well.” She related how some of her colleagues preferred to drive and are welcome at Fullscript’s small Kanata office, while those who prefer to take public transit can easily go to the company’s larger space downtown. A key criteria is recognizing that the best way to get people back in the office is to create a sense of community and even moments of joy. “This is a great opportunity for organizations to figure out how to be a lot more thoughtful about the workforce and the trends that are changing it,” said Stephen Harrington, a partner at global business advisory firm Deloitte. “We need to figure out how to attract employees and engage them differently post-pandemic.” Heidi Hauver, vice-president of people experience at Shinydocs, is all about the at-home experience. “It’s about having access to talent and not requiring them to relocate to Ontario,” she explained. “They can remain where they are, where they’re building their lives, and still be part of a really exciting opportunity and a growing organization. We are seeing a lot of great talent reaching out to us directly because of the amazing culture we are creating, which includes a work-from-home environment.”