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Barrhaven · Stonebridge · Half Moon Bay · South Nepean

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From the Top

Backpack drive supplies more than 160 high-schoolers as NROCRC wraps its biggest Tools 4 School year

The Nepean Rideau Osgoode Community Resource Centre says its Tools 4 School campaign has wrapped its most successful year in the program's 15-year history, supplying free backpacks and school supplies to more than 160 registered students in grades 10 to 12 for the year ahead. The centre's catchment spans six wards across Nepean, Rideau and Osgoode, including Barrhaven.

More than 200 backpacks were collected, with donations from individuals, 10 local churches, the Kiwanis Club of Bytown, Enbridge's Fuelling Futures program and local city councillors. "We are so grateful for the support of our many donors," said program director Brad Spooner. "It's not just about the supplies; it's about providing dignity and starting the school year off with confidence and being ready to learn."

Organizations, clubs, churches or companies interested in hosting a collection bin next year can reach Caroline Franks at NROCRC at 613-596-5626 ext. 247.

Some of the more than 200 donated backpacks, ready for students. Photo: NROCRC, supplied with its media release.

(NROCRC media release, "Tools 4 School Delivers Backpacks and Supplies to Local Youth," supplied by Caroline Franks, Aug. 27, 2026)

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A Barrhaven agency's golf day tees off Thursday with nearly $79,000 already raised for breast cancer research

Expedia Cruises in Ottawa, which runs an office on Greenbank Road, holds its fifth annual 9 & Dine Charity Golf Tournament this Thursday, September 3 at Pine View Golf Club, 1471 Blair Road. Over its first four years the event has raised $78,987 for Breast Cancer Canada, and the organizers say 100 per cent of donations go to the charity.

The format is a nine-hole best-ball scramble: registration at 1 p.m., shotgun start at 2 p.m., dinner and awards from 5 p.m. The tournament was roughly 90 per cent sold in mid-August, so a team should not wait. There is also a draw for one of five donated cruises: $50 buys one entry, $100 buys three, winner announced at the dinner.

Poster: Expedia Cruises in Ottawa. (9 & Dine Charity Golf Tournament)

From Jay, the Publisher

I’ve been very busy this week getting ready for September and my schedule ramping up. This last weekend was quiet compared to the one before. As I dig into this work, I’m amazed when people tell me they’ve heard of the Bugle - either through our ads (that need a refresh) or word of mouth. They say people need seven touches before they will commit or buy something, so maybe we’re getting through!

Last weeks bugle went to 1156 households, was seen 1240 times, and had a 61% open rate, which is double the average newsletter open rate. What that tells me is people are hungry for local stories and news, and that’s what we’re here to give you.

Thank you for your support!

This Weekend in Barrhaven

Friday, September 4

• Dinner and dance with Snap, Crackle & Pop at Branch 641, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 641 Barrhaven, 6:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m. Branch 641 lists a steak dinner and music by Snap, Crackle & Pop on Friday, September 4 from 6 to 11 p.m. Contact the branch for dinner reservations and admission details. (Royal Canadian Legion Branch 641 Barrhaven, official calendar of events)

• Live music at the Royal Oak: Alex Lopez, Royal Oak Barrhaven, 8:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m. Alex Lopez plays the Royal Oak Barrhaven on Friday, September 4 from 8 to 11 p.m., part of the pub's Live Music Fridays. (Royal Oak Barrhaven September 2026 program, supplied by general manager Jason Hudson on August 20, 2026)

Sunday, September 6

• Barrhaven Farmers' Market, Nepean Woods park-and-ride, 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. The Barrhaven edition of the Ottawa Farmers' Market runs Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Nepean Woods park-and-ride, through October. Everything sold has to be made or grown by the person selling it. Typically 25 to 29 stalls. (Eric Kyadondo, supervisor of the Barrhaven location, interviewed at the market by the Barrhaven Bugle, Aug. 16, 2026; the Ottawa Farmers' Market's own on-site signage)

See everything on the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events/

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Community Pulse

1. One taken to hospital after vehicle-train collision at Fallowfield crossing

Ottawa emergency crews say one person was taken to hospital in stable condition after a vehicle collided with a train Sunday afternoon at the Fallowfield Road railway crossing near Fallowfield Station. Ottawa Fire Services said firefighters freed the lone occupant from the vehicle.

Ottawa Police Service said the railway crossing signals were operating properly at the time of the collision and that road closures remained in place while the investigation continued. Via Rail said rail traffic was temporarily suspended and affected passengers were given alternative transportation. No train passengers were injured. (Ottawa Citizen, “One taken to hospital after train-car collision in Barrhaven,” Aug. 30, 2026)

2. OCSB suggests “boomerang lunches” to cut school-day waste

As the school year approaches, the Ottawa Catholic School Board is encouraging families to try “boomerang lunches”: packing food in reusable containers and bringing containers, wrappers and uneaten food back home for washing or sorting. The board says the approach can reduce waste at school without requiring families to buy new supplies.

Its practical advice is to use containers already at home, pack portions a child is likely to finish and send reusable bottles or cutlery when needed. The board says leftovers returning home can also help families see what is actually being eaten at lunch. (Ottawa Catholic School Board, “The Lunch That Comes Back Home: Your Guide to Boomerang Lunches,” Aug. 29, 2026)

3. Barrhaven BIA sets its municipal-election agenda around local business growth

The Barrhaven Business Improvement Area has published its priorities for Ottawa’s 2026 municipal election, asking candidates and the next council to treat land-use planning, infrastructure, commercial space and placemaking as connected parts of Barrhaven’s local economy.

The BIA calls for a broader mix of storefronts, flexible commercial units, mixed-use buildings, patios, entertainment spaces and offices. It also asks for City partnership on making commercial areas safe, connected and welcoming, and says it will bring member feedback and local business research to those discussions.

The document is the BIA’s advocacy agenda, not a City commitment. Its practical value for voters is a clear list of business and commercial-place questions candidates can be asked to address during the campaign. (Barrhaven BIA, “Barrhaven BIA 2026 Municipal Election Priorities,” published Aug. 26, 2026)

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Business Spotlight

Featured Business: Citigate Dental

Citigate Dental is a Barrhaven clinic whose website describes its services as general, cosmetic and implant dentistry. The clinic says it offers extended hours and Saturday availability, useful details for residents weighing a routine appointment around a full work or school week.

Its public site sets out its services and contact information, so readers can decide whether the clinic is a fit before they make a call. This is an unpaid editorial feature, not an advertisement or paid placement.

Source: Citigate Dental website, reviewed August 25, 2026.

What's Being Built

A $768.6 million contract moves the Fallowfield science campus into full construction

Public Services and Procurement Canada has awarded a $768.6 million construction contract to PCL Construction Canada for the Regulatory and Security Science Main project, a federal science campus rising on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency laboratory site at 3851 Fallowfield Road, near Greenbank. Six science facilities are planned, serving researchers from the food inspection agency, the Canada Border Services Agency, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The department says construction began in 2024 and is expected to finish in 2031, with the campus accommodating roughly 275 employees across about 25 science programs. The current phase is valued at approximately $1 billion, roughly half of the total planned scope.

For the northern edge of Barrhaven, the practical read is simple: construction activity in the Fallowfield and Greenbank area is scheduled to continue through 2031. (Public Services and Procurement Canada, Aug. 10, 2026)

The campus site at 3851 Fallowfield Road, near Greenbank. Map: OpenStreetMap contributors.

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From City Hall, to Queen's Park & the Hill

Every elected official gets this section for the work of their office, irrespective of any election: what they are doing and have done lately, nothing more.

The Rundown. This is where we tell you what our elected officials have been doing on our behalf, taken from their releases, newsletters and public records. This section covers the work of their office and not the campaign. Every elected official gets it irrespective of any election. The Bugle and this section isn't about politics, it's to keep you informed. We start at City Hall and work outward to Queen's Park and the Hill.

City Hall

Ward 3: Councillor David Hill's office published its final newsletter of the pre-election period on Wednesday, August 26, along with a run of local roadwork notices.

• Edition #182 is the last Barrhaven West weekly update until after the October 26 municipal election, a pause Hill attributes to City policies that limit how much councillors can communicate from their city accounts during an election. The office itself stays open: David.Hill@ottawa.ca or 613.580.2473, at 100 Malvern Drive beside the Ruth E. Dickinson Library. Residents can also dial 3-1-1 or file a request at ottawa.ca/en/311.

• The Cambrian Road and Borrisokane Road roundabout took a full closure from August 28 to August 30 for final asphalt paving, with Cambrian shut to eastbound and westbound traffic between Borrisokane and Elevation Road / Apolune Street, and Borrisokane shut northbound and southbound between Haiku Street and Flagstaff Drive. The office describes the roundabout as well on its way to completion.

• River Run Avenue is closed from Celestial Grove to Burbot Street through Monday, August 31, for the first phase of the Greenbank Realignment project. Affected residents should have received written notice before the closure began.

• Transportation staff have used their delegated authority to install no parking signs on both sides of Greenbank Road between Kilbirnie Drive and Barnsdale Road, adding to the no parking signs already on that stretch.

• Registration for the Fall 2026 Cleaning the Capital campaign opened August 25, with cleanups running September 15 to October 15 and kits available for pickup between September 4 and October 11 at participating City facilities.

• Hill is collecting items for the City's Ottawa 200 time capsule, to be opened in 50 years. Ward 3 residents with something worth sealing in, such as medals, coins or photographs, have until September 25 to email David.Hill@ottawa.ca. The capsule measures 20 by 16 by 9 inches, so size your nominations accordingly.

• A reminder for families: free OC Transpo, O-Train and Para Transpo travel for youth aged 11 to 18 runs only until August 31, and riders need a Presto card set to the Pre-Teen or Youth pass.

Ward 24: Councillor Wilson Lo's office published nothing new this week. His weekly newsletter stopped on August 4 to comply with the Elections-Related Resources Policy and the Municipal Elections Act, and will not resume until after the October election, and the ward24.ca news and city updates pages carry nothing dated on or after August 25. A blank public schedule means nothing was published, not that nothing was done: the office remains reachable at Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca or 613-580-2846. The next two dates posted for Barrhaven East are both well out: a household hazardous waste depot at the Strandherd snow dump, 4061 Strandherd Drive, on October 17, and a Barrhaven winter craft event on November 21, with vendor registration open now.

Your councillors:

• Ward 3 Barrhaven West, David Hill, David.Hill@ottawa.ca, davidhillbarrhaven.ca

• Ward 24 Barrhaven East, Wilson Lo, Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca, ward24.ca

Queen's Park

A quiet week from Queen's Park. MPP Tyler Watt's site published no new dated activity on or after August 25. His constituency office is at Unit 222, 250B Greenbank Road, reachable at 613-518-9288 or tylerwatt.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org, and the site continues to take requests for meetings, certificates and event invitations. Watt serves as critic for Training, Colleges and Universities and for Long-Term Care.

Your MPP: Tyler Watt, tylerwatt.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org, tylerwattmpp.ca, constituency office at 250B Greenbank Road, 613-518-9288.

The Hill

Nepean's MP, Prime Minister Mark Carney, published two items on Friday, August 28, both foreign affairs rather than constituency business.

• He spoke with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen about Arctic defence and security, stability in the region, support for Northern communities, and diversifying trade and supply chains across critical minerals, energy and technology. The two also discussed deepening defence cooperation through NATO and defence industries. Readout

• He issued a statement on the death of King Harald V of Norway, noting the late King's wartime visit to Toronto and Little Norway, the training base for Norwegian soldiers in Canada, and his 2002 State Visit with Queen Sonja. Statement

Constituents with federal matters, such as CPP, Old Age Security, taxes, citizenship or immigration, can write mark.carney@parl.gc.ca.

Your MP: Mark Carney, mark.carney@parl.gc.ca, markcarney.libparl.ca, constituency office at 240 Kennevale Drive, by appointment.

(Sources: Barrhaven West Weekly Email #182, August 26, 2026; ward24.ca; pm.gc.ca releases August 28, 2026; tylerwattmpp.ca; contact details from ottawa.ca, ola.org and ourcommons.ca.)

Public Safety

Ottawa police say a man was charged after reports of suspicious activity in Barrhaven

Ottawa police say they arrested a 72-year-old man after reports of a vehicle repeatedly attending the Longfields Drive and Calaveras Avenue area at night. Police say the arrest was made August 19 after officers identified the person being targeted.

Police say the man was charged with criminal harassment, described as watching and besetting, and mischief related to interference with the lawful enjoyment of property. The service said it is not releasing his identity to protect the victim.

Anyone with information or video is asked to contact the West Criminal Investigations Unit at 613-236-1222, extension 2666. These are charges, not findings of guilt. (Ottawa Police Service, "Man Charged After Reports of Suspicious Activity in Barrhaven," Aug. 26, 2026)

Image: Barrhaven Bugle crime tracker. The longer view: Barrhaven's population growth and police-reported offences on the same yardstick. The full population-adjusted picture lives at barrhavenbugle.ca/crime.

Barrhaven crime check: July theft reports fell while mischief reports rose

Ottawa Police Service preliminary data for Wards 3 and 24 show 76 theft-under-$5,000 reports in July, down 18 from June and 17 from July 2025. Mischief reports rose to 21, nine more than June, while assaults were 24, one fewer than June.

The data identify Greenbank Road and Jockvale Road as the most frequently repeated anonymized nearest-intersection area, with 25 selected-category reports in July. Marketplace Avenue and Transitway had 10. Police data group locations to nearby intersections, and retail clusters can reflect shoplifting reports at stores rather than street danger.

These are preliminary police-reported counts for selected categories, not total crime or a measure of every incident. Monthly numbers can change as later reports are entered. (Ottawa Police Service Community Safety Data Portal, "Barrhaven crime check, July 2026," data pulled Aug. 16, 2026)

Barrhaven police report: selected offence reports fell to 19 in the week of August 17

Ottawa Police Service preliminary crime-map data show 19 reports across selected offence categories in Wards 3 and 24 for August 17 to 23, down from 35 the week before. Theft under $5,000 accounted for 12 reports, followed by uttering threats with three and criminal harassment with two.

Ward 3 recorded nine theft-under-$5,000 reports, three uttering-threats reports and one assault. Ward 24 recorded three theft-under-$5,000 reports, two criminal-harassment reports and one break-and-enter report. The data identify Greenbank Road and Jockvale Road as the only nearest-intersection area with three or more reports that week, with five; that is a pattern in anonymized police data, not an allegation about a specific address or person.

These are preliminary police-reported counts for selected categories, not total crime or findings about what occurred. Counts can change as later reports are entered. (Ottawa Police Service Community Safety Data Portal, “Barrhaven police report: week of 2026-08-17 to 2026-08-23,” data pulled Aug. 24, 2026)

Sponsored Section

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A floating shelf in a child's room needs more than drywall anchors. Andre built a reinforced internal frame in his Barrhaven shop, anchored it into the studs, and tested it for impact before it went up. See the shelf →

Only in Barrhaven

Every Sunday until October, the Nepean Woods park-and-ride pulls off Barrhaven's best double life. All week it is the most utilitarian patch of asphalt in the suburb, a place you leave your car precisely so you can be somewhere else. Then Sunday morning arrives, the market stalls go up, and suddenly people are driving TO the park-and-ride on purpose, comparing tomatoes where the commuters usually queue. Everything sold there has to be made or grown by the person selling it, which makes this the one Barrhaven parking lot where the produce has a shorter commute than the people. Only in Barrhaven.

Barrhaven Real Estate

This space is for one Barrhaven real estate sponsor. Every Tuesday the Bugle lands in more than 1,000 Barrhaven households: the people buying, selling, and renovating here. Want your name on this section?

See Bugle Advertising

The numbers (July 2026): Barrhaven's average freehold sale price was $650,310, down 6.2% year over year, on 127 sales. Freehold homes took 34 days to sell on average, versus 30 a year earlier. Ottawa-wide the average was $683,308, and the national average was $696,078.

The Property Pulse read: every one of those 127 sales is a household in motion, which is the customer moment for movers, renovators, cleaners and furniture shops. And at 34 days on market, buyers are taking more time to decide than they did last summer.

Forecast (CREA): CREA forecasts 463,336 national sales in 2026, down 1.4% from 2025, and a 1.1% rise in the national average price to $686,710.

Full table, trends and sources: barrhavenbugle.ca/real-estate. (Sources: AgentInOttawa Barrhaven market report; Ottawa Real Estate Board, July 2026 release; Canadian Real Estate Association, June 2026 release and quarterly forecast.)

What Barrhaven's Searching For: Business Intelligence

Live music close to home is on the September calendar

A steady thread in what Barrhaven searches for and talks about is a night out that does not require a drive downtown. September obliges: Royal Oak Barrhaven's supplied program lists Friday live music on September 4, 11 and 18 as part of its Live Music Fridays, and this weekend's date is already in the calendar above.

If you run a Barrhaven venue, restaurant or cafe that hosts live acts, the demand signal is real and the listing is free: get your dates onto the community calendar and your business into the directory at barrhavenbugle.ca/business.

Source: Bugle Demand Report, local search trends and community forums; Royal Oak Barrhaven September 2026 program, supplied by general manager Jason Hudson, Aug. 20, 2026.

Reader Pulse: final call

Image: Barrhaven Bugle.

Barrhaven, call it. Take this week's anonymous Reader Pulse survey: no login, no names, aggregate results only.

Take the Survey!

Puzzle Corner

Last week's answers: Mini #7 was all Indian Food Festival and election filings: BALYS, THUMBS UP, FIELDS and SAGAR across, with SAMOSAS running down the middle.

This week's Mini is #8, and all five clues come out of this month's Barrhaven news, including three from this very issue.

Image: Barrhaven Bugle. Tap the puzzle to play it.

Play this weeke's Mini!

Election Corner

The Bugle presents every certified candidate equally, promotes nobody, and takes no position on the election or its issues.

The City clerk's list is unchanged this week: 3 certified council candidates in Ward 3 Barrhaven West and 5 in Ward 24 Barrhaven East, with no new certifications or withdrawals as of August 30. Full profiles, our published questionnaire, candidate Q&As, and the response ledger live at barrhavenbugle.ca/election. Election day is Monday, October 26.

What people are asking. Reader questions cleared so far for the candidates:

• Ward 24: What specific, measurable actions will you take over the next 12 to 24 months to improve street-level speed control and traffic safety, particularly along Berrigan Drive, Strandherd Drive and Greenbank Road, and to reduce cut-through traffic in nearby residential streets? And how will you pair those priorities with concrete OC Transpo improvements for Barrhaven East?

• Both wards: What will you do to reduce street racing in Barrhaven?

• Both wards: What will you do to improve food insecurity in Barrhaven?

• Both wards: How do you show that you are inclusive to all residents of Barrhaven?

Have your own question for the candidates? Submissions close Friday, September 4:

Ask it here!

The Strand Herd

Image: The Strand Herd / Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

See every Strand Herd →

See Them All!

Barrhavenbugle.ca updates between Tuesday emails with events, quick news briefs, The Strand Herd, the directory, listings and other local tools. See the full community calendar anytime: barrhavenbugle.ca/events.

Thanks again to Ottawa Handiman for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Have a tip, event, correction or photo? Reply to this email anytime.

Help grow the Bugle: Forward this to one Barrhaven neighbour who'd want it. Every forward keeps the Bugle useful and relevant to more of Barrhaven. They can check the full community calendar here: barrhavenbugle.ca/events. Like, comment, share or restack on Substack when you can, it helps the Bugle reach the next neighbour.

Corrections and story tips: reply to this email. Unsubscribe via Substack.

References

• Councillor David Hill, Barrhaven West Weekly Newsletter, Edition #181 and Edition #182 (Aug. 26, 2026), davidhillbarrhaven.ca.

• Royal Canadian Legion Branch 641 Barrhaven, calendar of events.

• Royal Oak Barrhaven, entertainment listings; September 2026 program supplied by general manager Jason Hudson, Aug. 20, 2026.

• Ottawa Farmers' Market, Barrhaven location.

• Barrhaven Scottish RFC, "Weekly Update, August 16, 2026".

• Public Services and Procurement Canada, RSS Main contract award, Aug. 10, 2026.

• Ottawa Police Service, "Man Charged After Reports of Suspicious Activity in Barrhaven," Aug. 26, 2026 and the Community Safety Data Portal.

• Councillor Wilson Lo, ward24.ca; MPP Tyler Watt, tylerwattmpp.ca; Prime Minister's Office, pm.gc.ca news releases.

• City of Ottawa election information, certified candidate list, checked Aug. 30, 2026.

• Citigate Dental, citigatedental.ca, reviewed Aug. 25, 2026.

Circulation · 1159

Barrhaven · Stonebridge · Half Moon Bay · South Nepean

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From the Top

"Beyond butter chicken and samosas": Indian Food Festival packs Clarke Fields for a third year

The gate at the Indian Food Festival of Ottawa at Clarke Fields. Barrhaven Bugle photo.

By Saturday evening the lines at Clarke Fields Park stretched past the food stalls, the parking was full, and the founder of the Indian Food Festival of Ottawa was out front directing traffic himself.

"As an event organizer, you have to be ready to do everything," Sagar Vora said Sunday, this time working the main stage as MC. "In the first year I even did garbage for some time, because the resources were thin."

The festival ran Friday through Sunday at Clarke Fields, its third year on the Houlahan Street park and its biggest yet: 23 food vendors, a dozen product vendors and 10 business booths, about 50 local businesses all told, plus live performances and a kids' zone, with free admission all weekend.

Vora runs the festival with his wife, Bhakti Sheth, a culinary chef. He's the marketer. "We both are passionate about Indian food and culture," he said. "We thought there's space to tell people more, beyond butter chicken and samosas."

My wife and I went Saturday for supper, and chose the shortest line, and I'm embarrassed to say, we had butter chicken, lol. I went back Sunday to interview Vora, and he was still being pulled in five directions, so I'm glad he took the time for me.

Why Barrhaven? Location, he says: the suburb sits between Kanata and the city's core, and it's a family crowd. "The crowd here is a community crowd that wants to come out with kids," Vora said. "And the Indian population here, compared to other areas, is good as well."

The turnout backed him up. "People turned up in thousands," he said. "After Canada Day, this is where you will see the craziest lineups and traffic." Saturday at 6 p.m. the grounds were packed; Sunday stayed busy through an early shower before winding down at 6.

Packed by early evening Saturday. Barrhaven Bugle photo.

The moment Vora keeps coming back to came on opening day, when the crowd stood for both the Canadian and Indian national anthems. "It was a goosebump moment," he said. "You could see thousands of people standing up for both." He says local councillors and dignitaries were among them.

I wasn't at the opening, but my most memorable moment was sitting down and introducing myself to a young couple (and as I learned, both hard-working immigrants from Punjab) and asking them if they wanted to do an interview. They declined, lol, but I stayed anyway.

What they did next, however, is what I'll remember, because we don't see it often in Canada at public gatherings. They offered me the food off their own plates.

The young man offered me a spoon and pushed his bowl toward me without a second thought, so I ate with them. That's something I'd not experienced since I lived in Syria 20+ years ago. They explained that food was love, and offering it was how love was expressed in Punjab and across India, and now, in Barrhaven.

After all that, still no interview. Their reason for declining, which I won't share, was both interesting and sweet, so I’ll give them a pass.

Food is love.

What this means for you: this is the biggest festival Barrhaven hosts all summer: it started at Clarke Fields in 2024 and hasn't left. If you missed it this year, it's back next August, and on the evidence of this weekend's parking situation, plan to go early.

(Sagar Vora, interviewed at Clarke Fields Park by the Barrhaven Bugle, Aug. 23, 2026)

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Three young brothers, one park, and a carnival for CHEO

The Great Arjunia works the crowd at Saturday's Barrhaven Annual Carnival for Kids at Larkin Park. Barrhaven Bugle photo.

The Indian Food Festival wasn't the only thing Barrhaven pulled off on Saturday. Across Old Barrhaven, at Larkin Park, the Barrhaven Annual Carnival for Kids ran from 11 to 6 p.m.: a free afternoon of games, bouncy castles, henna, face painting, a magic show and CHEO Bear, all of it raising money for the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

Based on my count, I'm sure every bouncy and inflatable game within 100 kms of Ottawa was there.

The organizers are three young brothers: Nihaal, Akaal and Dayaal. Last summer they ran the first edition out of their street and that backyard-scale version drew more than 200 people and raised over $2,500 for CHEO.

This year the family moved the operation to Larkin Park, set a $5,000 goal on the CHEO Foundation's fundraising platform, and added a Barrhaven Food Cupboard donation drive with a prize draw for donors. By the time I chased down Nihaal for a short interview, he had no idea how much he'd raised, but thought they'd met their target, and of that, I have no doubt.

What stood out for me here was that while I was waiting to interview Nihaal, he was talking to a vendor about getting an invoice for her boss. I was amazed watching this 14-year-old managing the business side of the festival like an old hand. When I asked him if he was in charge, he said, "I guess so. All the invoices have my name on them."

The Bugle was there mid-afternoon, and the park was full: kids and families everywhere, a long refreshment line, The Great Arjunia holding a crowd at the magic show, and local businesses set up alongside the games. What stood out most was who was running it: the boys themselves and a crew of young volunteers helping out.

I didn't get the chance to talk to Akaal or Dayaal because they were in the thick of it. But trust me when I say, this event was truly run by children. It was a children's festival, by children, for children. If you get the chance to see it next year, go. You'd have to see it to believe it.

The kids are alright.

The welcome tents at Larkin Park, with the CHEO Foundation banner flying. Barrhaven Bugle photo.

We're still waiting on the family's final fundraising tally; their page stays open at cheofoundation.donordrive.com/campaigns/BarrhavenCarnival. Further coverage of both events, with more photos, is on our website barrhavenbugle.ca.

(Reported on site by the Barrhaven Bugle, Aug. 22, 2026.)

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This Weekend in Barrhaven

Friday, August 28

• Live music at the Royal Oak: Giorgio Frausin, Royal Oak Barrhaven, 8:00–11:00 p.m.. Giorgio Frausin performs at the Royal Oak Barrhaven, 4110 Strandherd Drive, on Friday, August 28 from 8 to 11 p.m. (Royal Oak Barrhaven entertainment schedule)

• Live music at Heart & Crown: The Start, Heart & Crown Barrhaven, 9:00 p.m.–1:00 a.m.. The Start plays Heart & Crown Barrhaven, 3161 Strandherd Drive, on Friday, August 28 from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. The venue advertises live music with no cover. (Heart & Crown Barrhaven, official upcoming-events calendar)

Saturday, August 29

• Live music at Heart & Crown: The Start, Heart & Crown Barrhaven, 9:00 p.m.–1:00 a.m.. The Start returns for a second night on Saturday, August 29 from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. (Heart & Crown Barrhaven, official upcoming-events calendar)

Sunday, August 30

• Barrhaven Farmers' Market, Nepean Woods park-and-ride, 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.. The Barrhaven edition of the Ottawa Farmers' Market runs Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Nepean Woods park-and-ride, through October. Everything sold has to be made or grown by the person selling it. Typically 25 to 29 stalls. (Eric Kyadondo, supervisor of the Barrhaven location, interviewed at the market by the Barrhaven Bugle, Aug. 16, 2026; the Ottawa Farmers' Market's own on-site signage)

• Redblacks vs. BC Lions on the screens at the Royal Oak, Royal Oak Barrhaven, 7:00 p.m. kickoff. The Royal Oak shows the Redblacks against the BC Lions on Sunday, August 30 at 7 p.m., with half-price wings during televised Redblacks games, dine-in with the purchase of a beverage. (Royal Oak Barrhaven entertainment schedule; kickoff verified against the CFL schedule)

See everything on the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events/

Community Pulse

1. The 416 is now 110 km/h from Fallowfield north

Ontario's 110 km/h limit now applies on Highway 416 from Fallowfield Road to just south of the Highway 416 and 417 interchange. The change took effect Friday, August 21, and also covers Highway 417 from the split west to Highway 7 and from Leitrim Road east to Highway 174. Follow the posted signs; limits differ outside those sections. (Ottawa Citizen, "New speed limits come to some Ottawa highways. Here's where," Aug. 21, 2026, via the Bugle's brief)

2. First businesses arrive at Nukk Borrisokane

Retail is taking shape near Borrisokane Road. In an August 20 update, the Barrhaven BIA said Nukk Borrisokane has started welcoming its first businesses: Borrisokane Dental, Sahtein Bakery & Grocery, Uptown Barbershop and ChaiVerse. The BIA also said Choice Properties' Cambrian development has secured a national retailer not yet named. No opening dates have been published; the Bugle is watching for confirmed openings. (Barrhaven BIA, "Exciting New Retail Growth in Barrhaven," Aug. 20, 2026, via the Bugle's brief)

3. Ottawa's wastewater plant gets a $30-million federal upgrade

The federal government is investing more than $30 million in the electrical system at the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre, the east-end plant that treats the city's wastewater, the Ottawa Citizen reported August 24. The work is meant to improve resilience during extreme weather and prepare the plant for future expansion; the announcement sets out no direct change for Barrhaven households. (Ottawa Citizen, "Feds pledge $30 million for Ottawa's wastewater treatment plant," Aug. 24, 2026, via the Bugle's brief)

If the Bugle has earned a spot in your inbox, forward this to one Barrhaven neighbour who'd want it. That's the single biggest thing you can do to keep the Bugle useful.

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Business Spotlight

The Dog Nook: home-based dog care out of Half Moon Bay

Carly of The Dog Nook. Photo: The Dog Nook.

Carly runs The Dog Nook solo: dog walking, daycare and overnight care across Barrhaven and Manotick, plus a daily "dog park pack" she picks up from clients' homes for an hour of off-leash time at David Bartlett Park. She got her canine first aid certificate before taking on anyone else's dog, and she left a career in a fast-paced electrical company to do this full time.

"I let them be dogs, in a safe atmosphere. They dig, they get dirty, they get wet, they have fun. I clean them up and take them home. Always a little treat, and a couple kisses here and there."

On why the first aid certificate came first: "It is what I would want if someone else was taking my dog."

Find her on Instagram at @the_dognook, and read her full interview at barrhavenbugle.ca/people/the-dog-nook.

The Business Spotlight is editorial, chosen by the Bugle. It is not a paid placement.

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What's Being Built

New Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road interchange enters design and environmental assessment

The interchange study area at Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road. Map: OpenStreetMap contributors.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has started the detail-design and Class Environmental Assessment study for a new interchange at Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road. A Notice of Study Commencement issued August 10 says the project includes the interchange, changes to Barnsdale Road, a new speed-change lane and a realignment of William McEwen Drive.

The notice says construction is anticipated to begin in 2028, subject to funding and approvals. It also says traffic will be maintained in all directions during construction using long-duration traffic shifts. The project page will carry study materials and public-engagement updates; comments on the current notice are requested by September 10.

Councillor David Hill, who raised the project at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference this month, says in his newsletter he was "reassured that this is funded, a provincial priority, and where it can be expediated, it will be."

Why it matters: if you live in Half Moon Bay or anywhere south of Strandherd, this is the interchange that eventually changes your commute. The comment window is open now; the project page takes feedback until September 10.

From City Hall, to Queen's Park & the Hill

The Rundown. This is where we tell you what our elected officials have been doing on our behalf, taken from their releases, newsletters and public records. This section covers the work of their office and not the campaign. Every elected official gets it irrespective of any election. The Bugle and this section isn't about politics, it's to keep you informed. We start at City Hall and work outward to Queen's Park and the Hill.

City Hall

Ward 3: In his weekly newsletter, Councillor David Hill reports he took Barrhaven's traffic files to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, meeting Associate Solicitor General Zee Hamid at Ottawa Police headquarters on vehicle thefts and fraud, and pitching the province on either school-zone-only speed cameras or provincial traffic-safety funding. "I have always advocated for a common sense, hybrid approach to this," he writes; the minister confirmed speed cameras are not returning but pledged traffic-safety investment. Closer to home: a new stop sign is in at River Mist and Cappamore, River Run closes between Celestial and Burbot August 24 to 31 for the Greenbank realignment, and Cambrian at Borrisokane closes fully August 28 to 30 for the roundabout's final paving. Ward 3 residents can also submit small items for the City's 200th-anniversary time capsule to david.hill@ottawa.ca by September 25.

Ward 24: Councillor Wilson Lo's newsletter remains paused for the election period, but his office promoted and backed Saturday's Barrhaven Annual Carnival for Kids at Larkin Park, the three-brother CHEO fundraiser covered up top; his ward site carried the event and its history from last year's front-yard edition.

Your councillors:

• Ward 3 Barrhaven West, David Hill, David.Hill@ottawa.ca, davidhillbarrhaven.ca

• Ward 24 Barrhaven East, Wilson Lo, Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca, ward24.ca

Queen's Park

A quiet stretch. MPP Tyler Watt published no new public updates this month as of our deadline.

Your MPP: Tyler Watt, tylerwatt.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org, tylerwattmpp.ca, constituency office at 250B Greenbank Road, 613-518-9288.

The Hill

A heavy trade week for Nepean's MP, Prime Minister Mark Carney, and a fast-moving one.

• On August 18 he announced the U.S. had agreed to postpone its 50 per cent tariffs while negotiations continued, but on August 21 he suspended those negotiations and recalled Canada's negotiators to Ottawa, citing last-minute changes to the U.S. terms, as the tariffs took effect on roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods.

• On August 22 he chaired a First Ministers' Meeting on Canada's response, with dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs set to take effect the Tuesday after Labour Day; and

• On August 24 he announced an $11-billion contract for six new Coast Guard icebreakers, the largest shipbuilding contract in Quebec's history.

Your MP: Mark Carney, mark.carney@parl.gc.ca, markcarney.libparl.ca, constituency office at 240 Kennevale Drive, by appointment.

(Sources: Barrhaven West Weekly Email #181, Aug. 21; ward24.ca; pm.gc.ca news releases Aug. 18 to 24; tylerwattmpp.ca; contact details from ottawa.ca, ola.org and ourcommons.ca.)

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Public Safety

Barrhaven police report: 28 selected offences reported across Wards 3 and 24

Ottawa Police Service preliminary crime-map data show 28 reports across selected offence categories in Wards 3 and 24 for August 10 to 16, up from 23 the week before. Theft under $5,000 accounted for 15 reports, followed by mischief with five and assaults with four.

Ward 3 recorded 12 theft-under-$5,000 reports, five mischief reports and two vehicle-theft reports. Ward 24 recorded three theft-under-$5,000 reports, two assaults and one vehicle-theft report. The data identify Greenbank Road and Jockvale Road as the only nearest-intersection area with three or more reports that week, with six; that is a pattern in anonymized police data, not an allegation about a specific address or person.

These are preliminary police-reported counts for selected categories, not total crime or findings about what occurred. Counts can change as later reports are entered.

The longer view: Barrhaven's population growth and police-reported offences on the same yardstick, 2020 to 2025, from the Bugle's crime tracker. The full population-adjusted picture lives at barrhavenbugle.ca/crime.

(Ottawa Police Service Community Safety Data Portal, “Barrhaven police report, week of 2026-08-10 to 2026-08-16,” data pulled Aug. 17, 2026)

The month in review: July theft reports fell while mischief reports rose

Ottawa Police Service preliminary data for Wards 3 and 24 show 76 theft-under-$5,000 reports in July, down 18 from June and 17 from July 2025. Mischief reports rose to 21, nine more than June, while assaults were 24, one fewer than June. The data identify Greenbank Road and Jockvale Road as the most frequently repeated anonymized nearest-intersection area, with 25 selected-category reports in July; Marketplace Avenue and Transitway had 10. Police data group locations to nearby intersections, and retail clusters can reflect shoplifting reports at stores rather than street danger. The week before last (August 3 to 9) followed the same pattern in miniature: 23 selected-category reports, down from 37 the previous week, most of it theft under $5,000. (Ottawa Police Service Community Safety Data Portal, "Barrhaven crime check, July 2026" and "Barrhaven police report, week of 2026-08-03 to 2026-08-09," data pulled Aug. 16, 2026)

CityNews reports nearly 200,000 cigarettes seized from an illegal Nepean store

CityNews Ottawa reported that nearly 200,000 cigarettes were seized from an illegal store in Nepean, surfaced through Google News on August 18. The available source record does not identify the store or provide a police or provincial-agency release; the Bugle is reporting the seizure as attributed to CityNews and will update if a primary enforcement record becomes available. (CityNews Ottawa, "Almost 200,000 cigarettes seized from illegal Nepean store," via Google News, Aug. 18, 2026)

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Sponsored Section

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Only in Barrhaven

Barrhaven was double-booked this weekend. At Larkin Park, a carnival run by three brothers who aren’t old enough to drive raised money for CHEO with bouncy castles and a cast of entertainers. A few minutes down the road at Clarke Fields, the Indian Food Festival’s food lines moved with precision. Nobody planned it as a competition, and it wasn’t: both parks were packed.

The lesson: build it in a Barrhaven park and they will come.

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What Barrhaven's Searching For: Business Intelligence

Barrhaven has a new indoor-play option at Marketplace Avenue

Rainy-Saturday planning just got one more answer: Jolly Bubble says its Barrhaven indoor playground is now open at 71 Marketplace Avenue. Indoor play keeps showing up in what Barrhaven parents search for, especially heading into fall, and until now most of those searches pointed out of the neighbourhood. If you try it before we do, reply and tell us what your kids thought; first-hand local reviews beat anything an algorithm can rank.

Source: Bugle Demand Report, local search trends and community forums.

Last Week's Reader Pulse

Here's what last week's Reader Pulse participants told us. Everyone who answered said:

• They'd pay a little more to buy from a Barrhaven independent instead of a chain, and

• Most said they're spending more at Barrhaven's local shops and restaurants this summer than they were earlier in the year.

Thank you to everyone who weighed in. The direction matches what the Pulse has told us all summer: stated loyalty to local independents keeps running strong. Want a say in next week's numbers? It takes one minute, right below.

Method: anonymous, one response per device, self-selected and link-shared. Treat this as a qualitative signal, not a representative measurement.

Take the Survey

Reader Pulse: final call (FORMAT-SPEC §10c draft)

Barrhaven, call it. Take this week's anonymous Reader Pulse survey, no login, no names, aggregate results only.

Take this other Survey!

Puzzle Corner

Last week's answer: the City proposes approximately 5,000 square metres of indoor space for the Barrhaven civic centre and library hub at 180 Riocan Avenue: a district-level library branch, cultural centre, seniors' space, and an urban park and plaza, per the City's preliminary concept drawings.

This week's Mini is #7, and all five clues come out of this month's Barrhaven news, including two from this very issue.

Image: Barrhaven Bugle. Tap the puzzle to play it.

Play this week's Mini →

Barrhaven Trivia:* when nominations closed on August 21, how many council candidates in total were certified across Barrhaven's two wards? *(Answer next week, or cheat at barrhavenbugle.ca/election.)

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Election Corner

The Bugle presents every certified candidate equally, promotes nobody, and takes no position on the election or its issues.

Nominations closed Friday, August 21, so the ballots are now set. The City clerk's certified candidates for Barrhaven's two council seats:

Ward 3, Barrhaven West

• David Hill (incumbent)

• Donna Blackburn

• Jeff Balys

Ward 24, Barrhaven East

• Wilson Lo (incumbent)

• Zahy A Adam

• Jules Ruhinda

• Yoosaf Melparamba

• Ahmed Alsabaawi

What people are asking. Readers set part of the questionnaire, and here is what your neighbours have asked the candidates so far:

1. What specific, measurable actions will you take over the next 12 to 24 months to improve street-level speed control and traffic safety, particularly along Berrigan Drive, Strandherd Drive and Greenbank Road, and to reduce cut-through traffic in nearby residential streets?

2. How will you integrate those priorities with concrete transit improvements so OC Transpo service in Barrhaven East meets the needs of commuters, students and families?

3. What will you do to reduce street racing in Barrhaven?

4. What will you do to improve food insecurity in Barrhaven?

5. How do you show that you are inclusive to all residents of Barrhaven?

The question window is still open: ask the candidates a question until Friday, September 4. Every question is screened before it publishes; questions may be shortened or combined with similar ones, and a question aimed at one ward goes to that ward's candidates.

What's your question?

Full profiles, our published questionnaire, candidate Q&As, and the response ledger live at barrhavenbugle.ca/election. Election day is Monday, October 26; we'll publish advance-vote dates as soon as the City does.

The Strand Herd

Image: The Strand Herd / Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

See every Strand Herd → barrhavenbugle.ca/cartoon

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Barrhavenbugle.ca updates between Tuesday emails with events, quick news briefs, The Strand Herd, the directory, listings and other local tools. See the full community calendar anytime: barrhavenbugle.ca/events.

Thanks again to Job Scout for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Have a tip, event, correction or photo? Reply to this email anytime.

Help grow the Bugle: Forward this to one Barrhaven neighbour who'd want it. Every forward keeps the Bugle useful and relevant to more of Barrhaven. They can check the full community calendar here: barrhavenbugle.ca/events. Like, comment, share or restack on Substack when you can, it helps the Bugle reach the next neighbour.

Corrections and story tips: reply to this email. Unsubscribe via Substack.

References

• Sagar Vora, co-organizer, Indian Food Festival of Ottawa, interviewed in person at Clarke Fields Park by the Barrhaven Bugle, Aug. 23, 2026.

• CHEO Foundation, Barrhaven Carnival for Kids campaign page. 2025 origin figures attributed to Councillor Wilson Lo's ward events page.

• Ottawa Police Service, Community Safety Data Portal (weekly report Aug. 10-16 pulled Aug. 17; weekly report Aug. 3-9 and July monthly pulled Aug. 16).

• CityNews Ottawa, cigarette seizure report via Google News, Aug. 18, 2026.

• Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Highway 416 / Barnsdale Road interchange study, notice issued Aug. 10, 2026.

• City of Ottawa, certified candidates, Ward 3 Barrhaven West, retrieved Aug. 21, 2026.

• City of Ottawa, Barrhaven civic centre and library hub concept (approx. 5,000 sq m), as reported in the Bugle's Aug. 10 story.

• The Dog Nook, written interview with the Barrhaven Bugle, published Aug. 22, 2026, with the subject's draft approval.

• Heart & Crown Barrhaven, venue events calendar. Barrhaven Farmers' Market, Ottawa Farmers' Market and on-site interview Aug. 16, 2026.

• Jolly Bubble indoor playground, Bugle Demand Report (local search trends and community forums).

• Councillor David Hill, Barrhaven West Weekly Email #181, received Aug. 21, 2026 (AMO meetings, speed cameras, Barnsdale funding, road closures, time capsule).

• Councillor Wilson Lo, ward24.ca events page (carnival promotion).

• Prime Minister's Office, Aug. 18 trade statement, Aug. 21 statement suspending negotiations, Aug. 22 First Ministers' Meeting readout, Aug. 24 shipbuilding release.

• MPP Tyler Watt, tylerwattmpp.ca (no new August updates as of deadline).

• Crime trend chart, the Bugle's crime tracker, built from Ottawa Police Service data.

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Barrhaven · Stonebridge · Half Moon Bay · South Nepean

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From the Top

Photo: Barrhaven Bugle. Hoods up on the grass at Clarke Fields.

Eighth Barrhaven Classic Car Show Fills Clarke Fields With 80+ Cars, All Out For CHEO

About 80 cars filled Clarke Fields on Sunday for the eighth Barrhaven Classic Car Show, the one-day show Keith Goebel started because he got tired of driving somewhere else to find one.

Goebel, who lives in Old Barrhaven East, runs the show as a fundraiser for the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. CHEO volunteers were on the field taking donations at the gate, and everything the day raises goes to the hospital.

“That's the point of doing anything,” Goebel said, when asked why he ties the show to CHEO. He is also running a silent auction on a pair of Ottawa Senators tickets donated to the show this year by Barrhaven Ford. That money goes to CHEO too.

The show has not always been here. The first two years ran on the pavement at the Fallowfield park-and-ride, and Goebel says the heat came off the lot so hard that owners were packing up by one in the afternoon. “It was so freaking hot,” he said. “I didn't blame them.” He found Clarke Fields the following year and moved it onto the grass, where the trees down one side are first come, first served. “It was ten times better,” he said. Two years were lost to COVID.

What lines up on the grass is not a purist's field. Sunday ran from a 1937 pickup through Corvettes, Mustangs and a long stretch of North American steel to a 2000 Honda Civic, which at 26 seems too young to qualify, with Datsuns, a Nissan and a Mercedes-Benz among them, plus a few kit cars.

Goebel says the location is the reason it works. Barrhaven sits close to the 416 and within an easy drive of eastern Ontario and western Quebec, and he spends his summers handing out flyers for this day at other shows to get owners to come out. Darrell Bartraw, who helped Goebel get the show off the ground in its first year, was on the field again on Sunday, in the background making things happen.

What this means for you: the show is annual, it is free to walk, and the money at the gate goes to CHEO. If you want to be in it next August, Goebel is the one to find.

See more →

Sources: Keith Goebel, interviewed at the show by the Barrhaven Bugle, August 16, 2026; CHEO Foundation event listing.

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Note: if you want to subscribe to the Tuesday Bugle for free, choose the one on the right.

Inside Barrhaven's farmers' market at Nepean Woods Park and Ride

Photo: Barrhaven Bugle. Eric Kyadondo the Barrhaven Market manager.

Every Sunday from May to October, the Nepean Woods park-and-ride stops being a parking lot. Twenty-three vendors set up under white tents on Sunday, and by late morning the lanes between them were busy with people carrying bags, pushing bikes and stopping to look at flowers.

Eric Kyadondo supervises the Barrhaven location for the market association, which has been running since 2006. Twenty-three is a slightly quiet count. The market usually carries 25 to 29 stalls, he said, and this Sunday had no daily bookers, so every stall belonged to a seasonal regular.

The association's rule is that everything sold has to be made or grown by the person selling it. “Every product you're going to look at is homemade or homegrown,” Kyadondo said. Sunday bore that out: maple products from Garland Sugar Shack, a bakery table under a Yummy banner, buckets of cut flowers, and greens, squash and cabbages stacked in crates.

Barrhaven is the smallest market in the association and the newest, at roughly eight years old. About half of Sunday's vendors also had a stall at Lansdowne the same day.

If you want to go: Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Nepean Woods park-and-ride, through October.

See more →

Source: Eric Kyadondo, supervisor of the Barrhaven location, interviewed at the market by the Barrhaven Bugle, August 16, 2026; the Ottawa Farmers' Market's own on-site signage.

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Brisket, a bouncy castle and a technicolour shalom: the kosher BBQ cook-off comes to Barrhaven

Photo: Barrhaven Bugle. Paint Your Way to Peace: a three-dimensional SHALOM on the grass with trays of paint and no rules. The children's faces are covered by the Bugle.

You could smell it from the gate. Beef and chicken over wood, teams working under canopies, and a crowd of a few hundred still building through the early afternoon at the Ottawa Torah Centre's kosher BBQ cook-off and festival on Sunday.

The barbecue is the part everyone sees. The part they do not see is what makes it kosher, and it is more involved than swapping a recipe. “Because this is a kosher BBQ competition, we provide the teams with the meat and the cooking equipment,” Rabbi Menachem M. Blum, who leads the centre, told the Bugle earlier this month. “That allows us to ensure that everything meets kosher standards and that all of the teams are competing on a level playing field.”

Around the cooking, the rest of it was a street fair: a climbing wall, bouncy castles, a pen of small animals ringed by children on their knees, and along the back fence a three-dimensional SHALOM laid out on the grass with trays of paint and a Paint Your Way to Peace banner over it. By early afternoon the letters were more or less one colour.

The day was not a members-only affair. “You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy great BBQ, good music and a fun community festival,” Blum said. For a lot of Barrhaven the centre itself is the surprise. It sits on Lamplighters Drive, and its own history is a Barrhaven story: it began in a basement, moved to a storefront, ran for a while out of a trailer, and is now a synagogue and community centre serving hundreds of families.

A note on our own reporting: the Bugle got there early and did not stay for the food, so we cannot tell you who won or how the brisket turned out.

See more →

Source: Rabbi Menachem M. Blum, Ottawa Torah Centre, interviewed by the Barrhaven Bugle; reporting from the event, August 16, 2026.

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From Jay - Maybe I was just early

The publisher's blog.

On Sunday I took the Bugle out into Barrhaven for the first time: the car show at Clarke Fields, the Barrhaven Market, and a kosher bbq cook-off at the Ottawa Torah Centre. I came home with four stories. The last time I set out with a notepad looking for local news, it was 1979, I was eight years old on a military base outside Edmonton, and, unsurprisingly, came home with nothing.

Read "Maybe I was just early" on the website →

A New Milestone!

Yesterday the Bugle hit 1,100 subscribers from zero in ten weeks. The Tuesday Bugle stays free. The fastest way to make it grow is to share it!

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Why We Print What We Print

Two Sundays' worth of the stories above came from standing on a field with a notebook, and one of them we walked away from before the food because we had somewhere else to be. We told you that in the story, because you should know what we did and did not see.

That is the whole idea behind the Bugle's Editorial Standards, which are now published. They set out how we source a story, when we will not run one, how we correct ourselves, how sponsored space is labelled and kept away from the newsroom, and how we handle the election.

Read them at barrhavenbugle.ca/editorial-policies.html. If you ever think we have fallen short of them, reply to this email and say so. That is the point of publishing them.

Last mention. From here they simply sit on the website where you can check them any time.

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This Weekend in Barrhaven

Friday to Sunday, August 21 to 23

Poster: Indian Food Festival of Ottawa, supplied by the organizers.

• Indian Food Festival of Ottawa, Clarke Fields Park (93 Houlahan Street), all three days. Free admission. Organizers promise more than 150 Indian dishes, live performances and a DJ each day, a marketplace, and a family and kids' zone. It is on the same field the classic car show filled on Sunday. (Ottawa Festivals listing)

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Saturday, August 22

Poster: Barrhaven Annual Carnival for Kids, organizer event card supplied to the newsroom.

• Barrhaven Annual Carnival for Kids, Larkin Park (76 Larkin Drive), 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Free entry. Arjunia the Magician, local entertainers, games and prizes, bouncy castles, food and treats, and a visit from CHEO Bear. The event raises money for CHEO, and visitors who bring a donation for the Barrhaven Food Cupboard get a chance to win a prize. (Organizer event card supplied to the newsroom; CHEO Foundation fundraiser page)

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Poster: Kelsey's Barrhaven patio music schedule, supplied by Braiden O'Toole, General Manager.

• Live music on the patio at Kelsey's Barrhaven: LeDuo, Kelsey's Barrhaven, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The bi-weekly patio series continues with LeDuo. In case of rain, music moves inside to the bar. (Kelsey’s Barrhaven, venue-provided patio music schedule from Braiden O'Toole, General Manager, received July 13, 2026)

• Live music at Heart & Crown: The Casuals, Heart & Crown Barrhaven, 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. The Casuals return on Saturday. The venue advertises live music with no cover. (Heart & Crown Barrhaven, official upcoming-events calendar)

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Sunday, August 23

• Barrhaven Farmers' Market, Nepean Woods park-and-ride, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Twenty-three stalls last Sunday, usually 25 to 29. Everything sold has to be made or grown by the person selling it. Runs every Sunday through October. (Ottawa Farmers' Market)

See everything on the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events/

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Community Pulse

Police ask for video after two reported Facebook Marketplace robberies in a week

Ottawa police are asking for video from the area of Berrigan and Beatrice drives after a reported robbery during a Facebook Marketplace sale on Sunday, August 9. CityNews Ottawa reports that police said a seller was meeting a prospective buyer in that area after arranging the sale on Facebook Marketplace, and that an item was taken from the seller after a handgun was displayed. Officers want any footage recorded between 7:30 and 8 p.m. that evening.

It was not the only one. The next morning, August 10, Ottawa Police say a seller meeting a prospective Marketplace buyer outside a financial institution in the 1100 block of Beaverwood Road in Manotick was the target of an attempted robbery around 10:30 a.m. Police say a young offender pointed a firearm and two shots were fired. Nobody was struck, the victim sustained minor injuries, a firearm was recovered, and the investigation continues.

Two in two days, in two different south-end communities. The police have not linked the incidents. But a buyer who arranges a meeting and arrives armed is a pattern worth naming out loud, because the defence against it costs nothing.

What this means for you: Ottawa Police run marked Safe Trade Zones for exactly this sort of transaction, parking spaces at:

• Elgin Street station (466 Metcalfe Street),

• Kanata station (211 Huntmar Drive) and

• Orleans station (3343 St-Joseph Boulevard)

Each are identified by a blue logo. Police are also clear about the limits: the zones are not monitored, and the service does not mediate your transaction. What they do is move the meeting out of a quiet parking lot, or away from your own front door, and into a public place. Take the cash deal to one of them, bring somebody, and go in daylight.

Clearly, it’s time we establish one of these in our area, and perhaps our new police station will have one.

See more →

Sources: CityNews Ottawa, August 12, 2026; Ottawa Police Service, "Attempted robbery and firearm discharge on Beaverwood Road," August 10, 2026.

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Featured Business

Image: Barrhaven Family Chiropractic & Wellness Centre website screenshot.

Barrhaven Family Chiropractic & Wellness Centre

There is a clinic on Longfields Drive that has been treating Barrhaven families since 1992, which makes it older than a good deal of the neighbourhood around it.

Barrhaven Family Chiropractic & Wellness Centre describes itself on its own website as a Barrhaven chiropractor offering postural and neuro-structural care, and it names the groups it works with: families, expectant mothers, children and athletes. The site says complimentary phone consultations are available, which is a useful detail if you have been putting off a first appointment because you are not sure the problem is the kind of thing a chiropractor handles.

It is at 605 Longfields Drive, and the practice lists 613-823-7900 for appointments.

Thirty-four years in one suburb is its own kind of reference. If it is a fit, the website is the place to start.

Read more →

This is an unpaid editorial feature. It is not an ad and not a paid placement. The Bugle chose it and nobody paid for the space.

Source: Barrhaven Family Chiropractic & Wellness Centre website, reviewed August 10, 2026; address and phone from the Barrhaven BIA business registry.

What's Being Built

Two weeks left to tell the City what you want in the Barrhaven civic centre

Map: OpenStreetMap contributors / Barrhaven Bugle. The City has not published a building rendering; the project is still at concept stage.

The City's feedback window on the planned civic centre and Ottawa Public Library branch at 180 Riocan Avenue closes Sunday, August 31, which gives residents about two weeks to weigh in on the largest public building proposed for the Town Centre.

The City describes the project as a hub bringing a district-level library branch, a cultural centre, a seniors' space, an urban park and a plaza onto one site, with roughly 5,000 square metres of indoor space.

The August 10 kickoff drew residents in to see preliminary concepts and talk to staff and councillors. Capital Current reported that some members of the Barrhaven Seniors' Council raised concerns about the size and arrangement of the dedicated seniors' space. The same report said the expected future closure of the Ruth E. Dickinson Branch, once the new facility opens, is being reconsidered against Barrhaven's growth.

The City calls this early-stage planning. A more detailed survey follows as the design develops, and a formal public information session is planned for the first quarter of 2027.

What this means for you: the concepts are not fixed yet, so this is the round where room sizes and what goes in them are still moving. Take the survey before August 31:

Take the Survey!

Sources: City of Ottawa, Engage Ottawa, “Barrhaven Civic Centre and Ottawa Public Library Branch,” page updated August 12, 2026; Capital Current, “Residents of fast-growing Barrhaven critique planned civic centre, library,” August 13, 2026.

From City Hall, to Queen's Park & the Hill

The Rundown. This is where we tell you what our elected officials have been doing on our behalf, taken from their releases, newsletters and public records. This section covers the work of their office and not the campaign. Every elected official gets it irrespective of any election. The Bugle and this section aren't about politics, but to keep you informed. We start at City Hall and work outward to Queen's Park and the Hill.

City Hall

Ward 3: The Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road interchange has moved from an idea to a file with a number. The project team posted a Notice of Study Commencement dated August 10 for the Detail Design and Class Environmental Assessment Study for a new interchange at that intersection, carried as G.W.P. 4057-20-00. A project website is now live to publish reports, post milestones and take public comment, and it invites residents onto a project mailing list. Councillor David Hill's August 14 ward newsletter flagged the study to Ward 3 residents.

That is the start of the study, not the start of construction. The Bugle is not carrying a construction date until the notice or the Ministry's own schedule states one.

Ward 24: Councillor Wilson Lo's newsletter remains paused. His August 4 edition was his last until after the October election, to comply with the Elections-Related Resources Policy and the Municipal Elections Act, so Barrhaven East road and construction notices are coming from the City directly for about the next ten weeks. Nothing new was published by that office this week.

Your councillors:

• Ward 3 Barrhaven West, David Hill, David.Hill@ottawa.ca, davidhillbarrhaven.ca

• Ward 24 Barrhaven East, Wilson Lo, Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca, ward24.ca

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Queen's Park

A quiet week. MPP Tyler Watt published no public update between August 10 and August 16. His office continues to ask residents to send in community events for the Nepean roundup.

Your MPP: Tyler Watt, tylerwatt.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org, tylerwattmpp.ca, constituency office at 250B Greenbank Road.

The Hill

After a stretch with no published advisories following August 6 in Saguenay, the Prime Minister's Office posted its first new advisory in eleven days: Monday, August 17 in St. John's, where Mark Carney appeared alongside Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham and Québec Premier Christine Fréchette for an announcement on energy security and economic development.

Public-schedule stops in Nepean during that stretch: none.

Your MP: Mark Carney, mark.carney@parl.gc.ca, markcarney.libparl.ca, constituency office at 240 Kennevale Drive, by appointment.

Note: This is a ledger of published public events and announcements only, not a verdict on their work. A blank public schedule means nothing was published, not that nothing was done.

Sources: Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road interchange project website, Notice of Study Commencement posted August 10, 2026, reviewed August 17, 2026; Councillor David Hill's Ward 3 newsletter, edition 180, August 14, 2026; Councillor Wilson Lo's ward newsletter, August 4, 2026; Prime Minister's Office media advisories; contact details from ottawa.ca, ola.org and ourcommons.ca.

Public Safety

Coyote came within arm's length of a Barrhaven resident during a late-night encounter

Map: OpenStreetMap contributors. The pin identifies the reported street area, not Mesley's home or the precise encounter point.

Andrew Mesley had just arrived home on Sarrazin Way around 11 p.m. on August 5 when an ordinary trip to the back of his vehicle became a frightening close encounter.

Mesley opened the hatch to retrieve a bag. As he stood beside the vehicle, he said a coyote came running down the street toward him and stopped within arm's length.

“It looked like it felt threatened and was ready to attack,” Mesley told the Bugle. That was his impression in the moment. No attack occurred, and nobody else and no pets were outside with him.

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Mesley rattled his keys. The noise appeared to startle the coyote, which backed away before running farther down the street. He waited several seconds, collected his belongings, locked the car and went inside.

“It was definitely a scary and unexpected encounter, especially being that close to a coyote at night,” he said.

It was the first coyote Mesley had personally seen in Barrhaven, although he had heard stories about other sightings. He shared the encounter because he wants neighbours to watch children and pets more closely outside, particularly at night.

See more →

What this means for you: The City says that if a coyote approaches, stay calm, slowly back away, do not turn or run, stand tall, wave and shout, and pick up small children or pets. Report concerning sightings through 3-1-1. Call 9-1-1 for an immediate threat.

The week in Barrhaven police reports: theft is most of it

Ottawa police recorded 28 reports across Ward 3 and Ward 24 in the week of August 10 to 16, up from 23 the week before. Fifteen of those were theft of $5,000 and under, which is the category that covers most of what people actually experience: things taken from vehicles, from porches, from stores.

The rest of the week, in counts: 5 mischief, 4 assaults, 3 thefts of a motor vehicle, 1 indecent or harassing communication, and no robberies or uttering-threats reports. Ward 3 carried 22 of the 28.

One intersection area came up repeatedly. Greenbank Road at Jockvale Road accounted for 6 reports in the week. Police anonymize locations to the nearest intersection, so that is a neighbourhood pattern rather than an address, and clusters near retail usually reflect shoplifting reports at stores rather than street danger.

What this means for you: three vehicle thefts in one week is above the four-week average of one. The standard advice still applies and still works: lock it, take the keys and the fob inside, and keep the fob away from the front door.

The longer view: crime measured against a suburb that keeps growing

A single week of counts cannot tell you whether things are getting worse. Barrhaven is growing, so a raw total can climb while your own odds barely move. The only fair way to look at it is to put both on the same picture.

Image: Barrhaven Bugle, from Ottawa Police Service open data and City of Ottawa South Nepean population estimates. Both lines start at 100 in 2020, so the gap between them is the part growth does not explain.

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Since 2020, population is up 16 per cent and reported offences are up 61 per cent. Offences have outrun growth, and saying otherwise would be dishonest. But the line turned over in 2024, and 2025 is the first year it came down.

Image: Barrhaven Bugle, from Ottawa Police Service open data and City of Ottawa South Nepean population estimates.

On that ruler: 15.7 reports per 1000 people in 2020, climbing to a peak of 23.4 in 2024, then down to 21.8 in 2025, the first decline in the series.

One caution about the starting point. 2020 is a strange year to measure from. The first years of this series are the pandemic years, when far fewer people were out, offices and stores were shut for long stretches, and the opportunities for a lot of these offences weren’t there. Some of the climb since is a suburb going back to normal life rather than a suburb getting worse. By how much? The data can’t tell you.

The full breakdown, category by category, is on the website.

See more →

These are preliminary counts of offences reported to police, from selected categories on the public crime map. They are not a total-crime figure, they are not verdicts, and single-digit weekly numbers move too much to turn into percentages.

Sources: Andrew Mesley, written interview with the Barrhaven Bugle; City of Ottawa coyote encounter guidance and sighting reporting guidance; Ottawa Police Service Community Safety Data Portal, preliminary crime map data, week reported August 10 to 16, 2026 and annual series 2020 to 2025; City of Ottawa South Nepean population estimates.

Sponsored Section

Photo: supplied by Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse.

Presented by Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse

Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse is a small home daycare in Barrhaven East: healthy meals and snacks, preschool learning through play, and daily outdoor time in a small group with personal care. Book a visit, ask questions, or request references.

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Only in Barrhaven

There is a particular Barrhaven silence that happens in the third week of August. It arrives in the grocery store, in the aisle with the binders. Young parents quietly comparing the relative merits of glue sticks.

The kids are near the markers, marvelling at the selection, dreaming of all the things they’ll colour.

The veterans are alone. They know the more they buy, the more they’ll lose on the bus. They’ve been counting the days since July 13th.

They know the number, but aren’t going to tempt fate by saying it out loud.

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The Barrhaven Business Brief for small business

The Tuesday Bugle is for everyone. The Business Brief is for business owners.

The Barrhaven Business Brief is a paid Substack (starting in September) that goes out every other week on Thursdays to local owners and operators.

Our last free issue is this week.

We do the market analysis, study the regional competition, look at buyer habits and dissect consumer confidence, so you don’t have to. We poll for public sentiment and combine that with citywide, provincial, and national numbers to give you an idea of what your customers are doing.

We tell you:

• What it means if you are the one paying the rent on your storefront.

• What people are searching for and not finding.

• What is opening, closing, and changing hands.

• What the numbers say about the season you are actually having.

Have a look at the back issues first to decide for yourself:

Past Issues

And if you know someone in Barrhaven who runs a shop, a trade or a practice, forward them this section. That is how it finds the people it is for.

Subscribe to the Business Brief

What Barrhaven's Searching For: Business Intelligence

Barrhaven wants to know the price before it books

Image: Barrhaven Bugle / Bugle Business.

The strongest single search signal in this week's Bugle Demand Report is not a business name or a location. It is the word prices, attached to local nail salons, and it outruns every other kind of question people ask about them, including where they are and when they are open.

The read is simple enough. People are trying to find out what something costs before they pick up the phone, and when they cannot find out, a fair number of them stop looking.

If you are the customer, this is your reminder that it is a completely normal thing to ask for a service menu up front, and a business that publishes one is not doing you a favour.

If you run the shop, the fix costs nothing: put the rate card where people already look, which is your website and your Google listing, not just the wall behind the till.

Source: Bugle Demand Report, using Google autocomplete signals and local community forums, generated August 2026. Search suggestions are directional signals, not measured local search volumes.

Renting out a place, selling privately, or want to reach Barrhaven? Advertise with us →

Advertise with Us!

Last Week's Reader Pulse

Last week's Reader Pulse is closed and here is what participants told us:

• Spending more: 40% for “Are you spending more in Barrhaven this summer than you were earlier this year?”

• Easier: 40% for “Has getting around Barrhaven by car gotten easier over the past year?”

• Using it more: 40% for “Have you used OC Transpo from Barrhaven more in the past month than you used to?”

Thank you to everyone who swiped!

What is worth noticing is that all three questions landed the same way. On spending, on driving and on transit, the majority of respondents picked no change or worse each time.

Nobody in the group is telling us that summer got easier, cheaper, or quicker to get around in.

We run the deck every week to build up the long-term picture.

Method: anonymous, one response per device, self-selected and link-shared. Treat this as a qualitative signal, not a representative measurement.

Take the Survey!

Reader Pulse: final call

Image: Barrhaven Bugle / Reader Pulse. Tap the cards to answer.

Barrhaven, call it. Two questions, anonymous, no login and no names. It closes tonight.

Take the Survey!

Puzzle Corner

This week’s Mini is #6, and all five clues come out of this month’s Barrhaven news. One of them is Keith Goebel’s Buick.

Last week's answer: the Barrhaven park that hosts the annual Carnival for Kids, the free August afternoon that raises money for CHEO, is Larkin Park, at 76 Larkin Drive. This year's runs Saturday.

This Week's Crossword

Sources: the organizer's event card and the CHEO Foundation fundraiser page, by way of the Bugle community calendar (last week's answer); City of Ottawa, Engage Ottawa civic centre project page (this week's answer, held for next issue).

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Election Corner

The Bugle presents every certified candidate equally, promotes nobody, and takes no position on the election or its issues.

The City clerk's list currently shows 2 in Ward 3 Barrhaven West and 4 in Ward 24 Barrhaven East certified council candidates. Full profiles, our published questionnaire, candidate Q&As, and the response ledger live at barrhavenbugle.ca/election. Election day is Monday, October 26.

What Barrhaven is asking the candidates

The question window closes Friday, and so far exactly one reader has put anything on the table. It is a Ward 24 question, and it carries two asks:

• Speed and traffic safety. What specific, measurable actions will you take over the next 12 to 24 months to improve street-level speed control and traffic safety, particularly along Berrigan Drive, Strandherd Drive and Greenbank Road, and to reduce cut-through traffic on nearby residential streets?

• Transit, tied to it. How will you integrate those traffic-calming priorities with concrete transit improvements, so OC Transpo service in Barrhaven East actually meets the needs of commuters, students and families?

That is the whole list. One reader is setting the agenda for two wards, which is a thin basis for an election, and the only fix is more of you. Every question that clears our screen goes to every certified candidate in its ward on August 24, with a September 8 deadline to answer. Their answers, and any silence, run in the September 15 election package.

Send us your question →

Questions close Friday, August 21.

Source: City of Ottawa certified candidates for City Councillor, Ward 3 and Ward 24, pulled August 17, 2026.

The Strand Herd

Image: The Strand Herd / Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

See every Strand Herd → barrhavenbugle.ca/cartoon

Barrhavenbugle.ca updates between Tuesday emails with events, quick news briefs, The Strand Herd, the directory, listings and other local tools. See the full community calendar anytime: barrhavenbugle.ca/events.

Thanks again to Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Visit Kidz Clubhouse

Have a tip, event, correction or photo? Reply to this email anytime.

Help grow the Bugle: Forward this to one Barrhaven neighbour who'd want it. Every forward keeps the Bugle useful and relevant to more of Barrhaven. They can check the full community calendar here: barrhavenbugle.ca/events. Like, comment, share or restack on Substack when you can, it helps the Bugle reach the next neighbour.

Corrections and story tips: reply to this email.

References

• Keith Goebel, interviewed at the Barrhaven Classic Car Show by the Barrhaven Bugle, August 16, 2026; CHEO Foundation event listing.

• Eric Kyadondo, supervisor of the Barrhaven location, Ottawa Farmers' Market, interviewed at the market by the Barrhaven Bugle, August 16, 2026.

• Rabbi Menachem M. Blum, Ottawa Torah Centre, interviewed by the Barrhaven Bugle; reporting from the kosher BBQ cook-off, August 16, 2026.

• Andrew Mesley, written interview with the Barrhaven Bugle, August 2026.

• City of Ottawa, coyote encounter guidance and sighting reporting guidance.

• CHEO Foundation, Barrhaven Carnival fundraiser page, and the organizer's event card supplied to the newsroom.

• Kelsey's Barrhaven, venue-supplied patio music schedule, received July 13, 2026.

• Heart & Crown Barrhaven, official upcoming-events calendar.

• CityNews Ottawa, “Police looking into another Facebook Marketplace robbery in Ottawa,” August 12, 2026.

• Ottawa Police Service, “Attempted robbery and firearm discharge on Beaverwood Road,” August 10, 2026.

• Ottawa Police Service, Community Safety Data Portal, preliminary crime map data, pulled August 17, 2026.

• City of Ottawa, Engage Ottawa, Barrhaven Civic Centre and Ottawa Public Library Branch, page updated August 12, 2026.

• Capital Current, “Residents of fast-growing Barrhaven critique planned civic centre, library,” August 13, 2026.

• Ontario Ministry of Transportation project team, Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road interchange study, Notice of Study Commencement posted August 10, 2026.

• Councillor David Hill, Ward 3 newsletter edition 180, August 14, 2026; Councillor Wilson Lo, ward newsletter, August 4, 2026.

• Prime Minister's Office, media advisories, including the August 17, 2026 St. John's advisory.

• City of Ottawa, certified candidates for City Councillor, Ward 3 and Ward 24, pulled August 17, 2026.

• Barrhaven Family Chiropractic & Wellness Centre, website, reviewed August 10, 2026.

• Bugle Demand Report, August 2026, using Google autocomplete signals and local community forums.

• Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse, advertiser-supplied copy and image.

• The Barrhaven Mini #6, week of August 18, 2026, barrhavenbugle.ca/games.

Circulation · 1052

Barrhaven · Stonebridge · Half Moon Bay · South Nepean

SPONSOR

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From the Top

Five Minutes With the Barrhaven Food Cupboard’s Amy Larin

Photo: Barrhaven Food Cupboard. Used with permission.

The Barrhaven Food Cupboard is run entirely by volunteers and funded entirely by supporters, and it is not part of the Ottawa Food Bank network. In 2025 it helped 1,436 families, and more than a third of them were asking for help for the first time. The Food Cupboard told the Bugle what a week actually takes, what its own annual reports say about the need here, and where rising food prices are starting to bite.

The Food Cupboard is 100% volunteer run and 100% funded by supporters, and helps hundreds of families every month. What does that actually take, week to week, to keep going?

The Barrhaven Food Cupboard operates entirely through the commitment of its volunteer workforce, whose dedication to strengthening local food security is central to our mission. As a 100% volunteer-run organization with no paid staff, our ability to serve the community depends on the dedication of these individuals. To be more precise, in 2025 our organization benefited from the dedication of 200 active volunteers, contributing more than 18,500 logged hours.

We are also not affiliated with the Ottawa Food Bank, meaning that we do not receive food, funding, or operational support from them. All food purchases, storage, inventory management, and distribution activities are managed in-house.

Our facility operates seven days a week, requiring consistent volunteer coverage across multiple essential functions. Each day, volunteers provide front-line client service, manage food acquisitions and shelf stocking, collect donations from community drop-off locations, coordinate outreach with partner organizations, and deliver food to clients with reduced mobility who cannot access our Walter Baker Centre location.

In addition to these core activities, the Barrhaven Food Cupboard maintains a community garden that produces fresh produce for our clients. Volunteers plant, tend, and harvest the food, providing additional nutritious, locally grown food to our clients.

Your 2026 AGM documents are now up on your website. For neighbours who have not read them, what do they say about the need in Barrhaven and how the Food Cupboard is meeting it?

In 2025, we continued to see rising demand for our services while facing steadily increasing food costs. Higher prices not only made it harder for many Barrhaven residents to maintain food security, but they also made it significantly more challenging for the Barrhaven Food Cupboard to meet that growing need. Over 2025, 1,436 families, 5,596 individuals in total, turned to us for support, and more than one-third were new clients seeking help for the first time.

At the same time, food prices kept climbing. Our monthly food expenses rose 14% compared to 2024, driven by sharp increases in several essential items. Carrots went up 62%, onions 36%, and dried beans 17%, all of which put additional pressure on our budget and operations.

These trends have continued into 2026. Meat prices, in particular, continue to rise, making it increasingly difficult for us to offer every client a meat option, a core part of our food program since the beginning.

Week by week, our operations team reviews what we can purchase and makes decisions about distribution, so clients receive a reliable supply of food. Although we have not yet had to reduce or substantially modify our food offerings, the ongoing increases in staple food prices, combined with growing demand for our services, make this a more likely possibility as the year progresses.

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For someone here who wants to help, with time, food, or money, what makes the biggest difference right now, and what helps people be helped with dignity?

Every form of support makes a meaningful difference. Volunteering, helping us raise awareness, especially since many Barrhaven residents still don't know we operate independently of the Ottawa Food Bank network, and donating all play an important role in keeping our services running.

Right now, monthly donations of any amount are what give us the operational stability we need. Like most charities, our financial support fluctuates throughout the year, and those peaks and valleys make long-term planning extremely difficult, particularly when faced with changing food prices. Steady monetary donations allow us to plan ahead, manage rising costs, and maintain the level of service our community relies on.

What's something about Barrhaven only a local would know?

The Food Cupboard's home, the Walter Baker Centre, was opened in October 1980 and was originally named the South Nepean Centre. The centre was renamed in 1983 in memory of Walter Baker, the local Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton from 1972 to 1983. It houses the Ruth E. Dickinson branch of the Ottawa Public Library, a pool area with 4 pools, 2 gyms, 4 squash courts and 2 hockey rinks.

Who in Barrhaven should we talk to next?

The upcoming Barrhaven Annual Carnival 4 Kids may be a good feature.

Visit their website →

Image: Barrhaven Bugle, using Barrhaven Food Cupboard website and 2025 AGM figures. Monthly and annual figures cover different periods.

This interview was conducted in writing through the Bugle's interview form; answers lightly edited for length and clarity. Amy Larin, Director of Communications and Community Engagement, approved the copy and attribution for publication.

Note from Jay

The weather has not been much to talk about, but in the last week I was able to get out, meet some business owners and people working in shops, and pass on some information about the Bugle. That was both scary and a lot of fun for me.

I plan to do more of that this week, get to know people, see what they’re doing, and show them what the Bugle can offer them. This Bugle experience has been a lot of fun, so we’re just going to keep going. If you like what you see, forward it to a friend who might enjoy it, and we’ll see how far across Barrhaven we can grow it.

The Bugle Staff Member of the Week

Cub Reporter Freya, an 8-year-old husky-terrier mix from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.

Image: Provided by her dad.

This Weekend in Barrhaven

Friday, August 14

• Adam Kavanagh Band at Heart & Crown Barrhaven, 3161 Strandherd Drive, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Live music at the Barrhaven pub.

• Liam O'Connor at the Royal Oak Barrhaven, 4110 Strandherd Drive, 8 to 11 p.m. Live music Friday night.

• Skyler Radmore at Piper Arms Barrhaven, 1481 Greenbank Road, 9:30 p.m. Live country music; the venue has not listed an end time.

Saturday, August 15

• The Log Farm Farmers' Market, 670 Cedarview Road, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Log Farm lists August 15 as one of its 2026 market dates, with local vendors.

• Family Storytime and Stay & Play at the Ruth E. Dickinson branch, 100 Malvern Drive, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Drop-in stories, rhymes and songs, then time for kids and caregivers to play with the toys and books.

• DJ Zizo at Heart & Crown Barrhaven, 3161 Strandherd Drive, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday-night DJ party.

• UFC 330 watch party at Piper Arms Barrhaven, 1481 Greenbank Road, 9 p.m. Piper Arms is showing Islam Makhachev against Ian Machado Garry live; the venue has not listed an end time.

Sunday, August 16

• 8th Annual Classic Car Show, also billed as Art on Wheels at Clarke Fields, 93 Houlahan Street, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Classic vehicles, vendors, food, live music and a car quiz, with donations supporting CHEO.

• Ottawa Kosher BBQ Cook-Off at 111 Lamplighters Drive, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Musical performance by Country-Rock artist Tali Yess, Kosher Chef Ari Raskin, and competition host by TV personality Ted Reader.

• Barrhaven Farmers' Market at the Nepean Woods Park and Ride, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Local vendors, every Sunday.

More live music coming up:

• Ottawa country-folk group School House plays Boston Pizza Barrhaven on August 20;

• Giorgio Frausin is at the Royal Oak on August 28;

• Ottawa cover band, The Start, plays Heart & Crown August 28 and 29; and

• Divided Highway plays the Barrhaven Legion on September 18.

See everything on the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events

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Community Pulse

1. Autumn recreation registration opens tonight and Thursday. The City's autumn activity listings are already up on Register.Ottawa.ca, and registration opens in two waves: aquatics tonight, Tuesday August 11 at 9 p.m., and everything else Thursday August 13 at 9 p.m. Swim lessons are the ones that go first, so browse before the clock starts. Councillor Wilson Lo's August 4 newsletter carries the dates.

2. The school bus portal opens August 18. The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority's parent portal for the 2026 to 2027 school year opens Tuesday, August 18 at OttawaSchoolBus.ca, where families can check eligibility and route details. Lo's newsletter notes that no equivalent information was found for the French boards' consortium. Details →

3. Hydro Ottawa says a burnt switch caused Friday's West Barrhaven outage. Just over 2,500 customers lost power around 2:11 p.m. Hydro Ottawa told the Bugle that switching restored most customers within 12 minutes, while phased repairs caused the on-again, off-again pattern some homes saw through the afternoon. Everyone was restored by 4:39 p.m. The Bugle's full timeline is here.

If the Bugle has earned a spot in your inbox, forward this to one Barrhaven neighbour who'd want it. That is the single biggest thing you can do to keep the Bugle useful.

What's Being Built

The First Plans for Barrhaven's New Civic Centre and Library Are Public

Map: OpenStreetMap contributors. The project itself is planned for 180 Riocan Avenue; the kickoff meeting was held at the Minto Recreation Complex.

Barrhaven is getting a civic centre and a new district-level library branch, and the first public planning window is now open.

The City plans to build the multi-use hub at 180 Riocan Avenue in the Barrhaven Town Centre. Its early concept brings a district Ottawa Public Library branch, a cultural centre, dedicated space for seniors, and a new urban park and civic plaza into one destination.

Inside, the City describes approximately 5,000 square metres of space for library collections and technology, meetings and programs, creative work, seniors' programming, and flexible cultural, performance and event uses. Outside, the current plan calls for gathering and performance space, pathways and shaded places to sit.

Those are preliminary concepts, not a finished design. The project kickoff ran Monday evening at the Minto Recreation Complex, where residents could see the early renderings and speak with staff. Missing that meeting does not mean missing the consultation: the City's online survey remains open through Monday, August 31.

Take the Survey!

The City says a more detailed services survey will follow as the design develops, with a formal public information session planned for the first quarter of 2027. That makes this first round the place to talk about the broad shape of the hub: what it should make room for, who it needs to serve, and what would make the town-centre site feel like a place Barrhaven actually gathers.

What this means for you: this is early enough for the City to be asking what belongs in the building, not merely showing residents a finished plan. If you expect to use the library, seniors' space, park, performance room or plaza, this is the useful moment to say how.

Read more →

Source: City of Ottawa, Engage Ottawa project page, updated August 1, 2026.

Also under construction: the south district police station

The south district police station is on track to open in the spring.

Map: OpenStreetMap contributors. The pin marks the Ottawa Police South Facility at 3505 Prince of Wales Drive.

Ottawa Police gave Councillor Wilson Lo an update and a short tour of the new south district headquarters at 3505 Prince of Wales Drive, just south of Strandherd, and his August 4 newsletter reports where the project has got to.

The main structure is complete and fully enclosed, and the work has moved inside. All the walls are framed and some on the lower levels are painted. Flooring and millwork are under way through most of the building, and some building systems have started testing. Outside, the cladding is nearing completion and landscaping is expected to begin soon.

The rest of 2026 goes on interior finishing, life safety systems, fixtures, doors and paint. Staff, equipment and services start relocating in the new year, with an anticipated operational date of April 30, 2027.

Lo notes the project has been almost 15 years in the making, and that the police project team has asked residents with construction questions to write to the project team at info@OttawaPolice.ca. The next major update is expected in the autumn.

Source: Councillor Wilson Lo, weekly newsletter, August 4, 2026.

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From City Hall, to Queen's Park & the Hill

The Rundown. This is where we tell you what our elected officials have been doing on our behalf, taken from their releases, newsletters and public records. This section covers the work of their office and not the campaign. Every elected official gets it irrespective of any election. The Bugle and this section isn't about politics, it's to keep you informed.

City Hall

Ward 24: Councillor Wilson Lo's August 4 newsletter is his last one until after the October election, to comply with the Elections-Related Resources Policy and the Municipal Elections Act. That matters practically: the ward newsletter has been the single best source of Barrhaven East road, park and construction notices, and it goes quiet for about eleven weeks. The Bugle will keep pulling those notices from the City directly.

What was in the final one, beyond the police station above:

• Clarke Bellinger storm ponds. Construction to decommission the structures around the stormwater ponds begins in the autumn, part of a project to convert them into a passive facility. Notices go to the closest households before the work starts, and the City has a project page at Ottawa.ca/CBstormwater.

• A shelter for bus stop 3345. Concrete pad extension and shelter installation at Beatrice and Queensbury are scheduled to begin the week of August 17.

• 3400 Woodroffe has stalled. The update anticipated in July on that development application was never provided, and Lo says the file will not proceed without one.

• Fallowfield Road. Overnight milling and paving, delayed by weather, was expected to finish by midweek, with landscaping, line painting and cleanup by the end of that week.

Ward 3: Councillor David Hill's office hasn’t published anything new since the July 31 road closure notice we carried last week, but he’s been active on Facebook. His reminder from last week is still live: River Run Avenue closes between Perseus Avenue and Burbot Street from Monday, August 24 to Monday, August 31 for first-phase work on the Greenbank Road realignment.

Your councillors:

• Ward 3 Barrhaven West, David Hill, David.Hill@ottawa.ca, davidhillbarrhaven.ca

• Ward 24 Barrhaven East, Wilson Lo, Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca, ward24.ca

Queen's Park

A quiet week. MPP Tyler Watt has published nothing new since the August 2 Nepean roundup the Bugle carried last week, in which he said he was deeply disappointed by the Province's decision to limit the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program to certain areas, and that he had met Ministry officials to press for a wider eligibility area. His office continues to ask residents to send in community events.

Your MPP: Tyler Watt, tylerwatt.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org, tylerwattmpp.ca, constituency office at 250B Greenbank Road.

The Hill

This week's published schedule:

• Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Italy this week on a reduced schedule, according to a notice from the Prime Minister's Office reported Monday by iPolitics. The PMO described the trip as personal commitments; news coverage has characterized it as a vacation.

• No public events in Nepean have been announced for the week.

Your MP: Mark Carney, mark.carney@parl.gc.ca, markcarney.libparl.ca, constituency office at 240 Kennevale Drive, by appointment.

Note: This is a ledger of published events and announcements by our civic leaders and not a verdict on their work. A reduced or quiet public schedule doesn’t mean they aren’t working, but it could also mean they’re taking a well-earned break.

Sources: Councillor Wilson Lo's ward newsletter, August 4, 2026; Councillor David Hill's road closure notice, July 31, 2026; Tyler Watt's public MPP newsletter, August 2, 2026; iPolitics, “As cross-border trade talks heat up ahead of looming U.S. tariff threat, PM Carney on ‘reduced schedule’ in Italy,” August 10, 2026, reporting the Prime Minister's Office notice; contact details from ottawa.ca, ola.org and ourcommons.ca.

Public Safety

Two young drivers were charged after police say they raced at 127 km/h on Strandherd. Ottawa police watched an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old racing near Beatrice Drive last weekend at 127 km/h in a 70 km/h zone, according to CTV News Ottawa. Both held G2 licences and were charged with stunt driving and racing a motor vehicle.

The stop was part of the Residents Matter enforcement blitz on Friday and Saturday nights. CTV reports that police issued 11 speeding tickets and laid four stunt-driving charges over the two nights. All four drivers charged with stunt driving received immediate 30-day licence suspensions and 14-day vehicle impoundments.

Strandherd carries people turning in and out of the plazas and side streets all along this stretch. At 127 km/h, a vehicle closes a gap much faster than somebody pulling out, changing lanes or crossing the road expects. Leave the room, use the signals, and do not try to judge that gap on sight.

Freya and I walk along Strandherd every night so this isn’t unusual for us to see. I’m also not so old as to have forgotten how heavy a wide open road can make a foot, but please remind your young people to try and ease up.

Source: CTV News Ottawa, "2 G2 drivers caught racing in Barrhaven last weekend, police say," by Josh Pringle, August 6, 2026.

Sponsored Section

Image: supplied by Job Scout.

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Only in Barrhaven

There is a particular Barrhaven sound at two minutes to nine on a Tuesday night in August, and it is a laptop fan.

Autumn swim registration opens at 9 p.m. tonight. Not 9 a.m., when a person might reasonably be awake and caffeinated. Nine at night, when the kids are finally down and you have earned the right to watch something.

Instead you will be sitting at the kitchen table with the browser already open, the login already tested, and a spouse in the other room asking whether you got Level 3 on a Saturday.

Thursday at nine it happens all over again for everything else. Somewhere in this neighbourhood tonight, somebody is going to refresh at 8:59:58 and lose a swim lesson by four seconds. If that is you, we are sorry, and also, welcome to August.

Source: City of Ottawa autumn recreation registration times, by way of Councillor Wilson Lo's August 4 newsletter.

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What Barrhaven's Searching For: Business Intelligence

It is August. Barrhaven is already looking for snow removal

Image: Barrhaven Bugle / Bugle Business.

The grass is still green, but the latest Bugle Demand Report is already picking up Barrhaven searches that pair landscaping with snow removal. That is an early signal, not a count of contracts, but it says some neighbours are trying to settle both seasons with one company before the first forecast sends everyone looking at once.

If you are comparing services, ask what the winter price actually covers: driveway, walkway and steps; the snowfall threshold; how soon crews arrive; whether salt costs extra; and whether they return after the City plow leaves a ridge across the entrance. “Snow removal” can mean very different things once those details are written down.

For local contractors, the opening is equally plain: publish the neighbourhoods you serve, what is included, and whether winter bookings are open.

Source: Bugle Demand Report, using Google autocomplete signals and local community forums, generated August 10, 2026. Search suggestions are directional signals, not measured local search volumes.

Renting out a place, selling privately, or want to reach Barrhaven? Advertise with us → barrhavenbugle.ca/advertise

Last Week's Reader Pulse

Last week's Reader Pulse was a quiet one, and we would rather tell you that than dress it up.

Six people swiped it. Three of those responses cleared the screening checks, so what follows is three neighbours, not a finding. We are not going to put a percentage on three answers. Here is exactly what came back:

Are you spending more this summer than you were earlier in the year?

Two of the three said they are spending more. One said the same or less.

Are you doing more of your shopping online than you were at the start of the year?

One of the three said more online. Two said no.

In the past month, have you bought something from a Barrhaven shop when you could have got it online instead?

One of the three said yes. Two said no.

Thank you to everyone who took thirty seconds on it. The deck that closed the week before had 35 responses in it, so the drop is about how many people saw the link, not about anything Barrhaven decided.

Let’s get our swipe on and tell our local business leaders what your thinking!

Method: anonymous, one response per device, three of six raw responses counted after reverse-pair, attention-check, completeness and speeder screening. Self-selected and link-shared, so this is a qualitative signal from the readers who chose to weigh in, not a representative measurement of Barrhaven. Survey page

Reader Pulse: final call

Image: Barrhaven Bugle / Reader Pulse survey card.

Barrhaven, call it. This week's deck closes tonight, so this is the last chance to weigh in. No login, no names, aggregate results only, and the numbers come back to you right here next Tuesday.

Take the survey

Puzzle Corner

Last week's answer: the Barnsdale Road site where Minto has proposed 942 new homes is 47 hectares.

Barrhaven Trivia:* which Barrhaven park hosts the annual Carnival for Kids, the free August afternoon that raises money for CHEO? *(Answer next week.)

This week's Barrhaven Mini, all local words, a few minutes to solve.

Play it now →

Sources: Ottawa Business Journal, by way of the Bugle's Minto brief (last week's answer); the organizer's event card and the CHEO Foundation fundraiser page, by way of the Bugle community calendar (this week's answer, held for next issue).

Community Submitted Photo

Longfields looking toward Chapman Mills, Canada Day evening after the storms rolled through. PHOTO: TERESA WILSON

Do you have a picture you want to share? If so, reply and attach it to this email, with a brief description, the location, and your name!

Election Corner

Where the Bugle stands: nowhere. We present candidates and their ideas, promote no candidate, and take no position on the election or its issues.

The City clerk's certified remains at six candidates across Barrhaven:

• two in Ward 3 Barrhaven West, and

• four in Ward 24 Barrhaven East.

There have been no new certifications and no withdrawals since last week.

Nominations close in ten days, on Friday, August 21.

Where our questionnaire stands. Five of the six certified candidates have been sent the Bugle's five questions, which we published in full last week. The sixth, Jules Ruhinda in Ward 24, had no published contact route when the invitations went out. No answers have come back yet, but our deadline is Monday, September 7, so we can get them into the Bugle (we had for some reason said the 8th, but that made no sense based on our publishing schedule - we'll let them know).

What would you ask them?

Send us the question you want put to candidates in your ward. Reply to this email with yours.

Election day is Monday, October 26. Advance vote dates will appear here once the City publishes them, and not before.

Full profiles, the published questionnaire, the response ledger and our conflict-of-interest disclosure: barrhavenbugle.ca/election

Source: City of Ottawa, certified candidates for City Councillor, Wards 3 and 24; the Bugle's own candidate outreach ledger.

The Strand Herd

Image: The Strand Herd / Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

See every Strand Herd → barrhavenbugle.ca/cartoon

Barrhavenbugle.ca updates between Tuesday emails with events, quick news briefs, The Strand Herd, the directory, listings and other local tools. See the full community calendar anytime: barrhavenbugle.ca/events.

Thanks again to Job Scout for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Have a tip, event, correction or photo? Reply to this email anytime.

Help grow the Bugle: the Tuesday Barrhaven Bugle will always be free. The best way to support it is simple: forward this issue to one friend, one neighbour, or one local business owner who serves Barrhaven. Every forward keeps the Bugle useful and relevant to more of this community.

They can check the full community calendar here: barrhavenbugle.ca/events. Like, comment, share or restack on Substack when you can, it helps the Bugle reach the next neighbour.

You're reading the Barrhaven Bugle: a weekly, neighbourly read for Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay and South Nepean. Reply anytime; unsubscribe is handled by Substack.

References

• Barrhaven Civic Centre and Ottawa Public Library branch: Bugle brief; City of Ottawa project page and survey

• Weekend calendar sources: Heart & Crown Barrhaven events; Royal Oak live-music calendar; Piper Arms Barrhaven, Skyler Radmore; Skyler Radmore artist page; Piper Arms Barrhaven, UFC 330; School House; Giorgio Frausin; The Start; Divided Highway; The Log Farm farmers' market; Ottawa Public Library, Family Storytime and Stay & Play; CHEO Foundation, Barrhaven Classic Car Show; Ottawa Farmers' Market, Barrhaven Market; Bugle community calendar

• Autumn recreation registration, school bus portal, Clarke Bellinger storm ponds, bus stop 3345 shelter, 3400 Woodroffe, Fallowfield Road and the south district police station: Councillor Wilson Lo, weekly newsletter, August 4, 2026

• Friday's West Barrhaven outage: Bugle timeline and Hydro Ottawa account

• Barrhaven Food Cupboard: subject-approved written interview with Amy Larin, Director of Communications and Community Engagement; Food Cupboard 2026 AGM documents and supplied photograph

• River Run closure: Bugle brief; Councillor David Hill notice, July 31, 2026

• Strandherd street-racing charges: Bugle brief; CTV News Ottawa report

• MPP items: Tyler Watt, "Watt's Going On in Nepean?", August 2, 2026

• Minto Barnsdale Road subdivision, for the puzzle answer: Bugle brief; Ottawa Business Journal report

• Barrhaven Annual Carnival for Kids, for next week's puzzle answer: CHEO Foundation fundraiser page

• Business intelligence signal: Bugle Demand Report, Google autocomplete signals and local community forums, generated August 10, 2026

• Election tracker, questionnaire and response status: barrhavenbugle.ca/election, source: City of Ottawa certified-candidates data and the Bugle's candidate outreach ledger

• Sponsor: Job Scout, house sponsor inventory, tracked redirect barrhavenbugle.ca/go/jobscout; creative supplied by the advertiser

• Reader Pulse results: Barrhaven Bugle Reader Pulse deck fielded July 29 and closed August 4, 2026, aggregate counts only, no reader is ever identified

The Barrhaven Business Brief is for people who run a business in Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay or South Nepean. We pull local business signals into one place and translate each into what it means for your business.

This product is free this summer.

In 30 seconds

• Say-do gap: Residents say they'd pay more for a local independent (76% of 33 who answered that card), but only 51% of 35 report they actually bought local this month. [Source: survey results](../content/polls/results.json)

• Owner survey: Owners who answered our survey report real demand: 9 of 9 said customers are spending more, 8 of 9 report more traffic (small sample, n = 9). [Source: Business Pulse results](../content/polls/results.json)

• Findability check: A Bugle findability check of 143 Food & Dining listings found 111 easy to find and 32 with real gaps, mostly missing hours or a booking path. Source: Bugle business directory

• Fall registration: Fall activity listings are viewable online now; registration opens August 11 for swimming and August 13 for everything else. Source: City of Ottawa recreation registration

• Quick win: confirm your hours, walk-in policy and current pricing everywhere you're listed before the weekend rush.

Bugle Insight: Local spending is a promise, not a habit, yet. Willingness to pay more for independent businesses (76% of 33 residents on that card) outpaces reported behaviour (51% of 35 say they bought local this month). [Source: Reader Pulse results](../content/polls/results.json) Owners are seeing real demand at the till; residents still need the choice made easy: clear hours, visible pricing, and the local difference stated plainly at the moment they decide.

1. What Barrhaven Wants: Demand Signal

Residents are searching for clarity on:

• Business fundamentals

• Weekend hours

• Current pricing

• Walk-in access

• Subsidy eligibility

The latest board shows Health & childcare leading consistently, followed by Food & retail and Personal & fitness: all categories where hours, pricing transparency, and direct-billing options are deciding factors for customers choosing between a local business and a chain.

This isn't a count of how many people actually searched for something. The Barrhaven Demand Index is built from Google's autocomplete suggestions, the phrases that pop up when someone starts typing a related question, which is a rough read on what's on residents' minds locally, not an exact number of searches.

[Source: Demand Index series](../content/demand/index-series.json)

Quick win: For every category, search your own business the way a customer would. If weekend hours, pricing, direct-billing options, or "open now" status are not visible on your website or Google Business Profile in the first screen, residents will search farther, and find a competitor who made the answer obvious.

2. Department Report: Google Business Profile Performance, Food & Dining

This cycle's Department Report checks how easy Barrhaven's Food & Dining businesses are to find, using public signals only: website presence, hours, a booking or contact path, and Google Business Profile / review visibility.

We checked 143 businesses in the category. This is an anonymized distribution, not a ranking. Source: Bugle business directory findability check, July 16, 2026

Overall: 111 of 143 (77.6%) looked easy to find on the signals above; 32 of 143 had a real gap, most often missing hours or a booking path. Source: Bugle business directory findability check, July 16, 2026

What it means: residents searching by category often pick from the first businesses that clearly show hours, a booking or contact path, and review proof. If your Google Business Profile is missing hours or a way to reach you, demand can exist without turning into a call or a visit.

Quick win: Open your own Google Business Profile as a customer would. If hours, a booking or contact link, or your reviews aren't visible in the first screen, add them this week.

_This Department Report is free this summer while the Business Brief is in founding mode. It becomes part of the paid local-intelligence layer after the September gate._

3. Barrhaven Asked: Two-Audience Market Read

What the people are saying

Two consumer decks closed since the last Brief, plus a third still current from before that.

Reader Spending Pulse, fielded July 15–21 (n = 11 readers, small sample): asked whether residents are spending more this summer than earlier in the year, 18% (2 of 11) said yes. [Source: Reader Pulse results](../content/polls/results.json)

Reader Pulse, fielded July 22–28 (n = 35 readers): asked the same spending question, 43% (15 of 35) said yes. On a second card, 51% of 35 readers said they bought from a local Barrhaven independent this month even though a chain was cheaper. On a third card, 76% of 33 readers (small sample on this card) said they would pay a little more to buy from a local independent instead of a chain. [Source: Reader Pulse results](../content/polls/results.json)

Starting this cycle, that buy-local question is a fixed card asked identically every week, so this chart will build into a real issue-over-issue line rather than a one-off. [Source: Reader Pulse results](../content/polls/results.json)

The local paradox: stated willingness to support independents (76% of 33) is higher than reported actual behaviour (51% of 35 buying local this month). That gap is where the owner opportunity sits. [Source: survey results](../content/polls/results.json)

What business people are saying

The Business Pulse deck that opened July 22 closed August 4. Final tally: 10 owner responses overall; each individual card was answered by 9 owners (small sample).

[Source: Business Pulse results](../content/polls/results.json)

What it means: these are two different, small, self-selected samples asking two different questions (residents about their own household spending in general; owners about their own customers specifically), so they cannot be read as a single verdict or as residents and owners disagreeing. Both readings can be true at once. What's useful for an owner is the shape of each: on the resident side, willingness to buy local (76%) still runs ahead of reported local purchases (51%), and on the owner side, demand cost pressure ranks second only to demand itself. [Source: survey results](../content/polls/results.json)

Owner takeaway (last week's numbers, so you can use them): residents remain more willing to buy local than they report actually doing, so price clarity, hours certainty, and visible local value at the point of purchase are what move that gap. Owners who answered are mostly seeing more traffic and spending, with cost pressure as the next thing to watch. Treat both as directional signals from small samples, not a market forecast, and check back as more responses come in.

What readers are telling us

A longtime reader noticed that shared commercial plazas vary in curb appeal, with some maintaining tidy landscaping and signage while others show weeds, dead shrubs, and neglected frontage. Curb appeal is part of the customer experience. In a shared complex, tidy landscaping and defined frontage responsibility shape foot traffic and reputation quietly. When responsibility is split across landlord, property manager, and tenants, maintenance lapses go unnoticed until a customer sees the decline.

Owner takeaway: walk your own frontage and the shared plaza entry as a customer would. Tidy landscaping and healthy shrubs cost less to maintain than to replace after neglect. Know who in your lease owns the landscaping so a lapse gets fixed early.

Quick win: Pull last week's numbers above and pick the one that applies to your business this week: tighten pricing/hours visibility if you're chasing the resident gap, or watch cost pressure if you're already seeing the demand owners report.

4. Your Turn: The Barrhaven Business Pulse

A new Business Pulse deck is open now through August 18. Section 3 above carries the results from the deck that just closed; this one is your chance to be counted in the next issue's numbers.

Take the Business Pulse

Aggregate results only: your individual responses stay private. The Brief publishes only summary numbers and sentiment, never your name, business, or personal data. [Privacy note: anonymized, one response per device, aggregate reporting only.]

Quick win: Take the Business Pulse now, it takes under a minute, and your answer becomes part of the "what owners are saying" comparison in the next Brief.

5. Money on the Table: Grants & Deadlines

Starter Company Plus: Ontario says eligible people starting, expanding or buying a small business can apply through a Small Business Enterprise Centre for training, mentoring and a grant of up to $5,000. Applicants must be 18+, Ontario residents, Canadian citizens or permanent residents, not returning to school full-time, and able to contribute at least 25% of the grant amount. Source: Ontario Starter Company Plus

Canada-Ontario Job Grant: Up to $10,000 per trainee for employers. Small employers have flexible matching rules (minimum one-sixth cash contribution). Source: CFIB Ontario funding page

Quick win: Scan one round of active Ontario/CFIB grants against your business model (do you expand, hire, or train regularly?). If a grant path fits, apply before the next quarter closes.

6. Open / Closed: Commercial Moves

No verified new commercial openings or closings cleared the desk this cycle. If you're moving, opening, or closing up, or you know a business that is, email business@barrhavenbugle.ca: we'd rather hear it from you and celebrate it than catch it secondhand.

Quick win: Introduce yourself to any new business in a shared plaza by name and category: a new neighbour is a potential referral partner or joint event co-host.

7. The Footfall Calendar: When Barrhaven Shows Up

Sunday, August 9: Barrhaven Farmers' Market, Nepean Woods Park & Ride, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Source: Ottawa Farmers' Market

Tuesday, August 11: Fall recreation registration opens for swimming. Source: City of Ottawa recreation registration

Thursday, August 13: Fall recreation registration opens for all other activities. After-school and evening programs book up mid-month. Source: City of Ottawa recreation registration

Saturday, August 15: The Log Farm Farmers' Market, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Source: The Log Farm

Sunday, August 16:

• Barrhaven Farmers' Market, Nepean Woods Park & Ride, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Source: Ottawa Farmers' Market

• 8th Annual Classic Car Show, Clarke Fields, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Source: Canada Day Barrhaven event schedule

Quick win: stock fresh photos and confirm hours now so customers can plan weekend shopping and events.

8. City Hall Watch: Decisions That Cost or Save You Money

No verified City Hall decision affecting Barrhaven businesses cleared the desk this cycle.

Quick win: if you do occasional pop-up, vendor or festival work, check the City's current business-licensing page before your next event so you know what applies to you today.

9. Roads & Access: Commercial Corridors Only

River Run Avenue, August 24-31: closed between Celestial Grove and Burbot Street for first-phase Greenbank Road realignment work. Source: Councillor David Hill Greenbank is a commercial corridor, so if your deliveries, staff commute, or customers route through that stretch, plan around the closure now rather than the week of.

Also noted: the Highway 416 northbound off-ramp to Holly Acres Road is closed through noon August 10 for culvert repairs, affecting local traffic, sidewalks and several OC Transpo routes. Source: City of Ottawa 416 access rather than a named commercial corridor, but worth a customer/delivery heads-up if your business sits near that interchange.

Quick win: if your business touches the River Run/Greenbank stretch, confirm your delivery and staffing plan for August 24-31 this week.

10. The Big Picture: National Trends, Local Meaning

Small-business confidence crossed back above neutral in July. CFIB's long-term (12-month) optimism index rose to 58.3, up roughly eight points from a below-50 June reading, the first time this year it has cleared the neutral 50 mark. CFIB: small business confidence improves but new tariff threat looms The chart above shows the fuller swing: a peak near 65 in February and March, a drop below the neutral line by May, and July's recovery. CFIB Business Barometer Fuel costs remain the most widely felt pressure, cited by 60% of small firms. CFIB: small business confidence improves but new tariff threat looms

One caution CFIB flags itself: the survey was fielded July 7-13, before the U.S. announced its latest round of tariff threats against Canada, so this reading may not hold once owners have had time to react to that news. CFIB: small business confidence improves but new tariff threat looms

The Bank of Canada held its rate at 2.25% on July 15 and does not meet again until September 2, so there is no new rate signal this issue. Bank of Canada The chart above shows why that hold reads as settled rather than pending: after four cuts between January and October 2025, the rate has not moved in six straight decisions. Bank of Canada rate schedule, compiled via nesto.ca A borrowing cost that has been flat for nine months is a different planning environment than one still in motion. No new monthly Barrhaven housing release has landed since the figures already covered in a prior Brief; we'll pick the Property Pulse back up once July's numbers publish.

What it means: that national swing lines up with what Barrhaven owners told us directly this cycle. In Section 3, 9 of 9 responding owners said customer spending is up and 8 of 9 said traffic is up. [Source: Business Pulse results](../content/polls/results.json) You're not imagining a better few weeks, and you're not the only one feeling it: small-business owners across the country are reporting the same lift, for now, with a live tariff threat CFIB itself says the numbers don't yet reflect.

Quick win: log your own July numbers against last July this week. A national index moving is a useful signal, not a substitute for your own line, especially with a tariff-driven mood swing possibly still ahead.

11. In Focus: Availability is the real barrier

Section 3's numbers point at one plain cause: availability, not price or loyalty, is what decides whether a resident who says they'll buy local actually does. A customer who can't confirm hours, walk-in status, or booking online doesn't visit, whatever a survey says about their intentions.

Quick win: confirm hours, walk-in policy, and current pricing on every platform you list on before the end of the week.

12. AI for Your Business: Build a project, not just a chat

This week's practical move: instead of opening a fresh AI chat every time and starting from nothing, set up a Project (Claude and ChatGPT both have this) that holds your own business knowledge and answers from it.

Five steps to build one:

1. Gather what you already have written down about your business: hours, prices, policies, service descriptions, answers to common questions, whatever already exists somewhere. 2. Create a Project in Claude or ChatGPT and upload that documentation into it. 3. Tell the tool plainly what you want the project to do for you (draft replies to customers, write social posts, answer questions about your services) and ask it to write its own system instructions for that job. 4. Read what it wrote, fix anything that doesn't sound like you or isn't accurate, then paste the finished instructions into the project's settings. 5. From then on, every question you ask that project draws on your own documentation instead of a blank chat that knows nothing about your business.

What it means: most owners who try AI once use it like a search engine and start over every conversation. A project remembers your business between conversations, and letting the tool draft its own instructions, which you then check, is faster than trying to write a perfect prompt yourself.

An AI tool is a drafting assistant here, not a publishing decision-maker: still read everything a project drafts before it reaches a customer. It only knows what you gave it, and it will guess where your documents don't cover something.

Quick win: Set up one project this week with whatever documentation you already have on hand, even just your hours and prices, and ask it to draft its own instructions for one task you do often. For the cost of an AI subscription, you now have a repeatable resource built on your own business, not a generic chat.

13. The Exchange + Quick Hits / Founding Spotlight

No business@ or founding@ items arrived in this cycle's checked window, so this issue does not invent a reader question.

Send the friction point you keep hearing from customers: access, parking, staffing, hours, insurance, delivery, menu photos, or anything else that turns customers away. We will weave the best questions into a future Brief.

Quick win: Email business@barrhavenbugle.ca with the one friction point your customers hit most this month; we'll run the best in a future Brief.

14. Bugle By the Numbers

The Barrhaven Bugle's circulation stands at 1,014 subscribers. Every Tuesday issue reaches over 1,000 readers who live or work in Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay and South Nepean. Advertise with the Bugle

Views have run ahead of the subscriber count on every issue since mid-July, and the gap between tracked opens and total views has held in the 440 to 560 range across the last four issues: some readers see an issue without it registering as an email open at all, whether from a shared link or the web page itself. Open rate has stayed in the 63% to 72% band through a stretch where the list grew roughly tenfold.

That audience is valuable for local-focused advertising, and the Business Brief doubles the reach to owners and decision-makers who run services and retail. A Bugle ad reaches the neighbourhoods where the business works, on a day residents check the news.

Advertise with the Bugle

The Barrhaven Business Brief is built for people running a business in Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay and South Nepean. Write business@barrhavenbugle.ca with questions, ideas or feedback. Corrections: corrections@barrhavenbugle.ca.

Barrhaven · Stonebridge · Half Moon Bay · South Nepean

Circulation · 1004

This Weeks’ Sponsor

This week's Barrhaven Bugle is brought to you by Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse, a home daycare near Woodroffe and Stoneway, and a paying Bugle advertiser. One full-time spot is open for September. Book a visit →

From the Top

Cobble Hill Park Will be Renamed Crossing Guard Park in Memory of Peter Clark, Who Lost His Life on Duty

Map: OpenStreetMap contributors. The park is marked. The crossing where Mr. Clark stood, Cedarview at Kennevale, is a block to the north.

Council voted on July 15 to commemoratively rename Cobble Hill Park, at 200 Cobble Hill Drive, as Crossing Guard Park. The motion came from Ward 3 Councillor David Hill and was seconded by Councillor Riley Brockington. Hill said in a video posted to his Facebook page that the vote was unanimous and that a memorial plaque is planned.

Peter Clark was 55. He died in March after being struck while on duty at the crossing at Cedarview Road and Kennevale Drive, near Mary Honeywell Elementary School. The park sits about a block from the corner where he stood.

The motion frames the new name as a tribute to Mr. Clark and to every crossing guard who takes up a position at an intersection so that children and families can get across it safely. That is the part worth sitting with. Most of us pass one of these people twice a day, at the same corner, in whatever the weather is doing, and could not name a single one of them.

The Bugle will report the plaque wording and any ceremony once the City announces them.

Read more →

Sources: City of Ottawa Council record, July 15, 2026; Councillor David Hill's public announcement.

There Are a Thousand of Us!

A word of thanks.

I started the Bugle on June 5. It went up as a Substack first, then I followed with a website. Initially, there were 7 subscribers to the Substack - two were me, one was my wife, and a few from some cold emails - and it stayed that way until I started paid ads on July 2.

As this issue is being edited we stand at 1004 subscribers. Eight weeks to 1000! That's a signal that people are hungry for local news and events. It's people signing up, forwarding it to a neighbour, replying with tips and corrections, and telling us what they actually want.

Thank you, again, and here's to the next thousand!

Indian Food Festival of Ottawa

21-23 August at Clark Fields Park

We asked Bhakti Sheth, the Event Director of the Indian Food Festival of Ottawa, which is organized by her husband, Sagar Vora, for five minutes with the Bugle, and we are putting that together now.

Here is what she has told us about the festival’s return to Clarke Fields Park from August 21 to 23: it’s three days of food, live performances, family activities and local businesses in one place.

It’s built to fill an afternoon or an evening rather than a quick stop so plan to stay. It is aimed at Barrhaven, and not just the Indian community, so whoever you are, come out and support the festival!

The full Five Minutes with Bhakti Sheth, will be out this week on the website!

The First West Nile Mosquitoes of the Season Are Here

Is it just you, or are the bugs bad this year?

Photo: Katja Schulz, via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. Culex pipiens, the northern house mosquito, is the species that carries West Nile virus in this part of the country.

It is not just you. My wife walks our pup, Freya, at Beryl Gaffney Park every morning, and they have literally been chased off by them, with or without bug spray. I've noticed an increase too. During my nightly walk with Freya along Strandherd around 9:30 PM I've encountered more bugs this year than ever before.

That said, there is a reason to pay a bit more attention to it. Ottawa Public Health says its routine trapping and testing has turned up the city's first West Nile positive mosquito pool of the season.

A positive pool is not a human case. OPH says no confirmed or probable human cases have been reported in Ottawa this year. Most people who are infected develop no symptoms at all. But the finding is the annual signal that the virus is circulating in the local mosquito population, and it is the point in the summer where the advice stops being generic.

What OPH asks residents to do is small and specific. Use a repellent approved by Health Canada containing DEET or icaridin. Take particular care between dusk and dawn, which is when the species that carries it is out. And empty or refresh anything around your property that holds water for seven days or more, because that is all the time it takes: flowerpot saucers, birdbaths, a wheelbarrow left out, a sagging pool cover, the tray under the air conditioner, a kid's toy filling with rain.

One thing worth knowing, because it catches people out every year: the risk does not end when the evenings start to cool. It runs until the first hard frosts.

Are you finding the bugs bad? Let us know at content@barrhavenbugle.ca

Read more →

Source: Ottawa Public Health bulletin, July 31, 2026, and the OPH West Nile virus page.

Sponsored Section

Photo: supplied by Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse.

Presented by Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse

September is four weeks out, and one full-time spot is left. Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse is a small home daycare near Woodroffe and Stoneway, run by a provider with more than ten years of experience, First Aid, Health and Safety and CPR certification, a current police records check, and a Ministry of Education quality inspection report you can ask to see.

Doors open at 7 a.m., with 3:30 and 4:00 pickups available and other hours arranged. Home cooked meals, a published weekly menu, play-based learning and daily outdoor time. Visits welcome, references on request.

Book a visit →

Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse pays to advertise with the Bugle. That is what keeps the Tuesday newsletter free, and it is a local family business backing local news. If you are looking at childcare for September, they are worth a call.

The Bugle is Published New Every Morning on the Web

This email lands on Tuesdays. That is one day out of seven, but Barrhaven isn't only open on Tuesdays.

The Bugle is published at barrhavenbugle.ca every morning.

The day's Barrhaven news briefs, weather alerts when there are any, the full community calendar, the day's Strand Herd cartoon, the business directory, and the puzzle. If something happens on a Thursday, it is on the site on the next day, not eight days later.

Put the Bugle on Your Home Screen

The easiest way to see it is to put it on your Android or iPhone's home screen, where it sits with your other apps and opens with one tap. There is no app store download, no account, and no password.

It takes four taps once you pull it up:

On an iPhone:

1. Open barrhavenbugle.ca in Safari,

2. Tap the Share button at the bottom (the square with the up arrow),

3. Scroll down, and

4. Tap Add to Home Screen.

On Android:

1. Open barrhavenbugle.ca in Chrome,

2. Tap the three dots at the top right, and

3. Tap Install app.

Full instructions for both phones are at the “Show me how” link below.

Show me how

And send us your photographs

The Bugle would always rather run a real picture of Barrhaven than a stock one.

If you have a good photo of Barrhaven, we would like to see it. The pond at Chapman Mills. The market on a Sunday morning. Your street under snow or under construction. A pitch at Ken Ross. The sunset off Longfields. Something you noticed on a walk that made you take your phone out.

Reply to this email with it and tell us where it was taken. We credit every photo we run to the person who took it, and you keep your picture. Nothing is used anywhere without your say-so.

This Weekend in Barrhaven

Tuesday, August 4 and Thursday, August 6

• City storm-recovery drop-in sessions at Ben Franklin Place, second floor, 101 Centrepointe Drive, 1 to 5 p.m. both days. One-on-one help with Compassionate Grant and Residential Protective Plumbing applications, backwater valve permits, and general legal information. Bring your documents. Canadian Red Cross case managers are in the same building weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., until at least the end of August, on 1-800-863-6582 or by walking in.

Saturday, August 8

• Rainbow Loom Bracelet Bash at Staples Barrhaven, 101 Marketplace Ave, 10 a.m. to noon. Free, hands-on, and aimed squarely at the kids.

• Live music on the patio at Kelsey's Barrhaven, 75 Marketplace Ave, 7 to 9 p.m. with IssaBel. The bi-weekly patio series moves inside to the bar if it rains.

Sunday, August 9

• Barrhaven Farmers' Market at the Nepean Woods Park and Ride, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Local vendors, every Sunday.

See everything on the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events

Community Pulse

1. Your bin day is a day late all week. Because of Colonel By Day on Monday, August 3, curbside green bin, recycling, garbage and bulky item collection moved to today, Tuesday, August 4, and stays one day late for the rest of the week, with Saturday making up the missed day. Libraries, including Ruth E. Dickinson, are back to regular hours today. Collection details →

2. OC Transpo comes to the Sportsplex on August 11. A customer information session runs Tuesday, August 11 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Nepean Sportsplex, with a Zoom session Thursday, August 13 at the same time. The City says staff will cover the Customer-First Action Plan and this fall's service changes, and take questions. Register through Engage Ottawa.

3. A Nepean studio for adults with developmental disabilities is fighting to stay open. Silver Spring Studio, on the old Silver Spring Farm property, runs two three-hour art and cooking classes every weekday for people 16 and older. The Ottawa Citizen reported on July 29 that it operates with no grants or dedicated funding, and that because it cannot direct-bill, classes can cost families hundreds of dollars up front. It is one of the few programs of its kind in the west end.

4. Barrhaven Scottish says registrations are at a five-year high. The rugby club's own weekly update, dated July 20 and published July 25, puts registration at 444 with the season still running, retention up from 53.8 per cent to 69.8 per cent over four years, and 50 registered coaches. The figures are the club's own.

If the Bugle has earned a spot in your inbox, forward this to one Barrhaven neighbour who'd want it. That's the single biggest thing you can do to keep the Bugle useful.

From Jay’s Blog

The Bugle's publisher on why the Bugle exists.

We walked into the Broadway in Barrhaven by the Home Depot, and my wife said, "Oh, the Prime Minister was here yesterday for breakfast." I said I didn't know that. She said, "I saw it on my Facebook group." And in that moment I realized I have no idea what is going on in Barrhaven.

The internet never really replaced the newspaper. Facebook came along and one source turned into about forty. Every club has a page, every organization has a page, every business has a page. If you want to know what is happening you have to have already joined the right page, which means you are never exposed to the thing you did not know about. If you did not know about it, you did not see it. That is what costs a place its sense of itself. It is a bit like a town losing its team.

My fascination with all this probably started in grade 7, when I got a paper route delivering the Vancouver Sun. Three years of it. There was something about taking the papers out of the box at the pickup site, the texture of the newsprint, the Herman cartoon on the front page. My first real job with the Army Reserve came from a newspaper ad, that turned into a 35-year career. Everywhere we were posted, I got the local paper. The last one was the Pembroke Observer, where I spent five years on the editorial board. The age of the printed local paper ended around the time we moved to Yellowknife in 2013.

Barrhaven is not Ottawa, and Barrhaven is not Orleans. When amalgamation folded all these places into one city, it took away a layer of identity. Take the Prime Minister. Somewhere else he is the Prime Minister. Here he is Mark Carney, our MP, and Parliament Hill is 15 kilometres and another world away.

So this is a newsletter focused on Barrhaven. When I report what a councillor did, I won't tell you what to think of it. What I am telling you that this elected person, this week, did this thing, and leaving you the room to decide whether it fits with how you see the world. There are a hundred places to get or give an opinion. This is meant to be a place for the facts.

Local newsrooms are not coming back. They were a people business and they closed when the money left. But that does not mean the news stopped mattering. What amazes me is that with today's tools, one person can do what used to take a dozen, and connect 110,000 people who live in the same place.

Barrhaven is a place, not a footnote.

Read the full version: barrhavenbugle.ca/from-jay

What's Being Built

River Run closure scheduled for Greenbank realignment work

Map: OpenStreetMap contributors. The closed stretch of River Run Avenue is marked in red, from Perseus Avenue east to Burbot Street. The inset shows where that is within Barrhaven.

River Run Avenue will close between Perseus Avenue and Burbot Street from Monday, August 24 through Monday, August 31, according to Ward 3 Councillor David Hill. The closure is for first-phase work on the Greenbank Road realignment project. Hill says residents who may be affected should have received written notice before the work begins.

This is a construction notice rather than a claim that the larger project is complete or that a new development application has been approved. Readers in the area should follow the posted detours and the notices delivered to affected homes.

Read more →

Sources: David Hill, "Road Closure | River Run from Celestial to Burbot | August 24th to August 31st," published July 31, 2026. Closure limits given as the City of Ottawa names that block of River Run Avenue in its road centreline data; Celestial Grove reaches River Run by way of Perseus Avenue.

From City Hall, to Queen's Park & the Hill

The Rundown. This is where we tell you what our elected officials have been doing on our behalf, taken from their releases, newsletters and public records. This section covers the work of the office and not the campaign. Every elected official gets it irrespective of any election. The Bugle and this section isn't about politics, it's to keep you informed.

City Hall

Ward 3: Councillor David Hill announced the Crossing Guard Park renaming, having moved the motion at Council on July 15, seconded by Councillor Riley Brockington. Hill posted a video to his Facebook page saying the vote was unanimous and that a memorial plaque is planned. That is our lead story this week, above.

Ward 24: Councillor Wilson Lo's July 28 newsletter carries several things worth knowing.

• Parking tickets got more forgiving on July 28. Early payment now runs 15 days instead of 7, the set fine 45 days instead of 30, a review request 15 days instead of 7, and the default stage 76 days instead of 61. Tickets are now printed on yellow paper so they are harder to miss on a windshield. Full brief →

• Kids 11 to 18 ride free until August 31 with a Presto card. Details →

• Disc golf is down to one basket per park. After a safety audit, the plan went from two baskets per park to one, Oldfield Park came out over layout concerns, and the eastern edge of Furness Park went in. The sites are now Calaveras, Chapman Mills and Furness. Funding is earmarked but not approved, and Lo says resident feedback is still welcome.

• Clearbrook Drive traffic calming survey closes August 27 at 11 p.m., if you live on it or drive it. The City's page carries the study, the concept plan and the survey link.

• Chapman Mills Conservation Area boardwalk rebuild starts next month, with no closures expected. Claridge Drive resurfacing and sidewalk work is set for September 21. Fallowfield Road should be finished this week, with line painting possibly running into next. On Earl Mulligan Drive, Lo says the contractor has been ordered to rebuild six deficient speed cushions at its own expense.

• On Alto, the high-speed rail project, Lo says the Ottawa to Montréal section is anticipated to start construction in 2029 to 2030, the preferred route is expected in November after focused consultations, and the corridor needs a right of way of about 60 metres, narrower in urban areas. The route through Barrhaven is not yet public.

Your councillors:

• Ward 3 Barrhaven West, David Hill, David.Hill@ottawa.ca, davidhillbarrhaven.ca

• Ward 24 Barrhaven East, Wilson Lo, Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca, ward24.ca

Queen's Park

In his Nepean roundup published Sunday, August 2, MPP Tyler Watt says he is "deeply disappointed by the Province's decision to limit" the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program to certain areas only, and that he has met with Ministry officials to press for the eligibility area to be widened. That is the same program most Barrhaven and South Nepean addresses currently fall outside of. He also points residents to Canadian Red Cross flood support at redcross.ca/2026ottawafloods.

The same roundup lists where he has been in the riding:

• the Half Moon Bay Community Association BBQ,

• a Barrhaven Seniors' Council euchre afternoon,

• the Barrhaven Farmers' Market, and

• the Ottawa Lebanese Festival.

His office asks residents to send community events for inclusion.

On July 28 he published a separate post on provincial government advertising spending, with no Nepean-specific item in it.

Your MPP: Tyler Watt, tylerwatt.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org, tylerwattmpp.ca, constituency office at 250B Greenbank Road.

The Hill

Where your MP was, from the published public schedule only:

• Wednesday, July 29 in Red Deer, Alberta, touring a housing site and announcing homebuilding measures alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, then a canola farm and a meeting with farmers, and

• Thursday, July 30 in Delta, British Columbia, touring the Port of Vancouver.

• Public-schedule stops in the riding this week: none.

This is a ledger of published public events, not a verdict on the work: a blank day means no public schedule was published, not an idle one.

Your MP: Mark Carney, mark.carney@parl.gc.ca, markcarney.libparl.ca, constituency office at 240 Kennevale Drive, by appointment.

Sources: City of Ottawa Council agenda, July 15, 2026; Councillor David Hill's public announcement; Councillor Wilson Lo's ward newsletter; Prime Minister's public schedule advisories at pm.gc.ca; Tyler Watt's public MPP newsletter; contact details from ottawa.ca, ola.org and ourcommons.ca.

Public Safety

Two drivers charged after 140 and 145 km/h on Limebank. The Ottawa Citizen reports that a road safety officer recorded one driver at 140 km/h on Limebank Road, then clocked a second at 145 km/h. The reported stretch is posted at 80.

Both licences were suspended and both vehicles were impounded for 14 days, the Citizen reports, attributing the enforcement details to Ottawa police.

Source: Ottawa Citizen, July 31, 2026, reporting Ottawa police enforcement details.

Only in Barrhaven

Nothing tests a neighbourhood's memory like the post-long weekend garbage and recycling schedule. The holiday pushes collection back a day, and it stays back a day for the rest of the week, which means every household in Barrhaven is now running a private calculation it did not ask for.

You will see it playout on the driveways. Green bin is Wednesday, no, Thursday. Somebody's bin will go out on the regularday day from muscle memory and sit there overnight looking confident. And then Saturday turns up to make good on the missed day and quietly undoes the whole thing again.

See you at the curb!

Source: City of Ottawa Colonel By Day collection notice.

What Barrhaven's Searching For: Business Intelligence

Ten thousand people are coming to a Barrhaven park in three weeks

Image: Barrhaven Bugle / Bugle Business.

Here is a date Barrhaven businesses might not have in their calendar yet.

The Indian Food Festival of Ottawa runs Friday, August 21 to Sunday, August 23 at Clarke Fields Park, 93 Houlahan Street, and entry is free. The organizers say past editions drew more than 10,000 people and that vendors sold out. It is listed by the Barrhaven BIA and by Ottawa Tourism.

That is very likely the largest concentration of foot traffic anywhere in Barrhaven this summer, and it is happening in a neighbourhood park rather than on a main street. Which is exactly why a lot of operators will miss it. It is not a City event and it is not a street festival that closes a road and puts a notice through your door. If you are not already looking for it, the first you will hear about it is the parking.

What that is worth to a business here.

A crowd that size does not stay inside the park fence. It arrives early, it leaves hungry or full, it needs somewhere to park, a washroom, a coffee, a pharmacy, an ATM, something for the kids. Three days of that lands within a short drive of most of Barrhaven's retail.

The businesses that get anything out of it will be the ones that decided in advance to be open, staffed and visible that weekend, rather than the ones that noticed on the Saturday. If you are within a few minutes of Houlahan Street, that weekend is a decision, not an accident: your hours, your staffing, and whether anything of yours is in front of ten thousand people who have driven into your neighbourhood.

And if you are further out, it is still a date worth knowing. Late August weekends are quiet. This one will not be.

The Bugle is naming published dates and a public location. This is not a comment on the festival, and it does not suggest any local business is involved with it or endorsed by it.

Sources: Indian Food Festival of Ottawa; Ottawa Festivals calendar; Barrhaven BIA community events. Attendance and sell-out figures are the organizers' own.

Renting out a place, selling privately, or want to reach Barrhaven? Advertise with us → barrhavenbugle.ca/advertise

Last Week's Reader Pulse

Thank you to the 35 readers who swiped the Reader Spending Pulse that closed on Tuesday, July 28. We publish these results because a survey only means something if we close the loop with the people who answered. Here is what you said.

Are you spending more this summer than you were earlier in the year?

• 15 of 35 said they are spending more, 43 per cent.

• The other 20 said not more.

In the past month, did you buy from a local Barrhaven independent even though a chain was cheaper?

• 18 of 35 said they did, 51 per cent.

• 17 said they did not.

Would you pay a little more to buy from a local independent instead of a chain?

• 25 of 33 who answered said it is worth it, 76 per cent.

• 8 said price wins.

Read together, those three make an honest picture. Three quarters of you say you would pay a bit more to stay local, and about half actually did in the past month. The distance between the intention and the receipt is the part local owners have to plan around, and it is smaller here than the grumbling would suggest.

Method: anonymous, one response per device, 35 responses counted after reverse-pair, attention-check, completeness and speeder screening. Self-selected and link-shared, so this is a qualitative snapshot of readers who chose to weigh in, not a representative measurement of Barrhaven.

Reader Pulse: final call

Image: Barrhaven Bugle / Reader Pulse survey card.

Barrhaven, call it. This week's deck closes tonight, so this is your last chance to weigh in. No login, no names, aggregate results only, and the numbers come back to you right here.

Take the survey

Puzzle Corner

Last week's answer: the Barrhaven sports centre whose Ottawa Police in-person office hours were paused for the summer is Walter Baker Sports Centre.

Barrhaven Trivia:* how many hectares is the Barnsdale Road site where Minto has proposed 942 new homes? *(Answer next week.)

This week's Barrhaven Mini, all local words, a few minutes to solve. Play it now →

Sources: Councillor Wilson Lo's ward newsletter (last week's answer); Ottawa Business Journal, via the Bugle's Minto brief (this week's answer, held for next issue).

Election Corner

Where the Bugle stands: nowhere. We present candidates and their ideas, promote no candidate, and take no position on the election or its issues.

The City clerk's certified list still shows six candidates across Barrhaven's two council races:

• 2 in Ward 3 Barrhaven West, and

• 4 in Ward 24 Barrhaven East.

There have been no new certifications or withdrawals since last week. A person is a candidate when the clerk certifies the nomination, not when they announce, so this list is the one we count from.

Here are the five questions. Every certified candidate gets the same five questions from the Bugle, the same space to answer, and the same deadline. We will print them in full so you can see exactly what we asked, and so can anyone still deciding whether to run.

1. What is the one local issue in your ward you hear about most often from residents, and what would you do about it?

2. If you're elected, what is the first concrete step you'd take in your first six months on council?

3. What's a Barrhaven place, tradition, or detail that most residents outside your immediate neighbourhood might not know about, and why does it matter to you?

4. Where do you think the City has gotten a recent decision affecting Barrhaven wrong, and what would you have done differently?

5. What in your own background or experience do you think best prepares you to represent your ward on council?

Where things stand. Five of the six certified candidates have been sent the questions:

Ward 3 - David Hill and Donna Blackburn

Ward 24 - Wilson Lo, Zahy A Adam and Yoosaf Melparamba.

The sixth, Jules Ruhinda in Ward 24, has no public contact route in the City's data and we have not been able to reach him. If you can put us in touch, or if he is reading this, we would like to send him the same questions.

No answers have come back yet. Nobody is late: the deadline is Tuesday, September 8, and candidates have until then. We will print their answers, and we will list every certified candidate whether they answer or not.

What would you ask them? Send us the question you want put to candidates in your ward. House rules: civil, and respectful of the candidates and the process. We will not publish personal attacks. Questions may be shortened or combined, not every one will make the final list, and the final list goes to every certified candidate at the same time. Reply to this email with yours.

Nominations close Friday, August 21, and election day is Monday, October 26. Advance vote dates will appear here once the City publishes them.

Full profiles, the published questionnaire, the response ledger and our conflict-of-interest disclosure: barrhavenbugle.ca/election

Source: City of Ottawa, certified candidates for City Councillor, Wards 3 and 24; the Bugle's own candidate outreach ledger.

The Strand Herd

Image: The Strand Herd / Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

See every Strand Herd → barrhavenbugle.ca/cartoon

Barrhavenbugle.ca updates between Tuesday emails with events, quick news briefs, The Strand Herd, the directory, listings and other local tools. See the full community calendar anytime: barrhavenbugle.ca/events.

Thanks again to Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Have a tip, event, correction or photo? Reply to this email anytime.

Help grow the Bugle: the Tuesday Barrhaven Bugle will always be free. The best way to support it is simple: forward this issue to one friend, one neighbour, or one local business owner who serves Barrhaven. Every forward keeps the Bugle useful and relevant to more of this community.

They can check the full community calendar here: barrhavenbugle.ca/events. Like, comment, share or restack on Substack when you can, it helps the Bugle reach the next neighbour.

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From the Top

Minto files for 942 more homes on Barnsdale Road

Read more →

Photo: Dillan Payne / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Suburban housing construction at Zinnia Gardens in North Pickering, Ontario, April 2026. Representative image: not the Barnsdale Road site.

Minto Group has filed plans for a 942-unit subdivision on a 47-hectare site on Barnsdale Road east of Highway 416, at the southwestern edge of Barrhaven, the Ottawa Business Journal and CTV News report.

The Journal reports the mix as 448 single-detached homes, 396 townhouses and 98 back-to-back townhouses, built as an expansion of the existing Quinn's Pointe community. Plans filed with the City include a stormwater management pond, a retained woodlot, and a 2.27-hectare neighbourhood park created by combining a new municipal park with the existing Pointe Park. We understand the work is proposed in three phases, starting at the north end and moving south toward Barnsdale Road, with the park and the pond in the first phase.

Two numbers are in circulation, so here is the Bugle's arithmetic: CTV News reported the proposal on July 21 and put the figure at 940 homes in its headline, while the Journal's itemized breakdown totals 942. We use the itemized figure.

What this means for you: nothing is decided. The application has not been before council, and neither outlet reported a construction start date. The Bugle has asked the City for the file number and the public comment deadline, and will print both as soon as we have them, because the comment window is the part residents can actually act on.

Sources: Ottawa Business Journal, July 20, 2026; CTV News Ottawa, July 21, 2026.

This Weekend in Barrhaven

Saturday, August 1

• Family Storytime and Stay & Play (10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Ruth E. Dickinson branch, 100 Malvern Drive). Drop-in stories, rhymes and songs, then time for children and caregivers to stay and play with toys and books.

• End of Summer Market and Event (11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Barrhaven Fellowship Christian Reformed Church, 3058 Jockvale Road). A free community market with local vendors, small businesses, food and family games. Vendor applications are still open.

Sunday, August 2

• Barrhaven Farmers' Market (10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Nepean Woods Park and Ride). The weekly Sunday market with local vendors.

See everything on the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events

Tell us what's going on. Running a market, a fundraiser, live music, a registration night, a church supper? Reply to this email and we'll put it on the calendar, free.

Sources: Ottawa Public Library; Barrhaven BIA community events board; Ottawa Farmers' Market.

Community Pulse

Parking ticket rules change today. The City says tickets issued on or after Tuesday, July 28 follow new timelines:

• the early-payment period grows from 7 days to 15,

• the window to pay the set fine grows from 30 days to 45, and

• the default point moves from 61 days to 76, when licence-plate renewal may be denied until outstanding fees are paid.

New tickets are yellow instead of white. Tickets issued before today keep the old rules.

Fall recreation listings go up today. The City says fall activities, PA Days and winter camps can be viewed online starting Tuesday, July 28.

• Fall swimming registration opens Tuesday, August 11, and

• Registration for all fall activities opens Thursday, August 13.

Worth a look now if you plan around a specific class time.

Youth still ride free until August 31. OC Transpo says riders aged 11 to 18 ride buses, trains and Para Transpo free through August 31, using a Presto card set to a Pre-Teen or Youth pass or an existing school transit pass.

From September 1, that becomes free rides on weekday evenings after 5 p.m. and all day on weekends and holidays for the rest of 2026. Children 10 and under continue to ride free every day.

Sources: City of Ottawa; OC Transpo.

The Tuesday Barrhaven Bugle will always be free. If it has earned its spot in your inbox, forward this issue to one friend, one neighbour, or one local business owner who serves Barrhaven. That single forward is the biggest thing you can do to keep the Bugle useful and relevant.

Photo: supplied by Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse.

Advertisement · Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse

One full-time daycare spot opens in September. Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse is a small home daycare in Barrhaven East: healthy meals and snacks, preschool learning through play, and daily outdoor time in a small group with personal care. Book a visit, ask questions, or request references.

Book a Visit!

Five Minutes With Nepean Hotspurs SC

Shannon Holder, General Manager, Nepean Hotspurs SC

Photo: Nepean Hotspurs SC.

Nepean Hotspurs SC hosted its first FC Bayern soccer camp in 2025 and returned this summer as an official FC Bayern youth soccer partner. General Manager Shannon Holder told the Bugle what it takes for a volunteer-driven community club to put a world-class training environment in front of local kids.

What did it mean for a community club like Nepean Hotspurs to be part of a moment involving FC Bayern here in Nepean?

In 2025, we hosted our first FC Bayern Soccer Camp, and the success of that experience laid the foundation for something even bigger. We're incredibly proud that it evolved into an official FC Bayern Youth Soccer Partnership.

Bringing back the camp to the Nation's Capital in 2026 as an official Youth Soccer Partner was a tremendous opportunity for our Club and our community. It's a reflection of the hard work and commitment of our coaches, Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers, who are dedicated to providing the very best experiences for our players.

What makes it truly special, though, is the impact on the kids. Having the opportunity to learn from FC Bayern coaches right here in their own community is something many young players only dream about. They were able to experience a world-class training environment, and it shows them that with hard work, dedication, and the right opportunities, those dreams are within reach.

For your local players and their families, what stood out most about having FC Bayern come to the neighbourhood?

It reinforced something we've always believed at Nepean Hotspurs: that community soccer can provide world-class experiences. Partnering with FC Bayern has created memories that will stay with these families for years to come.

For our players, it wasn't just about wearing an FC Bayern jersey, it was about learning firsthand the caliber of training and coaching that is just one step away through the FC Bayern player pathway; challenging them to think, train, compete, and grow in new ways. For parents, it was incredibly rewarding to see their children inspired, engaged, and having fun while developing both as players and as people.

What goes into a volunteer-driven community club being ready to step into an opportunity like this one?

A great deal of preparation goes into an opportunity like this. While we're fortunate to have an incredible team of staff, the heart of Nepean Hotspurs has always been our volunteers. From our Board of Directors to coaches, team officials, and event volunteers, everyone plays a role in making an experience like this possible. Everyone understands the importance of creating opportunities that inspire young players, and when an opportunity like this comes along, our volunteers and staff consistently rise to the occasion. Their passion and commitment are what make partnerships like this possible and allow us to deliver an experience our community will never forget.

What's something about Barrhaven only a local would know?

Something only a local might appreciate is how many people in the Barrhaven and Nepean corridor have grown up together, watched the community evolve, and know that it is more than just a growing suburb.

Who in Barrhaven should we talk to next?

I think the best people to talk to next are the community builders, the people who quietly make Barrhaven such a special place.

Read the profile → barrhavenbugle.ca/people/nepean-hotspurs

This interview was conducted in writing through the Bugle's interview form; answers lightly edited for length and clarity.

Do you know a community builder we should feature? Reply to this email and cc them - we'll do the rest!

Business Spotlight

Dana Hanes Dance Company

Read more →

Photo/source: Dana Hanes Dance Company website screenshot.

This week's unpaid Featured Business pick is Dana Hanes Dance Company, a dance studio serving Barrhaven and the wider Ottawa area. In its own wording on its website, the studio describes itself as a school for competitive dancers of all ages, disciplines and skill levels, and it is currently promoting its return for season 12!

Classes, disciplines and registration details are laid out on the site, which is the useful part for a parent deciding between a competitive stream and general classes before making a call.

This is editorial, not an ad or a paid placement. We reviewed only the business's own public website to let readers know more about local business in town. No owner quote is implied.

Source: Dana Hanes Dance Company website, reviewed July 18, 2026.

What's Being Built

Baseline and Greenbank rebuild runs to the end of the year

Read more →

The City says reconstruction at Baseline Road and Greenbank Road continues through the summer, with completion anticipated by the end of 2026. The project adds:

• Dedicated bus-priority lanes,

• New sidewalks and curbs,

• Raised asphalt cycle tracks,

• Reconfigured traffic lanes, and

• Upgraded pavement markings and signage, along with catch-basin and utility work around the intersection.

It is the north gateway for a lot of Barrhaven driving, so plan the extra minutes into any trip through that intersection for the rest of the season.

Source: City of Ottawa project update.

From City Hall, to Queen's Park & the Hill

The Rundown. This is where we let you know what our elected officials or our three levels of government have been up to over the past week on our behalf. The information is taken from their news releases, newsletters, Facebook postings, or public diary entries.

The Bugle and this section isn't about politics, it's to keep you informed.

City Hall

Ward 3: Councillor David Hill's office says the City's 2026 bus-stop improvement program covers three bus stop upgrades:

• River Mist and Kilbirnie,

• Cambrian and Greenbank, and

• Longfields/Golflinks

The work includes accessibility landing pads and minor changes. The Cambrian and Greenbank stop is also being relocated from Cambrian to Greenbank.

Ward 24: Councillor Wilson Lo's ward update flags resurfacing, catch-basin work and related repairs on Fallowfield Road between Greenbank Road and the railway, scheduled to run to July 31.

Your councillors:

• Ward 3 Barrhaven West, David Hill, David.Hill@ottawa.ca, davidhillbarrhaven.ca

• Ward 24 Barrhaven East, Wilson Lo, Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca, ward24.ca

Queen's Park

The provincial disaster program is now open, and it has a deadline. The City says Ontario has activated Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians in parts of Ottawa for the July 1 extreme weather event, covering damage from flooding from lakes, rivers and creeks that is not covered by insurance.

The application deadline is Monday, November 16, 2026. Residents should speak with their own insurer first, then call 1-877-822-0116 or email the province's disaster assistance address.

Activation area and eligibility are set by the Province, not the City, so check the provincial program page before assuming your address qualifies.

Your MPP: Tyler Watt, tylerwatt.mpp.co@ola.org, tylerwattmpp.ca, constituency office at 250B Greenbank Road.

The Hill

For the week of July 23 to 28:

• July 23: In-person First Ministers meeting in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Carney hosted the meeting and held a media availability.

• July 24: Reported plans to be in Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador, to visit a national park and highlight the Canada Strong Pass.

• July 25-28: Unscheduled/unannounced.

Your MP: Mark Carney, mark.carney@parl.gc.ca, markcarney.libparl.ca, constituency office at 240 Kennevale Drive (by appointment).

Sources: Councillor David Hill's office; Councillor Wilson Lo's ward newsletter; City of Ottawa, July 1 extreme weather event support programs page; contact details from ottawa.ca, ola.org and ourcommons.ca.

Public Safety

Where the lifeguards are: The City says supervised swimming at Mooney's Bay, Britannia, Westboro and Petrie Island beaches runs with lifeguards on duty daily from noon to 7 p.m. until August 30.

The same notice says most outdoor pools are open. Schedules vary by location, so check the location's own hours before you load the car. Supervised hours are the safety point here: outside them, no one is watching the water.

Source: City of Ottawa recreation notice.

Sponsored Section

Image: Job Scout sponsor creative.

Presented by Job Scout

Veteran-owned and based in Barrhaven, Job Scout writes resumes the screening software can actually read, because most resumes never reach a human. Then it keeps your search running. Learn more →

Only in Barrhaven

An End of Summer Market on August 1? Summer feels like it's four days old! But time marches on and as we come into August, I can't be the only one wondering where the first half went between the downpours, floods and heatwaves.

Is Fall the new Summer? Maybe, but let's wait and see what August does first!

Source: Barrhaven BIA community events board.

What Barrhaven's Searching For: Business Intelligence

Barrhaven keeps searching for a walk-in clinic open right now

Image: Barrhaven Bugle / Bugle Business.

Every week the Bugle does Google intent searches for Barrhaven, looking to see what people in town are looking for. It turns out a lot of you are Googling the same two things:

• "walk in clinic barrhaven open now" and

• "walk in clinic barrhaven open sunday."

For clinics, that is an availability signal, not a claim that local care is unavailable. What it says is information may be hard to find in the moment it is needed, and "open now" searches are about as time-sensitive as a search gets.

Stale hours on a listing, a vague intake rule, or a booking page that fights a phone screen can all cost someone a trip they did not need to make. If you run a clinic or a health service, the fix is mostly clarity:

• Make and post a walk-in policy,

• Post the current open hours and update them regularly, and

• Make sure your intake process is the same across your website, phone message and Google listing.

Source: Bugle Demand Report, local search trends and community forums.

Renting out a place, selling privately, or want to reach Barrhaven? Advertise with us → barrhavenbugle.ca/advertise

Reader Pulse

We like to take the temperature in the community and the best way to do that is through ongoing surveys. We ask questions on a swipe deck, and you answer by swiping left or right. It's just like Tinder, but without the disappointment.

How does it help? It lets people know they aren't the only ones thinking or doing certain things. It also helps our businesses understand where their customers are.

Barrhaven, call it before the deck closes tonight. This week's anonymous Reader Spending Pulse is live: no login, no names, aggregate results only.

Take the Survey!

Source: Bugle Reader Pulse schedule.

Where Barrhaven's Been

Image: Barrhaven Bugle. Recounted nightly.

The front-page swipe deck keeps a running map of where this neighbourhood has actually been. Every dot is a real place the deck asks about: filled in once a reader has been there, left open until somebody has. A few things it has turned up so far.

• Greenbank Road is undefeated. Every reader who has reached that card has eaten at a restaurant on it.

• The BeaverTail is universal. Every responder's had at least one!

• The Vimy Memorial Bridge is the local blind spot: one reader in five has walked across it.

• Nobody has hiked the Grouse Grind, kayaked Lake Superior, or made it to the Charlottetown Festival. Those dots are still open.

Deal yourself in on the front page, or see the whole map and how Barrhaven answered

How Did Barrhaven Answer?

Source: Barrhaven Bugle swipe deck, aggregate counts as of July 26, 2026. Small samples, and no reader is ever identified.

Puzzle Corner

Last week's answer: the park and ride that hosts the Barrhaven Farmers' Market every Sunday is Nepean Woods.

Barrhaven Trivia:* which Barrhaven sports centre had its Ottawa Police in-person office hours paused for the summer? *(Answer next week.)

This week's Barrhaven Mini, all local words, a few minutes to solve.

Play it Now!

Sources: Ottawa Farmers' Market (last week's answer); Councillor Wilson Lo's ward newsletter (this week's answer, held for next issue).

Election Corner

Where the Bugle stands: nowhere. We present candidates and their ideas, promote no candidate, and take no position on the election or its issues.

Image: Barrhaven Bugle ward map. Boundaries: Open Government Licence, City of Ottawa. Base map: OpenStreetMap contributors.

Which ward are you in? Barrhaven votes in two council races. Ward 3 Barrhaven West covers Old Barrhaven, Half Moon Bay, Stonebridge and the lands west toward Highway 416. Ward 24 Barrhaven East covers Chapman Mills, Davidson Heights, Knollsbrook and Havenfield east to Prince of Wales Drive. Your ward decides which names appear on your ballot on October 26.

The City clerk's certified list still shows six candidates across Barrhaven's two council races:

• Two in Ward 3 Barrhaven West, and

• Four in Ward 24 Barrhaven East.

There have been no new certifications or withdrawals since last week.

Our five candidate questions are now published in full at the election hub, so every candidate, and anyone still deciding whether to run, sees exactly what we're asking. Every certified candidate will get the same questions, the same space, and the same deadline to respond - Tuesday, September 8.

What would you ask them? Send us the question you want put to the candidates in your ward.

House rules: civil, and respectful of the candidates and the process. We will not publish personal attacks. Questions may be shortened or combined, not every one will make the final list, and the final list goes to every certified candidate at the same time. Reply to this email with yours.

Nominations close Friday, August 21, and election day is Monday, October 26. Full profiles, the published questionnaire, the response ledger and our conflict-of-interest disclosure: barrhavenbugle.ca/election

Source: City of Ottawa, certified candidates for City Councillor, Wards 3 and 24 (elections.ottawa.ca).

The Strand Herd

Image: The Strand Herd / Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

See every Strand Herd → barrhavenbugle.ca/cartoon

Daily updates keep rolling between Tuesday newsletters at barrhavenbugle.ca: news briefs, the calendar, The Strand Herd, the directory, listings and other local tools are updated daily.

See the full community calendar anytime: barrhavenbugle.ca/events.

Thanks again to Job Scout for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Publisher’s Note

Yesterday we published two Substacks in error. There was a misunderstanding about what was to be done with two surveys that were closing, and that resulted in the posts. It looks like we lost 20 or so subscribers because of it.

We’re still experiencing some growing pains, so please bare with us. If things like this are still happening in 10 years, it’s us, not you, lol.

Thank you for your support!

Have a tip, event, correction or photo? Reply to this email anytime.

Help grow the Bugle: the Tuesday Barrhaven Bugle will always be free. The best way to support it is simple: forward this issue to one friend, one neighbour, or one local business owner who serves Barrhaven. Every forward keeps the Bugle useful and relevant to more of this community.

They can check the full community calendar here: barrhavenbugle.ca/events. Like, comment, share or restack on Substack when you can, it helps the Bugle reach the next neighbour.

You're reading the Barrhaven Bugle: a weekly, neighbourly read for Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay and South Nepean.

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Not a business owner? Please forward it to one you know!

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In 30 seconds

• Health and childcare lead local demand.

• Resident spending is cautious, not collapsing.

• The one business owner who answered reports the same at the till.

• Storm-hit businesses can apply to Ontario's disaster fund (deadline Nov 16).

• Quick win: make your hours and booking obvious.

Residents are watching what they spend. The one business owner who answered our survey sees the same at the till. Across Marketplace Avenue, Strandherd, Chapman Mills, Greenbank and Stonebridge, people are still searching for the same three things:

• Healthcare

• Childcare

• Clear business hours

You might not be able to do much about the first two, but everyone can take care of the third by adjusting your website.

A note on our surveys: the Bugle runs short swipe-card surveys on iCalledit.live. Reader surveys ask residents about spending; the business owner survey asks owners what they see at the till. It is open, free, and not a scientific poll.

Bugle Insight: Access beats adjectives.

The demand signals we track are dominated by access questions:

- open Saturday

- walk-in

- hours

That is what these signals show people typing, and they measure search interest only, not everything a customer weighs before choosing you.

1. What Barrhaven Wants: Demand Signal

Health and childcare aren't just leading Barrhaven's searches, they're running away with them.

They took 31.1% of the demand signals we tracked the week of July 13, ahead of every other category, and held above 30% in the partial week of July 20. Underneath almost every search: are you open, and what do you do? Hours, walk-in availability, service near Stonebridge and Greenbank. (Source: the Barrhaven demand board; Google autocomplete is a search-interest proxy, not volume.)

Quick win: in health, wellness or childcare, put your hours and booking link where a phone shows them in three seconds.

2. Department Report: Health and Wellness Findability

Reachability gap, not a presence gap. Barrhaven's health and wellness businesses are almost all online, but fewer of them show the two details a customer needs before calling.

We reviewed 25 local health businesses. Almost all, from Chapman Mills to Half Moon Bay, have a working website (24 of 25). The two things a customer needs before calling are thinner: 18 show hours clearly, 19 show a way to book or reach them. (Source: our findability review of 25 public listings, July 21, from the Bugle business directory.)

Quick win: open your site on a phone. Does the first screen show all three?

• ✓ Today's hours

• ✓ How to book

• ✓ Phone number

This Department Report is free this summer while the Business Brief is in founding mode. It becomes part of the paid local-intelligence layer after the September gate.

3. What They Want: Barrhaven consumer intent

How are Barrhaven consumers approaching spending: carefully.

About one in five residents say they're spending more this summer (2 of 9 in Reader Pulse Q3, closed July 14; 2 of 11 in Reader Spending Pulse, closed July 21). Most keep discretionary spending local and expect to eat out the same or more this fall. (Sources: Q3 survey, Spending survey.)

One owner answered the business survey, so read it as one view, not a trend: July at least level with last year, growth expected August through October, hiring planned within three months, rising costs the sharper pressure. (Source: the business owner survey tallies.)

What it means: Spend this month removing friction. Hold promotion budget for the better-looking fall both sides describe.

Interested in knowing what your customer base is thinking? Let us know what you want to know and we’ll ask them. We run a 3-4 question survey each week, Thursday to Thursday.

4. Your Turn: the Barrhaven Business Pulse

How are Barrhaven businesses approaching near to mid-term financial decisions: fill out the survey and we’ll all know.

The Barrhaven Business Confidence Pulse is a local confidence index modelled on the national ones (CFIB's Business Barometer, the Bank of Canada, NFIB). Filling it out will help business owners understand where the current sentiment and future outlook is.

Take our one-minute anonymous swipe deck survey on your 12-month outlook, hiring, investment, pricing, your single biggest pressure, and whether US tariffs are reaching your decisions.

It’s anonymous, and the results come straight back to you in the next Brief. As we repeat it we’ll start tracking sentiment and comparing your answers to national indexes.

Take the Survey!

Business owners only, takes about a minute, and this one closes August 4.

What it means: The more owners answer, the sharper next issue's read. Ten answers is an anecdote; fifty is a signal. Forward this to one owner who should be in it.

5. Money on the Table: Grants & Deadlines

A cheque worth chasing if the July 1 storm hit you. Ontario's Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians has been activated for parts of Ottawa for the July 1, 2026 flooding, and small, owner-operated businesses can apply for essential, uninsured costs. The deadline is November 16, 2026.

Read the Rules Here

What it means: If the storm damaged your premises or stock, check whether your address sits in the activated area and what counts as an essential cost. Insurance payouts are deducted, so the program fills the gaps insurance won't. Don't rule yourself out before reading the wording.

6. Open / Closed: Commercial Moves

No new verified move. One to watch: Evergreen Family Health Centre says a second Nepean location is coming at 30 Concourse Gate, with no date, hours or walk-in service confirmed. A watch, not an opening. Evergreen Family Health Centre

What it means: A second clinic on Barrhaven's strongest demand lane means steady new foot traffic around 30 Concourse Gate: patients and staff arriving on a schedule, most days of the week. The nearby cafes, pharmacies, lunch spots and services that plan for that catchment now are the ones that capture it when the doors open.

7. The Footfall Calendar

• July 25: Live patio music at Kelsey's Barrhaven, 7 p.m. (Source: venue's general manager, received July 13.)

• July 26: Barrhaven Farmers' Market, Nepean Woods Park and Ride, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Ottawa Farmers' Market

• July 28: Fall recreation listings viewable. City of Ottawa

• August 1: BIA End of Summer Market and Event, Barrhaven Fellowship Christian Reformed Church, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Barrhaven BIA

• August 11: Fall swim registration opens, 9 p.m. City of Ottawa

• August 13: All fall registration opens, 9 p.m. City of Ottawa

What it means: Registration dates matter most: households lock in their fall calendar then. Have your offer ready first.

Got an event? Running something, or know of a local event we should list?

Send it to events@barrhavenbugle.ca or message us and we'll help spread the word.

Telling Barrhaven what's going on is the whole point of the Bugle.

8. City Hall Watch

Nothing new from City Hall this week. Post-storm recovery details are still moving.

What it means: Confirm any date that matters to you with the City this week.

9. Roads & Access

Cambrian Road is closed between Borrisokane Road and Elevation Street through July 24, the last summer closure on the Borrisokane and Cambrian roundabout project. Councillor David Hill

What it means: Plan around it for Half Moon Bay appointments, deliveries and staff routes. Nothing else in the feed points to disruption on Marketplace Avenue, Strandherd, Greenbank retail, the Chapman Mills plazas, Fallowfield or 417 access.

10. The Big Picture

The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on July 15 and projects GDP growth of 0.7% in 2026 and 1.8% in 2027-28. Bank of Canada

What it means: Don't budget for a sudden rebound. Plan for steady improvement through the fall instead. Slow growth matches the careful summer both surveys describe.

11. In Focus: make your true access details easy to find

Almost every search we tracked is about access, not quality: Saturday hours, walk-in or appointment, which services you offer.

What it means: Put them in plain words at the top of your page, mirror them on your Google Business Profile, and recheck monthly.

12. AI for Your Business: turn repeated questions into FAQs on your website

FAQs are Hot: Take the questions you answer several times a week from customers or clients. Write the answer once using your preferred AI tool, such as ChatGPT or Claude. Then tell it to turn them into short FAQ-style entries for your website and a Google Business Profile, and publish the results.

What it means: AI discoverability can be your superpower. People are turning to AI for search these days, and AI in turn likes clear question-and-answer pairs. If you have a list of common questions, get them up on your website for the AI to find.

Warning: Check every pair before you make it live: hours, service names, phone number. A wrong hour is worse than none.

13. The Exchange + Quick Hits

Nothing to run: no owner or founding messages arrived this week. Empty is better than invented.

Send us the friction you keep hitting: access, hours, staffing, deliveries, booking or parking. Write business@barrhavenbugle.ca. The best owner questions run in a future Brief, with your consent.

14. By the Numbers: Advertise with the Bugle

The Bugle is a standing place in local inboxes, not a flyer someone glances at once.

• Circulation: 785 subscribers across Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay and South Nepean, and growing!

• Opened by roughly 7 in 10 subscribers. The last two issues of the Tuesday Bugle cleared a 70% open rate, against a newsletter industry average near 35%.

• About 900 reads last issue, inbox opens plus web views, from an audience that chose to be here.

That is prime space in your customers' inboxes: a Bugle ad sits inside a paper your neighbours actually open, not an impression they scroll past.

What it means: Founding-merchant spots are category-exclusive and start at $149 a month. See the rate card or reply to this email.

Advertise with the Bugle

Bottom line:

Residents are cautious, not absent.

The one owner who responded sees the same thing.

The demand is already there.

Businesses that remove friction first, with clear hours, clear services and an easy way to book, are the ones best positioned to benefit.

Write business@barrhavenbugle.ca. Corrections: corrections@barrhavenbugle.ca.

Standing note: hands-on AI help is a service our publisher, Jay, provides businesses through, The Chatbot Genius, at thechatbotgenius.com. If you’re interested learning more, reach out.

Issue 6-2026 · Tuesday, July 21, 2026 · Barrhaven · Stonebridge · Half Moon Bay · South Nepean

SPONSOR

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From the Top

Six candidates certified across Barrhaven's two council races

Read more →

Photo: Wladyslaw / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Both Barrhaven council seats are now contested, with six certified candidates across the two wards as of this week.

Ward 3 Barrhaven West

• David Hill (incumbent, filed May 12): barrhavendavid.ca

• Donna Blackburn (filed July 6): no campaign website on file with the City; campaign email electDonna2026@gmail.com

Ward 24 Barrhaven East

• Wilson Lo (incumbent, filed May 4): wilsonlo.ca

• Zahy A Adam (filed May 8): adamzahy.ca

• Jules Ruhinda (filed May 20): no campaign website or contact on file with the City

• Yoosaf Melparamba (filed May 25): yoosaf.ca

Nominations stay open until August 21, so the list can still grow, and election day is October 26. The Bugle lists every City-certified candidate in both wards, neutrally, incumbent first and then in filing order, updated as new nominations are certified.

The Bugle's election plan

The Bugle will be reaching out to every certified candidate in both wards, with the same questions and the same space for each, and over the eight weeks leading up to the October 26 vote we'll publish special election issues so you can size up the field before you mark your ballot.

What this means for you: check the full, current tracker before you form an opinion. A campaign announcement is not the same as certification, and the Bugle only counts a name once the City clerk has confirmed it.

See every certified candidate, in both wards, kept current → barrhavenbugle.ca/election

Source: City of Ottawa, certified candidates for City Councillor, Wards 3 and 24 (elections.ottawa.ca API).

This Weekend in Barrhaven

Saturday, July 25

• Live music on the patio at Kelsey's Barrhaven: Sue Prosser (7 to 9 p.m., 75 Marketplace Avenue, Unit 6). Kelsey's says its bi-weekly patio series continues with Sue Prosser; music moves inside if it rains.

Sunday, July 26

• Barrhaven Farmers' Market (10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Nepean Woods Park and Ride). The weekly Sunday market with local vendors.

• All Church Prayer at Woodvale (6 to 7 p.m., Woodvale Pentecostal Church). Monthly gathering, nursery provided.

See everything on the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events

Tell us what's going on. Running a market, a fundraiser, live music, a registration night, a church supper? Email events@barrhavenbugle.ca and we'll put it on the calendar, free.

Sources: Kelsey's Barrhaven; Ottawa Farmers' Market; Woodvale Pentecostal Church.

Community Pulse

1. Riverside Drive westbound is down to a detour until August 31. The City says Riverside's westbound lanes are closed from Data Centre Road to Neil Way for the next phase of the Bank Street Renewal Project, with one lane each way sharing the eastbound side. Left turns stay prohibited at Bank and Riverside; expect heavier traffic.

2. Nepean Hotspurs bring back the FC Bayern camp. The soccer club's newsletter says week-long sessions run July 13–17 and July 20–24, open to players born 2008–2014 across clubs and skill levels, training under FC Bayern Academy coaches.

3. Accessible Ottawa Award nominations are open. The City is accepting nominations until September 2 for residents, businesses or groups that have improved accessibility and inclusion in Ottawa.

Sources: City of Ottawa; Nepean Hotspurs Soccer Club.

The Bugle is growing, fast

Image: Barrhaven Bugle.

On July 2, the Barrhaven Bugle went out to 7 subscribers. As of July 20, it goes to 754. Some of you found us through our ads around the neighbourhood, and plenty of you came because a reader passed an issue along. What happens after that is the number we watch: just over 70 per cent of the neighbours who received last Tuesday's issue opened it. People aren't just signing up, they're reading. So here's the ask: if the Bugle has earned its spot in your inbox, forward this issue to one friend, one neighbour, or a local business owner who serves Barrhaven. The momentum is real, and the more of Barrhaven reading it, the better it gets for everyone. Let's keep building.

Source: Substack subscriber count and Issue 5-2026 delivery statistics, July 20, 2026.

Photo: supplied by Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse.

Advertisement · Barrhaven Kidz Clubhouse

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Five Minutes With Keith Goebel

Keith Goebel, organizer of the Barrhaven Classic Car Show

Read more →

Photo: Barrhaven Bugle.

Keith Goebel lives in Old Barrhaven East and runs the Barrhaven Classic Car Show at Clarke Fields, now heading into its eighth year, with proceeds going to CHEO. The show is a team effort, Keith is quick to say: Darrell Bartraw was the first to help get it on the road and still helps with the show today, and Keith's wife, Rosemary, and a lot of good friends pitch in as well. He wants them all to know how much he appreciates their help over the years.

The Barrhaven Classic Car Show is heading into its 8th year at Clarke Fields, with the proceeds going to CHEO. How did it start, and what keeps you doing it year after year?

Started out by going to car shows in the surrounding area, and realizing that Barrhaven was more central to the area, so why not start one up here. People who I talked to in the community liked the idea. What keeps me continuing is that people are still interested in looking at the classics of yesterday.

What goes into putting on a show like this that people never see, and what's the moment each year that makes it all worth it?

A lot of work and legwork: calling, emails, to contact all the sponsors, vendors, arranging music, food, insurance, toilets, advertising, seeking volunteers, and communication with the city. This is all for one day, and hoping that Mother Nature is on our side. Seeing everyone's happy faces, talking to the owners of the classic cars, kids seeing and learning about history.

What's something about Barrhaven only a local would know?

That there definitely is a need for providing more information as to what is happening in the area on a regular basis. For example, are people even aware that a food bank is located next to the library at the Walter Baker Centre? Valuable info for people who need that service.

If you could change one thing about Barrhaven tomorrow, what would it be?

A note about something that can be done in Barrhaven: on Fallowfield and Woodroffe Road, overpasses at the railroad tracks would save on traffic tie-ups and address safety concerns. It would also be great to have a major outdoor swimming pool for local kids.

Who in Barrhaven should we talk to next?

Continue asking opinions of the local people of Barrhaven.

This year's show, the 8th annual, runs Sunday, August 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Clarke Fields Park, with donations to CHEO welcome on site. Details: the CHEO Foundation's event page.

Read the full profile → barrhavenbugle.ca/people/keith-goebel

This interview was conducted in writing through the Bugle's interview form; answers lightly edited for length and clarity.

Business Spotlight

Cat's Pajamas Feline Grooming Studio

Read more →

Photo/source: Cat's Pajamas Feline Grooming Studio website screenshot.

This week's unpaid Featured Business pick is Cat's Pajamas Feline Grooming Studio, a cat-only grooming studio in Barrhaven. Its website describes certified feline groomers providing personalized, hypoallergenic grooming in a spa-style environment built specifically for cats, not dogs. Hours, services and contact details are posted on the homepage, so a first call takes no guesswork.

This is editorial, not an ad or paid placement. We reviewed the business's own public website; no owner quote is implied.

Source: Cat's Pajamas Feline Grooming Studio website, reviewed July 9, 2026.

What's Being Built

Cambrian Road's final summer closure is on now through Friday

Read more →

Photo/source: Barrhaven Bugle.

Councillor David Hill's office says Cambrian Road is closed between Borrisokane Road and Elevation Street until Friday, July 24 for road work. It is the last of three summer closures tied to the ongoing Borrisokane and Cambrian Road roundabout project in Half Moon Bay, and affected residents should have received written notice before the closure began Monday.

Source: Councillor David Hill, road closure notice.

From the Hill, Queen's Park & City Hall

The Bugle is Barrhaven first, so this section starts at City Hall and zooms out: city, then province, then Parliament.

City Hall

Ottawa City Council approved a package of flood-support measures during the week of July 13. The city is partnering with the Canadian Red Cross, waiving building-permit and encroachment fees for storm-related repairs, and expanding its financial-assistance programs for affected residents. The Province has said it plans to activate disaster recovery assistance for eligible flood-affected areas.

That support has a walk-in counter this week. The City's recovery information sessions continue at Ben Franklin Place (101 Centrepointe Drive): Wednesday, July 22 from 4 to 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 2 to 6 p.m., and Saturday, July 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. City staff and Canadian Red Cross partners can answer questions about cleanup, insurance, grants, permits and waste disposal. Anyone still dealing with storm impacts can log them through 3-1-1 or the City's online forms, with storm waste and basement flooding filed as separate requests.

Your councillors: Ward 3 Barrhaven West, David Hill, David.Hill@ottawa.ca, davidhillbarrhaven.ca · Ward 24 Barrhaven East, Wilson Lo, Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca, ward24.ca

Queen's Park

Nepean MPP Tyler Watt published an open letter on July 17 calling on Ontario to expand Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians, so that every Ottawa family affected by the Canada Day storm can apply. That remains Watt's position, not a confirmed provincial decision. Residents should follow official provincial and City updates to confirm their own eligibility. This week he also published his regular Nepean update on Friday.

Your MPP: Tyler Watt, tylerwatt.mpp.co@ola.org, tylerwattmpp.ca, constituency office at 250B Greenbank Road.

The Hill

Where your MP was this week, from his published public schedule. Mark Carney is also the Prime Minister, so his calendar is national: Thursday, touring a defence manufacturing facility in Southwestern Ontario; Friday, a conference in Central Ontario; Sunday, the FIFA World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Public-schedule stops in Nepean or Barrhaven this week: none. This ledger is new this issue and runs every week; it covers publicly scheduled events only, so a quiet day means nothing public was announced, not an idle day.

Your MP: Mark Carney, mark.carney@parl.gc.ca, markcarney.libparl.ca, constituency office at 240 Kennevale Drive (by appointment).

Sources: City of Ottawa; Tyler Watt, MPP for Nepean; Office of the Prime Minister, public schedule advisories; contact details from ottawa.ca, ola.org and ourcommons.ca.

Public Safety

Charge laid after fatal Fallowfield collision. Ottawa Citizen reports, citing Ottawa Police, that a man in his 40s has been charged with careless driving causing death after a May 11 collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian at Fallowfield Road and Via Park Place, near the Fallowfield Park and Ride. The pedestrian died in hospital on May 17. The Bugle is keeping this at the police-update level: no victim name, no accused name, no speculation.

Source: Ottawa Citizen, citing Ottawa Police Service.

Sponsored Section

Image: Job Scout sponsor creative.

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Only in Barrhaven

Only in Barrhaven does the Sunday farmers' market pitch its tents at a park and ride. Nepean Woods spends the work week as commuter asphalt, all bus bays and brake lights, and then every Sunday from 10 to 2 it turns into the neighbourhood's town square: local vendors, strollers, dogs on leashes, and somebody walking back to the car with more vegetables than they planned on. Same pavement, two completely different rush hours, and only one of them ends with everyone leaving happier than they arrived.

Source: Ottawa Farmers' Market.

What Barrhaven's Searching For: Business Intelligence

Barrhaven keeps looking for Saturday hair and nail availability

Image: Barrhaven Bugle / Bugle Business.

This cycle's search board clusters around Saturday hours and walk-in availability for hair and nail services, pairing searches like "are hair salons open on Saturdays" with local walk-in questions near Barrhaven Marketplace. The Bugle directory already lists a deep bench of local salons, barbers and nail operators, so the opening is not a shortage; it's making true Saturday hours and same-day booking unmistakable before a customer leaves home. If that's your shop, the fix can be as small as one clearly described Saturday chair or a same-day booking note on your listing.

Source: Bugle Demand Report, local search trends and community forums.

Renting out a place, selling privately, or want to reach Barrhaven? Advertise with us → barrhavenbugle.ca/advertise

Reader Pulse

Barrhaven, call it before the deck closes Tuesday night. This week's anonymous Reader Spending Pulse is live: no login, no names, aggregate results only. Take the survey.

Source: Bugle Reader Pulse schedule.

Puzzle Corner

Last week's answer: the road named in both the Transitway resurfacing work and Ward 24's road-surface update is Fallowfield Road.

Barrhaven Trivia:* Which park and ride hosts the Barrhaven Farmers' Market every Sunday? *(Answer next week.)

Image: Barrhaven Bugle.

This week's Barrhaven Mini, all local words, a few minutes to solve. Play it now →

Sources: Wilson Lo newsletter (Fallowfield); Ottawa Farmers' Market (trivia answer, held for next issue).

The Strand Herd

Image: The Strand Herd / Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

See every Strand Herd → barrhavenbugle.ca/cartoon

Daily updates keep rolling between Tuesday emails at barrhavenbugle.ca: news, the calendar, The Strand Herd, the directory, listings and other local tools. See the full community calendar anytime: barrhavenbugle.ca/events.

Thanks again to Job Scout for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Have a tip, event, correction or photo? Reply to this email anytime.

Help grow the Bugle: On July 2 the Barrhaven Bugle had 7 subscribers. As of July 20, it has 754, and the team behind it is pushing hard to serve this community. The Tuesday Bugle will always be free. The best way to support it is simple: forward this issue to one friend, neighbour, or local business owner who'd want it. Every forward keeps the Bugle useful and relevant to more of Barrhaven, and it is the single biggest thing you can do to help. They can check the full community calendar here: barrhavenbugle.ca/events. Like, comment, share or restack on Substack when you can, it helps the Bugle reach the next neighbour.

You're reading the Barrhaven Bugle: a weekly, neighbourly read for Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay and South Nepean. Reply anytime; unsubscribe is handled by Substack.

References

• Election tracker: barrhavenbugle.ca/election, source: City of Ottawa certified-candidates data (elections.ottawa.ca API)

• Weekend calendar sources: Kelsey's Barrhaven venue-provided patio music schedule/posters received July 13, 2026; Ottawa Farmers' Market, Woodvale Pentecostal Church

• Riverside Drive lane closures: Bugle brief

• Storm-recovery information sessions: Bugle brief

• Nepean Hotspurs FC Bayern camp: club newsletter

• Accessible Ottawa Award: Bugle brief

• Five Minutes With Keith Goebel: Bugle profile, written interview through the Bugle's interview form; photo: Barrhaven Bugle; show details: CHEO Foundation event page

• Featured Business: Cat's Pajamas Feline Grooming Studio

• Cambrian Road closure: Bugle brief

• Flood-support measures: Bugle brief

• Ward 3 bus-stop improvements: Bugle brief

• Fatal Fallowfield collision charge: Bugle brief

• Storm-related service requests: Bugle brief

• Only in Barrhaven: Ottawa Farmers' Market, Barrhaven Market page

• Puzzle answer: Ottawa Farmers' Market, Barrhaven Market page (source log)

--- END CURRENT DRAFT ---

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From the Top

British metal in the sun at Clarke Fields

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Photo/source: Jay Tarzwell / Barrhaven Bugle.

Saturday brought a slice of Britain to Clarke Fields Park. All British Car Day 2026 ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 11, free admission for the general public, dedicated to classic cars from Great Britain — Rolls-Royce, Bentley, MG, Austin-Healey, Triumph, Jaguar, Lotus, Land Rover, Sunbeam and Mini. Lotus was the featured marque this year, and organizers say the event supports the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

We did not count cars, and we did not count the crowd. What we can tell you is what our own camera saw: before the show, part of the scene near Barrhaven Broadways was already full of British metal in the sun — a green MG, a black vintage roadster, a two-tone Rover-style saloon, and Land Rover-type vehicles squared off at the shoulders.

That is the part of a car show most people miss. Before the field fills and the judging starts, the cars stage and gather nearby — and on Saturday morning, a good number of them rolled right past us on their way in.

Source: All British Car Day Ottawa; Ottawa Valley Triumph Club events page; Bugle photographs taken July 11, 2026.

This Weekend in Barrhaven

Four easy picks this weekend.

• The Log Farm Farmers' Market — Saturday, July 18, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 670 Cedarview Road.

• Family Storytime + Stay & Play — Saturday, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., at Ruth E. Dickinson branch.

• Half Moon Bay Community Association BBQ — Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Minto Recreation Complex.

• Barrhaven Farmers' Market — Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Nepean Woods Park & Ride.

Looking ahead: Kelsey's Original Roadhouse Barrhaven (75 Marketplace Avenue, Unit 6) runs Live Music on the Patio on alternating Saturdays, and its poster says all shows begin at 7 p.m. — the closing run of a season that opened May 31 and has already featured Nayana, Alex Lopez and Andy Cook. The next three dates:

• Sue Prosser — July 25

• IssaBel — August 8

• LeDuo — August 22

If it rains, the poster says the music moves inside to the bar.

Photo/source: Kelsey's Barrhaven venue-provided poster, received July 13, 2026.

See everything on the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events

Sources: The Log Farm; Ottawa Public Library; David Hill; Ottawa Farmers' Market; Kelsey's Barrhaven.

Community Pulse

1. Storm-waste help is still active. Councillor Wilson Lo's update says 12 Barrhaven East households had reported flooded basements after the Canada Day rainfall. Affected residents should report basement flooding to 3-1-1, document damage, and request separate storm-waste collection after placing flood-related waste at the curb.

2. Transitway work is underway. Resurfacing between Berrigan and Fallowfield began early and is expected to take about two weeks. Councillor Lo says the work should have minimal impact on transit service, and faulty traffic-signal detection loops at Fallowfield Road are being replaced in the same window.

3. Canada Day needs successors. Canada Day Barrhaven Inc. says a new not-for-profit team will be needed if the 2027 celebration is going to happen. The current executive has said the work has become too much for the aging volunteer group.

Sources: Wilson Lo newsletter; Canada Day Barrhaven Inc.; Bugle interview.

Business Spotlight

Evergreen Family Health Centre

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Photo/source: Evergreen Family Health Centre website gallery.

This week's unpaid Featured Business pick is Evergreen Family Health Centre, a family medicine clinic currently at Unit 206, 1637 Woodroffe Avenue in Nepean. Its own website says the practice is expanding, with a second location coming soon at 30 Concourse Gate, Nepean.

Services listed include preventive care, chronic disease management and acute illness treatment. Online registration for new patients is open, provided they attend with valid Ontario health coverage.

The clinic also runs walk-in appointments: weekdays at the Woodroffe Avenue site for patients who are not yet registered, and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for both registered and unregistered patients, with urgent cases seen first.

For South Nepean households still looking for a family doctor, the combination of open registration, walk-in access and a planned second site is a practical reason to keep an eye on this practice.

This is editorial, not an ad or paid placement. We reviewed the business's public website; no owner quote is implied.

Source: Evergreen Family Health Centre website, reviewed July 12, 2026.

What's Being Built

City points to housing pipeline and zoning changes

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Ottawa's July 7 housing update says the City is working with Build Canada Homes on up to 3,000 affordable and market-rental homes, including federal-land and non-profit-owned units in the wider pipeline.

The same update points to the Housing Acceleration Plan and new Zoning By-law, which the City says are meant to reduce delays, allow more mid- and high-rise development near transit, loosen parking rules and support more family-sized units in smaller multi-unit buildings. That is citywide policy, but Barrhaven and South Nepean growth will live with the results.

Source: City of Ottawa housing update.

What should the Bugle cover next?

Tell us what you'd like to see in the Bugle — a topic, a local business, an event, or a neighbourhood issue you keep wondering about. Just hit reply; we read every note.

From the Hill & City Hall

Nepean MPP Tyler Watt says he has written to Health Minister Sylvia Jones after Queensway Carleton Hospital announced workforce reductions tied to financial pressures. Watt's July 8 statement says QCH announced layoffs of 87 registered nurses, and argues the cuts will affect frontline workers and patient care at a hospital many Barrhaven and South Nepean families use.

Locally, Councillor Wilson Lo's July 7 newsletter also unbundles a few Ward 24 notes worth keeping on the radar: Fallowfield Road resurfacing is in progress between Greenbank and the railway, Kennedy Craig Forest bridge repairs are being arranged after storm runoff, and Transitway work between Berrigan and Fallowfield is underway.

Sources: Tyler Watt statement; Wilson Lo newsletter; Mark Carney, MP for Nepean.

Public Safety

Two practical safety files are open. First, the storm-recovery file: Councillor Lo's update says Barrhaven East had 12 reported flooded basements after Canada Day rainfall, and points residents to 3-1-1, the City's compassionate grant program and the province's Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians process if it is activated.

Second, the health-care file: Watt's QCH statement warns that announced nursing layoffs would affect patient care at the west-end hospital. That is not a rumour thread; it is a sourced statement from the riding's MPP, and we are keeping it at the hospital-service level rather than naming individual staff or patients.

Sources: Wilson Lo newsletter; City of Ottawa storm guidance; Tyler Watt statement.

Sponsored Section

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Only in Barrhaven

Only in Barrhaven can a storm-repair note become a mental map of everyone's walking route: which bridge, which creek, which shortcut, and who will forget until they are standing in front of the closure.

The big systems matter. So do the tiny local paths that make a neighbourhood feel connected.

What Barrhaven's Searching For — Business Intelligence

Barrhaven customers need route notes before they drive

The Bugle Demand Report is still seeing road-access questions turn into business questions. With July and August ramp impacts at Moodie, Pinecrest/Greenbank and Holly Acres, any clinic, restaurant, shop or service business that depends on appointments or pickups should make access obvious: best entrance, detour note, pickup buffer, and whether hours are unchanged.

Source: Bugle Demand Report; City of Ottawa and OC Transpo notices.

Reader Pulse

Barrhaven, call it before the deck closes Tuesday night. This week's anonymous Reader Pulse is live — no login, no names, aggregate results only. Take the survey.

Source: Bugle Reader Pulse schedule.

Puzzle Corner

Last week's answer: the conservation area with the boardwalk toward the Vimy Memorial Bridge is Chapman Mills Conservation Area.

Barrhaven Trivia:* Which Barrhaven road is named in both the current Transitway resurfacing work and this week's road-surface explanation from Ward 24? *(Answer next week.)

This week's Barrhaven Mini is up — a few minutes, all local words → barrhavenbugle.ca/games

Sources: Rideau Valley Conservation Authority; Wilson Lo newsletter.

The Strand Herd

Image: The Strand Herd / Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

See every Strand Herd → barrhavenbugle.ca/cartoon

Help steer the Bugle

The Bugle is better when neighbours help steer it. Reply with the stories you want us to chase, and we'll get to work on them.

Daily updates keep rolling between Tuesday emails at barrhavenbugle.ca — news, the calendar, The Strand Herd, the directory, games and local tools. See the full community calendar anytime: barrhavenbugle.ca/events.

Thanks again to Job Scout for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Have a tip, event, correction or photo? Reply to this email. Forward this to one Barrhaven neighbour who needs the weekend plan: barrhavenbugle.ca/events. If this was useful, please like, comment, share or restack on Substack — it helps the Bugle reach the next neighbour.

You're reading the Barrhaven Bugle — a weekly, neighbourly read for Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay and South Nepean. Reply anytime; unsubscribe is handled by Substack.

References

• All British Car Day Ottawa — official event site and Ottawa Valley Triumph Club events page

• Kennedy Craig Forest / Fallowfield / Transitway / storm-waste notes — Wilson Lo Ward 24 newsletter

• City storm-related waste guidance — Bugle storm-waste brief (official City URL in source log)

• Canada Day succession note — Canada Day Barrhaven

• Weekend calendar sources — The Log Farm, Ottawa Public Library, Ottawa Farmers' Market, Kelsey's Barrhaven venue-provided patio music schedule/posters received July 13, 2026

• Housing update — Bugle housing brief (official City URL in source log)

• Disaster-relief request — Tyler Watt, MPP

• QCH workforce-reduction response — Tyler Watt, MPP

• MP local activity — Mark Carney, MP for Nepean

• Featured Business — Evergreen Family Health Centre

• Puzzle answer — Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, Chapman Mills Conservation Area page (source log)

Thursday, July 9, 2026

Photo: Vimy Memorial Bridge, Barrhaven Bugle file image.

Who this is for — and how to pass it on

The Barrhaven Business Brief is a free, every-two-weeks business-intelligence report for people who run a small business in Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay or South Nepean. Each issue gathers what’s happening in town — construction and road work, who’s opening and closing, City Hall decisions, and what residents are actually searching for — and connects it to the regional and national trends that hit your bottom line. Then it tells you, in plain English, what each one means for your business.

Not a business owner? You’re getting this as a Barrhaven Bugle subscriber — please forward it to a local owner you know. It’s built for them.

It’s free this summer. We’re finding our feet, and we want your input: reply and tell us what would actually help you. We plan to move to a paid Brief down the road — read now and you help shape it, and founding readers keep a locked rate.

Only want the regular Bugle news? Easiest fix: reply “just the news” and we’ll take you off the Business Brief only — your Tuesday Bugle stays. (You can also toggle it yourself in your Substack account settings; skip the big “unsubscribe” button, which removes everything.)

In this issue

• Access shifts on Borrisokane, Fallowfield and Greenbank.

• Barrhaven Indian Bazaar opens; Wan’s Chinese Food closes after 33 years.

• Ottawa’s updated business-licensing rules lower the barrier for one-day vendors.

• Current demand signals point to after-hours availability, specialty food and exact professional-service searches.

• In Focus: why SEO now has two neighbours — AEO and GEO — and the no-budget fix that helps all three.

1. On the Horizon — Development & Construction

• Borrisokane access shifts again next week: Borrisokane Road from Cambrian Road to Haiku Street is scheduled to close July 13 to 17, the second of three summer closures tied to the Borrisokane/Cambrian roundabout project. Source: Councillor David Hill

• Fallowfield work continues through the summer window: Councillor Wilson Lo’s June 23 update says resurfacing on Fallowfield Road between Greenbank Road and the railway began June 26 and includes overnight work, catch-basin re-levelling and repairs where needed. Source: Councillor Wilson Lo

• Greenbank transformer review closes July 11: Hydro Ottawa’s Greenbank municipal transformer station project is in a 30-day public review and comment period through the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry. Source: Councillor David Hill

What it means: Access is part of availability. If customers, staff or deliveries touch Half Moon Bay, Fallowfield, Greenbank or the west-end 417 ramps, post the best route, entrance and pickup instructions before the customer has to ask.

2. Open / Closed — Commercial Moves

• Opened: Barrhaven Indian Bazaar has opened at 150 Marketplace Avenue. Nepean MPP Tyler Watt’s June 27 update says he attended the grand opening with councillors David Hill and Wilson Lo, and describes the store as offering South Asian groceries and products. Source: Tyler Watt, MPP

• Closed: CTV Ottawa reported that Wan’s Chinese Food at 3500 Fallowfield Road closed permanently on June 27 after 33 years in Barrhaven. Source: CTV Ottawa

What it means: Food retail is moving at both ends: one longtime takeout habit ended, and one new specialty-grocery stop entered the Marketplace area — while this cycle’s demand board shows residents searching for specialty ingredients they currently drive downtown for. If you sell food, groceries or takeout, keep category shelves, menu photos, hours and “open now” details current.

3. City Hall Watch — Decisions That Cost or Save You Money

Ottawa Council has approved a new business-licensing bylaw that the City says simplifies several categories and includes lower-cost one-day licences for refreshment and mobile vendors at festivals and community events. Source: City of Ottawa

What it means: A one-day market, festival or community-event licence is now a lower-risk way to test a concept before committing to a lease. Re-check the new licence path before booking a summer or fall event.

5. The Footfall Calendar — When Barrhaven Shows Up

• July 9: Better Homes Ottawa July webinar, noon to 1 p.m., covering the City’s low-interest loan and incentive program for home energy retrofits. Source: City of Ottawa / Zoom registration

• July 9: Speed Puzzle Competition at The Royal Oak Barrhaven, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Source: Eventbrite

• July 12 and July 19: Barrhaven Farmers’ Market, Nepean Woods Park & Ride, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Source: Ottawa Farmers’ Market

• July 18: The Log Farm Farmers’ Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Source: The Log Farm

What it means: These are dated planning cues, not attendance promises. Restaurants, cafés, retailers, contractors and family-facing services can use them for staffing, current photos, pickup windows, nearby directions and list-building.

6. The Big Picture — National Trends, Local Meaning

CFIB’s June Business Barometer showed small-business long-term optimism edged up from May but stayed just below the neutral 50 mark, with fuel, tax and wage costs the biggest pressures. The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on June 10 and said uncertainty remained high. Source: Bank of Canada

Barrhaven’s June housing snapshot reads firmer than May: average freehold price $716,384, down 1.1% year over year, with 146 sales and 27 days on market. Ottawa-wide, OREB called June balanced, with activity easing into early-summer patterns and sales trailing slightly behind 2025.

What it means: We do not forecast — we relay named sources. June was a better backdrop for move-up spending than May suggested: renovations, furnishings, services and discretionary retail often follow a sale. But confidence is still below neutral, so the practical move is the same: reduce friction where a customer is already close to buying or booking.

7. What Barrhaven Wants — Demand Signal

This cycle’s demand board is a signal board, not a census. It combines Google autocomplete and Reddit-derived prompts, then classifies them for business use. [Source: Barrhaven Demand Report board, generated July 8, 2026 from Google autocomplete and Reddit inputs]

Three patterns stand out this cycle:

• Weekend and after-hours availability is a decision-maker. Residents are searching “nail/hair salon Saturday hours,” “walk-in clinic Barrhaven open now / open Sunday,” and “daycare that opens on weekends.” They are checking whether you are open before they call.

• Cuisine-specific takeout and specialty groceries show thin supply. “Indian takeout,” “sushi takeout” and “healthy takeout Barrhaven” are searched by name, and one r/Nepean resident cooking a Malaysian dish said they had to drive to Somerset Street downtown to find specialty ingredients — a local retail gap the new Indian Bazaar partly answers.

• Professional services split by exact need. “Divorce / estate / employment / immigration lawyer Barrhaven” and “tax accountant Barrhaven” are searched as distinct phrases, ahead of the usual fall season — a generic “lawyer” or “accountant” listing is invisible to searchers who already know what they want.

Use the edge: Open your Google Business Profile Performance report and read the actual search terms that already trigger your listing. Cross-check them against this cycle’s phrases — “near Costco,” “Saturday hours,” “open now,” “direct billing,” a cuisine word, or a practice area — and put the true answer in your profile, latest post, service list, homepage and voicemail.

8. In Focus — SEO, AEO and GEO: how customers find you now

For a decade, “getting found” meant ranking higher in Google’s blue links. That still matters, but it is no longer the whole game. Nearly seven in ten Google searches now end without anyone clicking through to a website.

The answer increasingly shows up on the page itself, in an AI Overview, or the customer skips Google entirely and asks ChatGPT or Gemini, “who’s the best physio near Costco in Barrhaven?” The businesses that get named are the ones whose basic facts are complete, consistent and easy for a machine to read.

That is not a reason to panic or hire anyone. It is a reason to make sure the plain facts about your business — hours, location, services, and the answer to the one question customers ask before they choose — are published clearly in the places these systems read. Here is the plain-English version: what SEO, AEO and GEO mean, the move that helps all three, and a 30-second test you can run today.

Bugle explainer graphic: SEO, AEO and GEO are three discovery paths fed by the same clear business facts.

9. AI for Your Business — SEO isn’t the only game anymore: meet AEO and GEO

For years, “getting found online” meant SEO — Search Engine Optimization — earning a spot in Google’s ranked list of links. That still matters most. Two newer terms describe how people increasingly find businesses, and it is worth knowing them before a vendor sells you one:

• AEO — Answer Engine Optimization. Being the source that gets quoted in the direct answer: Google’s AI Overview at the top of the page, the featured snippet, or a voice-assistant reply. The customer gets the answer without scrolling a list.

• GEO — Generative Engine Optimization. Being the business an AI assistant names when it writes an answer — when someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity for “a good electrician in Barrhaven,” GEO is what gets you into that reply.

Why it matters here: more customers now ask an AI assistant for “a good X near me,” and being left out is a real gap — one May 2026 benchmark found 83% of restaurants were invisible in AI-generated recommendations, even though most had done the usual Google listing work.

A caution, because the hype is loud:* Google still handles the overwhelming majority of searches, and AI Overviews draw mostly from pages that already rank well. This is a second layer, not a replacement. The good news: the same three moves feed all three, at *no new budget:

1. A complete, active Google Business Profile — correct primary category, hours, services, current photos, and a reply to every review. 2. The exact same name, address and phone number everywhere online — a single mismatch across directories lowers how much these systems trust you. 3. A plain, factual answer to the one question customers ask, high on the page — no throat-clearing. Princeton’s 2024 “GEO” study found that adding specific numbers, a real quote and citations to trusted sources can increase how often AI tools cite a page — with the largest lift for sites not already ranked at the very top.

The 30-second test: open Google and search “best coffee in Barrhaven” (swap in your own category). If an AI Overview appears, click the arrow to see which sites it is citing. Not there? That is exactly the gap this closes.

First step this week: pick the single question a customer asks before choosing you — “do you direct bill?”, “are you open Saturday?”, “do you take walk-ins?” — and put the true, one-line answer at the top of your Google Business Profile description and the matching page on your website. That one move helps the blue links, the AI Overview, and ChatGPT.

Want a quick outside look? The first three Barrhaven-area owners who reply “assessment” will get a free, plain-English findability check from the Bugle: what your website and Google Business Profile say clearly, what is missing, and one no-budget fix to make you easier to find.

This is the first of a short series. Next: how AI systems actually pick which local business to name — and the foundation that earns the citation. The Bugle runs its own public /answers/ hub as a live testbed for exactly this, and we share what works. Reply if you’d like a walkthrough for your business.

10. The Exchange — your questions, concerns, and advice

No business@ or founding@ items arrived in the checked window for this issue.

Send us the friction point you keep hearing from customers — access, parking, staffing, hours, insurance, reviews, delivery, menu photos, or anything else. We will use the best owner questions in a future Brief, with attribution only when you consent.

Reply to this email or write business@barrhavenbugle.ca.

The Barrhaven Business Brief is built for people running a business in Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay and South Nepean. Reply anytime or write business@barrhavenbugle.ca. Corrections: corrections@barrhavenbugle.ca.

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From the Top

Barrhaven Canada Day needs a new team after fireworks cancellation

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Photo/source: Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

Barrhaven’s Canada Day fireworks were stopped by the weather. They were not rescheduled because of money.

Darrell Bartraw, President of Canada Day Barrhaven Inc., told the Bugle the 2026 celebration covered its costs — but only because organizers cancelled the fireworks instead of trying to stage them later.

“There was no shortage,” Bartraw said. “Everything was covered. If we had put off the fireworks, we would have had a shortage.”

The July 1 lightning meant the fireworks could not safely go ahead that night. The original plan was to reschedule them. But after organizers looked at the numbers, Bartraw said they decided they could not afford to.

The group’s official announcement says the cancellation, rather than postponement, was needed so organizers could recover part of the fireworks cost and meet obligations to suppliers, contractors, entertainers and service providers.

Rain also hurt the event’s revenue. Bartraw said last year’s 50/50 draw brought in about $6,000. This year, it brought in about $2,000 — a drop of roughly $4,000 on that piece alone. Games and rides that were expected to bring in money also took a hit because crowds were smaller.

“People didn’t come to the event because it was raining,” he said.

But the finances are only one side of the problem. The bigger issue now is whether a new team can take over.

Bartraw said the current executive had already decided before this year’s midway that they would not return to organize another Canada Day. He has been involved with the event for 16 years and is turning 70 this year. He said the committee is aging out of the physical and organizational workload.

“We’re getting too old, and there’s a lot of heavy lifting on the stuff that we do,” he said. “The bones just aren’t there anymore.”

That work does not end when the crowds leave. Bartraw said cleanup and teardown took four days this year, and there is still work to do, including equipment and storage questions connected to the fields.

Bartraw said he has heard from people interested in bringing the event back, and expects to meet with them in the coming weeks to explain what is actually involved.

“A lot of people say, ‘Oh yeah, I can do that,’” he said. “And then when I start telling them the list, that could change people’s minds.”

The timing matters. The official announcement says any group hoping to revive the celebration for 2027 should form a not-for-profit before September, so it can apply for Canadian Heritage funding when applications open in October.

For Barrhaven, this is the reality behind the cancelled fireworks. The storm ended the show. The lost revenue ended the reschedule. And now the future of the whole celebration depends on whether a new team is ready to take it on.

Sources: Bugle interview with Darrell Bartraw, President of Canada Day Barrhaven Inc.; Canada Day Barrhaven Inc. official announcement, July 2026 — https://canadadaybarrhaven.ca/; CTV News Ottawa, July 4, 2026 — https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/barrhaven-canada-day-fireworks-in-doubt-after-organizers-walk-away-cancel-2026-display/

This Weekend in Barrhaven

It is a light calendar weekend after Canada Day, but there are still two easy neighbourhood picks.

• Hand Sew a Book/E-Reader Sleeve — Saturday, July 11, 1 to 4 p.m., at Ruth E. Dickinson branch. OPL lists this as a registered teen workshop with EcoEquitable, materials provided.

• Barrhaven Farmers’ Market — Sunday, July 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Nepean Woods Park & Ride. The weekly market runs through October with local vendors, food, and the usual chance to bump into half the neighbourhood while “just picking up a few things.”

See everything on the full calendar: https://barrhavenbugle.ca/events/

Sources: Ottawa Public Library — https://booking.biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/event/hand-sew-booke-reader-sleeve Ottawa Farmers’ Market — https://ottawafarmersmarket.ca/barrhaven-market/

Community Pulse

1. Police office hours paused at Walter Baker. Wilson Lo’s June 30 update says Ottawa Police office hours at Walter Baker Sports Centre are suspended until the end of August because of space conflicts. Residents can still call Ottawa Police for general inquiries and non-emergency concerns from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily; emergencies remain 9-1-1.

2. Household hazardous-waste depot coming to Strandherd. The next depot near Barrhaven is listed for Saturday, October 17, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Strandherd snow dump, 4061 Strandherd Drive, with entry via Dealership Drive. Check the City’s HHW page before loading the car.

3. Youth ride OC Transpo free this summer. OC Transpo says riders ages 11 to 18 can use buses, trains and Para Transpo free from July 1 through August 31 with a properly set Presto card. Kids 10 and under continue to ride free year-round.

Sources: Wilson Lo newsletter — https://trombone-bat-szbz.squarespace.com/newsletters/weekly-newsletter-june-30-2026 OC Transpo youth fares — https://www.octranspo.com/en/news/article/youth-age-11-18-ride-free-all-summer/

Business Spotlight

Code Ninjas Barrhaven

Read more →

Photo/source: Code Ninjas Barrhaven website screenshot.

This week’s unpaid Featured Business pick is Code Ninjas Barrhaven, the coding and STEM studio for kids in the neighbourhood. Its website describes programs for ages 5 to 14, with game-based coding, robotics, AI and STEM activities built around the Code Ninjas “dojo” model. For families, it is one nearby option for tech-focused enrichment without driving across the city.

This is editorial, not an ad or paid placement. We reviewed the business’s own public website and the Bugle Featured Business archive; no owner quote is implied.

Source: Code Ninjas Barrhaven website, reviewed June 27, 2026 — https://www.codeninjas.com/barrhaven-on-ca

What’s Being Built

Barnsdale Road EA remains open for comment

Read more →

The Barnsdale Road Environmental Assessment is still in its online consultation window. Councillor David Hill’s office says the City is studying future improvements between Highway 416 and Prince of Wales Drive, including the possibility of widening Barnsdale to four lanes as growth continues along the south edge.

The online materials and survey are listed as open until Friday, July 10. If Barnsdale is part of your commute, school run, or weekend route, this is the week to read the options and send comments before the window closes.

Source: David Hill councillor site — https://www.davidhillbarrhaven.ca/post/barnsdale-road-environmental-assessment-study-tuesday-june-23-until-friday-july-10-2026

From the Hill & City Hall

In Nepean, Watt’s office says Ottawa representatives have asked the province to assess Canada Day storm damage for possible disaster-recovery assistance. Canada Day Barrhaven Inc. is also asking for new organizers if the community wants the annual celebration and fireworks revived for 2027.

Carney’s office says the Prime Minister visited the Barrhaven West Community Association’s Canada Day festival at Clarke Fields, while Diana Fox Carney attended the 75 Barrhaven Royal Canadian Air Cadets Squadron’s annual ceremonial review at Howard Darwin Centennial Arena.

At City Hall, Lo’s office says Fallowfield Road resurfacing between Greenbank Road and the railway has started. In Barrhaven West, Hill’s office is pointing residents to the Barnsdale Road EA before the July 10 deadline and the Greenbank transformer-station review period, which runs into mid-July. South Nepean riders should also check OC Transpo’s summer service changes and free-youth-fare rules.

Sources: Tyler Watt, MPP — https://tylerwattmpp.substack.com/p/open-letter-ottawa-leaders-call-for Canada Day Barrhaven Inc. — https://canadadaybarrhaven.ca/ Mark Carney, MP for Nepean — https://markcarney.libparl.ca/2026/07/02/prime-minister-carney-kicks-off-canada-day-celebrations-in-nepean-at-clarke-fields-park/ Mark Carney, MP for Nepean — https://markcarney.libparl.ca/2026/06/29/mirs-fox-carney-honours-air-cadets-graduates-of-the-75-barrhaven-royal-canadian-air-cadets-squadrons-annual-ceremonial-review/ Wilson Lo newsletter — https://trombone-bat-szbz.squarespace.com/newsletters/weekly-newsletter-june-30-2026 David Hill Barnsdale EA notice — https://www.davidhillbarrhaven.ca/post/barnsdale-road-environmental-assessment-study-tuesday-june-23-until-friday-july-10-2026 David Hill Greenbank transformer notice — https://www.davidhillbarrhaven.ca/post/30-day-public-review-greenbank-transformer-station-project OC Transpo service changes — https://www.octranspo.com/en/plan-your-trip/service-changes/

Public Safety

Water safety is back in the summer reminder file. Lo’s June 30 newsletter points to Ottawa Public Health guidance after local public-safety partners urged residents to be careful around pools, beaches, rivers and boats: do not swim alone, keep children within arm’s reach, use properly fitted life-jackets or PFDs for weaker swimmers, and call 9-1-1 when someone is in trouble.

Source: Wilson Lo newsletter, citing Ottawa Public Health water-safety resources — https://trombone-bat-szbz.squarespace.com/newsletters/weekly-newsletter-june-30-2026

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Only in Barrhaven

Only in Barrhaven can a “tiny” sidewalk opening feel like a ribbon-cutting moment because everyone knows exactly which awkward gap it fixed.

That is the local scale we live on: a missing slab near Longfields, a market parking-lot chat at Nepean Woods, a road-work notice you forward to the neighbour who will forget. Barrhaven notices the missing piece.

What Barrhaven’s Searching For — Business Intelligence

Barrhaven homeowners keep searching for local trades by name

The Bugle Demand Report keeps seeing residents search for trades with the neighbourhood attached — phrases like Barrhaven plumber and Barrhaven residential electrician, not just “Ottawa.” Homeowners want recent local proof; for trades operators, the opportunity is simple: show Barrhaven job photos, name the neighbourhoods served, and make small-service booking obvious.

Source: Bugle Demand Report — local search trends and community forums. Business board: https://barrhavenbugle.ca/business/

Puzzle Corner

Last week’s answer: the OC Transpo route serving Clarke Fields for Canada Day was Route 70.

Barrhaven Trivia:* Which Barrhaven conservation area has a 1.5 km boardwalk along the Rideau River toward the Vimy Memorial Bridge? *(Answer next week.)

This week’s Barrhaven Mini is up — a few minutes, all local words → barrhavenbugle.ca/games

Sources: Canada Day Barrhaven transportation page; RVCA Chapman Mills Conservation Area page.

The Strand Herd

Image: The Strand Herd / Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

See every Strand Herd → barrhavenbugle.ca/cartoon

Daily updates keep rolling between Tuesday emails at https://barrhavenbugle.ca — news, the calendar, The Strand Herd, the directory, games and local tools.

Thanks again to Job Scout for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Have a tip, event, correction or photo? Reply to this email. If this was useful, please like, comment, share, restack, or forward it to a Barrhaven neighbour. Share the Bugle: https://barrhavenbugle.ca/

You’re reading the Barrhaven Bugle — a weekly, neighbourly read for Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay and South Nepean. Reply anytime; unsubscribe is handled by Substack.

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From the Top

Image: Canada Day Barrhaven — 2026 schedule poster.

Canada Day in Barrhaven takes over Clarke Fields, June 30 and July 1

Read more →

The suburb’s biggest annual gathering is back. The Mattamy Homes Canada Day in Barrhaven celebration runs across two days at Clarke Fields, 93 Houlahan St — starting today, Tuesday, June 30, and continuing through Wednesday, July 1.

Today (June 30)* brings the Classic Car Show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., then the Country Music Fest from 1:15 p.m. right through to 10:45 p.m. Wednesday (July 1) is the full family day: a seniors’ breakfast from 9 to 10:30 a.m., Kidz Zone, crafts and Velocity Games from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., multicultural food vendors and main-stage programming through the afternoon, and *fireworks at 10 p.m.

The one thing to sort out before you go is how you’ll get there — there is no on-site parking for most visitors.

Getting there car-free:

• OC Transpo is free all day on Canada Day (buses, trains and Para Transpo). Route 70 serves Clarke Fields, using stops 1230 and 1231 at Tartan and Houlahan.

• Organizer shuttles run July 1 only, from Heart & Crown Barrhaven and Your Independent Grocer. Departures are listed from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., with return arrivals until 11 p.m.; the last bus leaves both pickup points at 9 p.m. The organizer asks for a small round-trip donation.

• Bikes: a free secured bike lock-up is available on site.

Expect no-parking zones on Borrisokane, Strandherd, Tartan and Houlahan near the grounds, and a fireworks-period closure of Strandherd between Borrisokane and Maravista from 9:45 p.m. until the fireworks finish. Plan the trip now, leave the car at home, and the evening gets a lot easier.

Sources: Canada Day Barrhaven — Schedule of Events and Transportation; OC Transpo — Canada Day service; Bugle Canada Day answer hub, sources checked June 29.

This Weekend in Barrhaven

The out-and-about calendar is front-loaded this week: today and Wednesday are the big ones, with Canada Day Barrhaven taking over Clarke Fields for the car show, country music, family programming and Wednesday night fireworks. After that, the weekend itself is quieter — but there are still a few good reasons to get out.

• Saturday, July 4 — Lalande Conservation Park reopening: the City expects the full park to reopen by July 4, subject to continued wildlife monitoring; dogs must stay leashed. Calendar →

• Sunday, July 5 — licence-free family fishing: Canadian residents can fish Ontario waters without buying a licence through the end of Family Fishing Week, Sunday, July 5; regular rules and limits still apply. More →

• Sunday, July 5 — Barrhaven Farmers’ Market: Nepean Woods Park & Ride, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The weekly Sunday market is back in its regular slot with the local vendor lineup. Details →

See the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events →

Sources: Ottawa Farmers’ Market — Barrhaven Market; Ontario Family Fishing; City of Ottawa e-subscriptions — Lalande Conservation Park phased reopening.

Community Pulse

1. A new grocery stop has opened in the Marketplace district. Nepean MPP Tyler Watt’s June 27 update says he attended the grand opening of Barrhaven Indian Bazaar at 150 Marketplace Avenue, alongside councillors David Hill and Wilson Lo. The store offers South Asian groceries and products — another everyday option close to home. Read more →

2. Wan’s Chinese Food has closed after 33 years. CTV Ottawa reported the longtime restaurant at 3500 Fallowfield Road closed permanently on June 27. It’s the kind of closing that has longtime residents comparing notes on their regular order. Read more →

3. Queensway Carleton Hospital is recruiting advisers. Councillor Wilson Lo’s June 23 newsletter points residents to QCH’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, with applications open until June 30. Details →

Sources: Tyler Watt, MPP — community update, June 27, 2026; CTV Ottawa; Wilson Lo — weekly newsletter, June 23, 2026.

Featured Business

Image: Mountaingoat Yoga website screenshot, via the Barrhaven Bugle featured-business archive.

Mountaingoat Yoga

Read more →

Mountaingoat Yoga is one of those Barrhaven studios that has been here long enough to feel like part of the furniture. Its site says it was founded in Barrhaven in 2003, with a boutique yoga space built around classes for different levels and bodies.

That’s worth knowing because Barrhaven keeps growing, and the genuinely local places that have kept showing up for neighbours are easy to overlook until you need them. Hours, class details and contact information all sit on the website, so a first visit takes no guesswork. Have a look for yourself, and if it turns out to be a fit, tell them the Bugle pointed you their way. Visit the studio →

Editorial disclosure: this is an unpaid editorial feature based on public business information, not an ad and not a paid placement.

Source: Mountaingoat Yoga website and Barrhaven Bugle featured-business archive, reviewed June 25, 2026.

What’s Being Built

Barnsdale Road consultation stays open until July 10

Read more →

The City’s Barnsdale Road Environmental Assessment is running an online consultation until July 10. The study covers Barnsdale Road between Highway 416 and Prince of Wales Drive and looks at future improvements — including whether the road should eventually widen to four lanes as South Nepean grows.

This is not a construction notice. It’s the planning stage where residents can still review the materials and send feedback, and those studies turn into future designs long before any shovels show up.

Source: David Hill — Councillor site / City of Ottawa Barnsdale EA Study.

From the Hill & City Hall

Councillor Wilson Lo says he has filed a formal inquiry asking City staff to revisit how small amounts of construction and renovation waste are handled at the curb. His June 23 newsletter notes that residents doing small home projects can currently face landfill disposal requirements and a Trail Road flat rate for construction/renovation waste under 250 kilograms; staff are expected to respond over the summer.

Ward note: Lo’s office also flags that resurfacing on Fallowfield Road, between Greenbank Road and the railway, began June 26 and continues through the summer work window, including some overnight work.

At Queen’s Park, Nepean MPP Tyler Watt is handing out free Canada Day lawn signs at his constituency office while supplies last, with pickup listed through June 30. In a separate June 24 post he argued the province should put more public money toward cost-of-living relief — partisan commentary rather than a service notice, but a current statement from Barrhaven’s provincial representative.

Sources: Wilson Lo — weekly newsletter, June 23, 2026; Tyler Watt, MPP — constituency office Canada Day lawn signs; Tyler Watt, MPP — June 24, 2026.

Public Safety

Ottawa Council received the Ottawa Paramedic Service’s 2025 annual report this week. The report says Level Zero time — periods when no paramedic crews are available — fell to under 1,000 minutes in 2025, down from about 11,000 minutes in 2024 and roughly 73,000 minutes four years earlier.

That figure is citywide, but it matters in fast-growing suburbs like ours, where response capacity is a daily quality-of-life concern.

Source: Ottawa Paramedic Service 2025 annual report / eScribe Council item.

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Only in Barrhaven

There is a very Barrhaven kind of long-weekend math happening right now: one tab for the fireworks time, one for the shuttle schedule, one for which roads close at 9:45, and one for whether you can squeeze in the last grocery run before everyone else has the same idea.

Some places mark the start of summer by the drive to the cottage. Around here, it’s the evening the whole suburb quietly agrees to leave the car at home, point its lawn chairs the same direction at Clarke Fields, and let the kids stay up for the ten o’clock fireworks — bedtime negotiated, just this once.

What Barrhaven’s Searching For — Business Intelligence

Barrhaven wants coffee with plants and flowers

The Bugle Demand Report keeps seeing searches for a café-plus-plants or café-plus-flowers experience — not just a standard coffee stop, and not just a florist. It’s a small but telling local signal: people are looking for a place to browse, gift and linger, all in one stop.

The obvious test is modest — a weekend pop-up inside an existing café, florist, market stall or community event. If it works, Barrhaven will tell us quickly. Run a local business that could fill the gap? Add your business →

Source: Bugle Demand Report — local search trends and community forums.

Puzzle Corner

Last week’s answer: the City’s June 23 EA consultation is studying Barnsdale Road, between Highway 416 and Prince of Wales Drive.

Barrhaven Trivia:* Which OC Transpo route serves Clarke Fields for the Canada Day celebration? *(Answer next week.)

This week’s Barrhaven Mini is up — a few minutes, all local words → barrhavenbugle.ca/games

Sources: David Hill — Councillor site / City of Ottawa Barnsdale EA Study; Canada Day Barrhaven — Transportation (route 70 serves Clarke Fields).

The Strand Herd

Image: The Strand Herd / Barrhaven Bugle illustration.

See every Strand Herd → barrhavenbugle.ca/cartoon

Barrhavenbugle.ca updates between Tuesday emails with events, quick news briefs, The Strand Herd, the directory, listings and other local tools.

Thanks again to Job Scout for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Have a tip, photo, event or correction? Reply to this email anytime.

Help grow the Bugle

If this was useful, please like it, leave a comment and share it with a Barrhaven neighbour. Every forward and restack helps more people find the local calendar, road updates, council notes and small-business stories we’re building together. Share the Bugle →

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Thursday, June 25, 2026

Missed the launch issue? Start here: Business Brief 1-2026.

§1 On the Horizon — Development & Construction

• Barnsdale Road study: the City’s Environmental Assessment consultation runs June 23 to July 10 for Barnsdale Road between Highway 416 and Prince of Wales Drive, including possible future widening. Source: Councillor David Hill / City of Ottawa Barnsdale EA Study

• Borrisokane closure: Borrisokane Road is scheduled to close from Cambrian Road to Flagstaff Drive from July 6 to July 12 for work tied to the Borrisokane/Cambrian roundabout project. Source: Councillor David Hill

What it means: Half Moon Bay and South Nepean operators should treat the first as a planning file and the second as an immediate access issue. Add route notes to appointment reminders before closure week.

§3 City Hall Watch — Decisions That Cost or Save You Money

The City’s Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committee approved a new Licensing By-law that would simplify several business licence categories, including lower-cost one-day licences for refreshment and mobile vendors at festivals and community events. Source: City of Ottawa eScribe, committee item 20

Restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs seeking Ottawa 200 extended alcohol-service hours need a City letter of municipal significance and an AGCO special permit; the City says each step can take up to 30 days and advises applying by the end of June. Source: City of Ottawa permits page

What it means: Pop-up vendors and venues should watch the Council outcome. If September programming matters, the paperwork clock starts now.

§5 The Footfall Calendar — When Barrhaven Shows Up

• June 28: Barrhaven Farmers’ Market, Nepean Woods Park & Ride, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Source: Ottawa Farmers’ Market

• June 30–July 1: Canada Day Barrhaven at Clarke Fields, including the June 30 classic car show and country music program, then July 1 family programming and fireworks. Source: Canada Day Barrhaven

• July 1: OC Transpo says buses, trains and Para Transpo will be free on Canada Day, with extra service through the day and evening. Source: City of Ottawa Canada Day travel page

What it means: Free transit and no-parking event patterns change where people arrive, walk and wait. If you are near Clarke Fields or a transit connection, make directions obvious.

§6 The Big Picture — National Trends, Local Meaning

The May Barrhaven market snapshot shows an average freehold price of $672,534, down 6.7% year over year, with 152 sales and 32 days on market. Ottawa-wide, OREB described May as “balanced but cautious,” with 3.0 months of inventory and sales down 10.6% from May 2025.

CFIB’s May Business Barometer put the long-term optimism index at 46.3, below the neutral 50 mark, with insufficient demand cited by 53% of small firms. The Bank of Canada held its overnight rate steady on June 10 and said the economy remained in excess supply. Source: Bank of Canada

What it means: Local summer footfall is useful, but cautious demand is still the backdrop. Every hours update, menu photo and review reply is conversion work.

§7 What Barrhaven Wants — Demand Signal

This issue’s demand board is a signal board, not a census. It combines Google autocomplete and Reddit-derived local prompts, then classifies them for business use.

The pattern this week: residents are searching by friction point — dental hours, direct billing, open-now salons, physiotherapy reviews, local trades, legal practice areas, Indian takeout, and coffee-plus-plants. [Source: Barrhaven Demand Report board, generated June 21, 2026 from Google autocomplete and Reddit inputs]

Use the edge: Open your Google Business Profile Performance report and look at search queries, calls, direction requests and peak times. If people find you by “open now,” “reviews,” “near Costco,” “direct billing,” or a practice-area phrase, repeat that exact language in your profile, posts, service list and homepage.

§8 The Bottom Line

Availability is becoming the local marketing message.

“Is my dentist open?” “Will they bill my insurer directly?” “Is a nail salon open now near Costco?” “Which physiotherapy clinic has reviews?” These are not abstract brand questions. They are friction questions asked by a customer close to choosing.

That is fixable without spending money. Hours, service terms, review prompts, menu photos, Saturday availability, walk-in language and neighbourhood cues are part of your storefront now. Pick one high-intent question your customers ask before booking, then put the answer where they search first — Google Business Profile, your homepage, your latest post and your voicemail greeting.

§9 AI for Your Business — beyond the hype

This week: turn search questions into a Google Business Profile checklist.

Paste five customer-search phrases from this Brief into an AI tool: “open now,” “direct billing,” “reviews,” “near Costco,” and “hours.” Ask: “For a local business in my category, turn these into a plain-English Google Business Profile update checklist. Keep it factual and do not invent services we do not offer.”

First step: choose one phrase you can honestly support, update your profile, then check the Performance tab next week to see whether calls, directions or website clicks moved.

§10 The Exchange — your questions, concerns, and advice

No business@ or founding@ items arrived in the checked window for this issue.

Send us the friction point you keep hearing from customers — hours, parking, staffing, reviews, insurance, delivery, access, or anything else. We will use the best owner questions in a future Brief, with attribution only when you consent.

Reply to this email or write business@barrhavenbugle.ca.

The Barrhaven Business Brief is built for people running a business in Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay and South Nepean. Reply anytime or write business@barrhavenbugle.ca. Corrections: corrections@barrhavenbugle.ca.

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From the Top

Fallowfield VIA platform work runs overnight until June 30

Read more →

Night work is underway at Fallowfield VIA Rail Station. Councillor Wilson Lo’s June 16 newsletter says construction runs 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. nightly until June 30, excluding Fridays and weekends — though weather delays could push the schedule into those days.

The work is a partial rebuild of the island platform; the OC Transpo stop is not expected to be affected. Train users and nearby neighbours should expect a short, dated overnight construction window — not an open-ended project.

Source: Wilson Lo — Councillor site, weekly newsletter June 16, 2026.

This Weekend in Barrhaven

Sunday, June 28

• Household Hazardous Waste drop-off — Trail Waste Facility, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Bring items that should not go in regular garbage or recycling, and check the City’s instructions first. Calendar →

• Barrhaven Farmers’ Market — Nepean Woods Park & Ride, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The weekly Sunday market continues with local vendors through the season. Details →

See the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events →

Sources: City of Ottawa — Hazardous Waste & Special Items; Ottawa Farmers’ Market — Barrhaven Market.

Community Pulse

1. Walter Baker pools are closed until June 28. The closure is for structural and deck repair work, with annual maintenance also being done. Check City recreation listings before planning a swim. Read more →

2. Two community-police drop-ins are listed this week. A police open house is on the calendar for June 24, 4–6 p.m. at the Charlie Conacher Building; South District office hours are listed for June 25, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at Walter Baker. Calendar →

3. Borrisokane Road has a July closure window. Councillor David Hill’s office says Borrisokane Road is scheduled to close from Cambrian Road to Flagstaff Drive, July 6–12, for work tied to the Borrisokane/Cambrian roundabout project. Read more →

Sources: Wilson Lo — Councillor site, weekly newsletter June 16, 2026; David Hill — Councillor site.

Featured Business

16 Nails & Spa

Read more →

16 Nails & Spa is one of the Barrhaven salons that quietly does its work without making much noise about it. The booking page lays out plainly what the business does and who it is for — the kind of detail that is easy to overlook until the day you actually need it.

That is worth knowing because Barrhaven keeps growing, and a name you can reach in a few clicks beats one you found three suburbs over. Hours, services and contact details all sit on the booking page, so a first visit or first call takes no guesswork. Have a look for yourself, and if it turns out to be a fit, tell them the Bugle sent you. Book an appointment →

Editorial disclosure: this is an unpaid editorial feature based on public business information, not an ad and not a paid placement.

Source: 16 Nails & Spa public booking page and Barrhaven BIA directory record, reviewed June 16, 2026.

What’s Being Built

Barnsdale Road EA consultation opens online June 23

Read more →

The City’s Barnsdale Road Environmental Assessment study opens an online consultation window from June 23 to July 10. The study covers Barnsdale Road between Highway 416 and Prince of Wales Drive and looks at future improvements, including possible widening to four lanes. It is not a construction notice yet; it is the planning step where residents can review the material and give feedback.

Source: David Hill — Councillor site / City of Ottawa Barnsdale EA Study.

From the Hill & City Hall

City waste update says curbside garbage fell 15 per cent in 2025

Read more →

The Environment and Climate Change Committee received a mid-year Solid Waste Master Plan update saying curbside garbage set out by Ottawa households dropped 15 per cent in 2025, with almost all households staying within the three-item limit. Council is expected to consider the recommendations June 24.

A local piece is already visible: Councillor Wilson Lo’s June 16 newsletter says three-stream bins have been installed at Cresthaven and Stonecrest parks.

Sources: City of Ottawa e-subscriptions / Environment and Climate Change Committee item 17; Wilson Lo weekly newsletter June 16, 2026.

Public Safety

E-bike rider critically injured in Barrhaven crash

Read more →

CTV Ottawa reports that Ottawa police said an e-bike rider suffered life-threatening injuries after a Tuesday morning collision with a cube van at Greenbank Road and Strandherd Drive. We are not naming the injured person, and we will update only from official police or reputable source information.

Source: CTV Ottawa, “Driver of e-bike in critical condition following Barrhaven crash,” updated June 16, 2026.

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Only in Barrhaven

There is a very specific Barrhaven math that happens when someone says, “It’s just at Fallowfield.” Fallowfield at the VIA station? Fallowfield at Greenbank? Fallowfield where you suddenly become a lane-change philosopher? Around here, one road can be a commute, a landmark, a warning and a family pickup plan all at once.

Puzzle Corner

Last week’s answer: before amalgamation, Barrhaven was part of the City of Nepean.

Barrhaven Trivia: Which road corridor between Highway 416 and Prince of Wales Drive is the City studying in its June 23 EA consultation?

This week’s Barrhaven Mini is up — a few minutes, all local words → barrhavenbugle.ca/games

Sources: City of Ottawa local-history context for Nepean amalgamation; David Hill — Councillor site / City of Ottawa Barnsdale EA Study.

The Strand Herd

See every Strand Herd → barrhavenbugle.ca/cartoon

Barrhavenbugle.ca updates between Tuesday emails with events, quick news briefs, The Strand Herd, the directory, listings and other local tools.

Thanks again to Job Scout for supporting the Bugle and local news in Barrhaven.

Have a tip, photo, event or correction? Reply to this email anytime.

Help grow the Bugle

If this was useful, please like it, leave a comment and share it with a Barrhaven neighbour. Every forward and restack helps more people find the local calendar, road updates, council notes and small-business stories we are building together. Share the Bugle →

Corrections and story tips: reply to this email. Unsubscribe via Substack.

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

A quick note before we start: our very first send earlier today went out with some formatting gremlins — missing images and links that didn't behave. This is the cleaned-up edition. Thanks for bearing with us on day one; we'll do better from here. — The Bugle

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From the Top

Lalande Conservation Park temporarily closed after coyote incident

Read more →

Lalande Conservation Park is closed until further notice after a coyote incident reported June 9. The City is working with provincial wildlife authorities, wildlife experts and partner agencies, and asks residents to stay out while trail cameras and the review continue.

What this means for you: skip Lalande for now, watch kids and pets near greenspace, call 3-1-1 for concerning coyote behaviour and 9-1-1 for immediate danger.

Source: City of Ottawa e-subscription advisory to city@barrhavenbugle.ca, received June 9-10, 2026; City of Ottawa newsroom (ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/city-news/newsroom).

This Weekend in Barrhaven

Saturday, June 20

• The Log Farm Farmers' Market - 670 Cedarview Rd, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Local vendors and free parking. See more →

• Barrhaven Scottish RFC Club Weekend - Rowan's Pitch / Ken Ross Park, June 20-21. Club teams at home, Saturday vendors/BBQ and Sunday visiting U19 Welsh teams. See more →

• TD Summer Reading Club: Fin-tastic Mermaid Crafts - Ruth E. Dickinson branch, 10:30 a.m. Drop-in, all ages. See more →

• (Pixel) Art Attack - Bikini Bottom - Ruth E. Dickinson, 2 p.m. SpongeBob-inspired pixel art, Minecraft and Lego. Drop-in. See more →

Sunday, June 21

• Barrhaven Farmers' Market - Nepean Woods Park & Ride, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 20+ local vendors every Sunday through October 25. See more →

See the full calendar: barrhavenbugle.ca/events →

Got an event you'd like in the Bugle? Tell us what's happening and we'll help spread the word — email events@barrhavenbugle.ca.

Sources: The Log Farm (thelogfarm.com); Ottawa Public Library program calendar; Ottawa Farmers' Market (ottawafarmersmarket.ca), all confirmed current calendar entries.

From the Hill: What Our MP Is Doing

Because Mark Carney is our MP, a fair amount of national news lands on local ground. Here's what touched Barrhaven and Nepean these past two weeks.

$8.8B development-charge cut announced at a Nepean homebuilding site

On June 1, Mark Carney launched an $8.8-billion Canada-Ontario Municipal Development Charge Reduction Program from a Caivan construction site right here in Nepean. It removes the 13% HST on new Ontario homes worth up to $1 million and gives infrastructure money to municipalities that cut their development charges by at least 30%. The goal: bring down the cost of building a new home. Ottawa can apply.

Read more →

Closer to home: 118 new affordable family homes are coming to Geyser Place in Barrhaven, announced May 29 under the federal Build Canada Homes program — a partnership of federal, provincial, municipal and non-profit housing partners. No timeline or cost has been released yet.

Read more →

A nice one: Grade 12 Canadian Politics students from Longfields-Davidson Heights toured Parliament Hill, watched Question Period and met Mark Carney on June 1.

Read more →

Ward Notes

What your councillors flagged this week, straight from their offices:

• Ward 3 (David Hill): A planned Hydro outage on Danaher Drive is set for June 16, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. (June 17 backup). Pathway renewal near Houlahan Park is expected to start mid-June.

• South-end truck route study: the City's drop-in series continues — June 17 at Rideauview Community Centre and June 24 at the Salvation Army Barrhaven church and community centre. (Engage Ottawa)

Community Pulse

Greenbank Road Phase 1: Watercolours Way is done, but the larger Greenbank realignment continues from south of Cambrian to Riverboat Heights. Expect summer lane reductions and closures as the City confirms them. Read more →

Library note: TD Summer Reading Club sign-ups are open at Ruth E. Dickinson. The last EarlyON Baby Playgroup before summer break is June 22 at 1:30 p.m. (Ottawa Public Library program calendar)

Featured Business

Featured Business is a new regular spotlight on a local business, drawn from their own website, until reader-nominated profiles ramp up.

When + Where Design Inc. is a local Ottawa interior design studio founded in 2023 by Amanda Ferguson, an architect with 12+ years' experience. The studio offers an Hourly Design Service for room-by-room projects and a Full-Service Design Package for whole-home redesigns. Its work covers space planning, layouts, finish selection, custom millwork, furniture curation and art sourcing.

The why is the warm part: When + Where says it designs “spaces that are fresh, timeless and comfortingly nostalgic,” weaving in personal stories and family heirlooms while putting function ahead of Instagram trend-chasing. Ferguson's architecture background also means the studio can connect structural and interior decisions on builds and renos. Tagline: “Feel at home the moment you walk through the door.” Visit their site →

Editorial disclosure: this is an unpaid editorial feature based on the business's public website, not an ad and not a paid placement.

Source: When + Where Design Inc. website (whenandwheredesign.ca), reviewed June 15, 2026.

What's Being Built

268 stacked-townhome units proposed on Borrisokane Road

Read more →

A City planning file at 3288 Borrisokane Road in Ward 3 is open for comments. Application D07-12-26-0049 proposes 268 residential units in 13 three-and-a-half-storey stacked-dwelling blocks. The file is still in circulation, so nothing is approved yet; neighbours can read the plans and comment through DevApps.

Source: City of Ottawa DevApps, application D07-12-26-0049.

Council Watch

Transit reliability package approved

Read more →

Ottawa City Council voted June 10 to direct several transit measures: a Para Transpo Friday/Saturday evening pilot, two 60-foot articulated buses, heat tracing for Line 1 overhead wires and two free familiarization weekends for new riders. Funding comes from transit reserves while the City seeks cost recovery from Rideau Transit Group.

Source: City of Ottawa e-subscription advisory, Council meeting 81, June 10, 2026 (eScribe item 52).

Only in Barrhaven

The roundabout we all learned to drive twice

A Barrhaven rite of passage: taking a neighbourhood roundabout with confidence, then meeting someone who treats it like a four-way stop. Yield, pick your gap, signal out if you can and wave at the person who waved at you.

Barrhaven Real Estate

• Average freehold price: $672,534 in May.

• Year over year: down 6.7%.

• Days on market: about 32 days, compared with 19 a year earlier.

• National context: CREA's next monthly release lands June 16.

The short version: the local line still shows a cooler market. That's breathing room for buyers, not a Bugle prediction. Read the full snapshot →

Sources: AgentInOttawa Barrhaven market report; CREA national market stats.

Puzzle Corner

Barrhaven Trivia: Before it merged into the City of Ottawa, Barrhaven was part of a separate Ontario municipality. What was it called?

(Answer in next week's Bugle.)

Play the Barrhaven Mini, a few minutes, all local words.

The Strand Herd

See every Strand Herd

Thanks again to The British Nanny's Daycare for sponsoring this first issue.

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Thursday, June 11, 2026 | Barrhaven · Stonebridge · Half Moon Bay · South Nepean | Launch Issue

Welcome to The Barrhaven Business Brief

If you run a business in Barrhaven, Stonebridge, Half Moon Bay or South Nepean, this is for you — and only you. We don't cover Ottawa at large. Our whole commitment is to this footprint: the shops, restaurants and services that make this corner of the city work.

Every issue pulls the local intelligence you'd otherwise have to dig for yourself — what's being built, what's opening or closing, what the City just decided, which grants are open, when the crowds are coming — and translates it into what it means for your business. Plus a plain-English take on putting AI to work, minus the hype.

It's free to local businesses, and the exchange is simple: we grow together. The Brief helps you grow; in return, help your neighbours find the Bugle so we can keep putting this footprint first.

Every Thursday. Built in Barrhaven, for Barrhaven business.

§1 On the Horizon — Development & Construction

Greenbank Phase 1: construction underway through 2026

The City of Ottawa says the Baseline Road and Greenbank Road reconstruction is continuing through summer, with completion anticipated by end of 2026. Work includes dedicated bus-priority lanes, new sidewalks, raised asphalt cycle tracks, and catch-basin and utility work around the intersection. Intermittent lane reductions and closures are expected through the season.

What it means: If your business draws staff or customers along the Baseline/Greenbank corridor, plan for ongoing access disruption all year. Update your Google Business Profile with alternate directions; brief delivery drivers now. The construction period is also a good time to promote off-peak or online ordering options to customers who find the area harder to reach.

Source: City of Ottawa e-subscriptions — Baseline/Greenbank project update; [cityofottawa.acemlnb.com link](https://cityofottawa.acemlnb.com/lt.php?x=4lZy~GDJIXGf5XWv_Q~OV.Vx13UkiN-kk-dkX5k7InOf5pOv-0y.1eFy1XAhmN~1ke02bHPGI4Gf75_7yNN4hFVs2XEjiEA0_uc)

268 homes proposed on Borrisokane Road — file is live

Site Plan Control application D07-12-26-0049 is active on the City's development portal for 3288 Borrisokane Road in Ward 3: 268 residential units in 13 three-and-a-half-storey stacked-dwelling blocks. Status as of May 20: On Circulation / Initial Submission Review. Public comments are open on DevApps.

What it means: Nothing is approved. But a live file this size signals the direction of growth in Barrhaven East. See §8 — The Bottom Line this issue for a fuller read on what it does and doesn't mean for nearby businesses right now.

Source: City of Ottawa DevApps, D07-12-26-0049: [devapps.ottawa.ca/en/applications/D07-12-26-0049/details](https://devapps.ottawa.ca/en/applications/D07-12-26-0049/details)

Greenbank transformer station enters 30-day public review

Hydro Ottawa's Greenbank municipal transformer station project has entered a 30-day public review and comment period on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry. Councillor David Hill's office is directing residents to search "Greenbank municipal transformer station project" on the registry to comment.

What it means: Infrastructure investment for the growing Barrhaven West area. If your business depends on reliable power for equipment, or if you have concerns about the project's siting, the comment window is open now.

Source: Councillor David Hill — [davidhillbarrhaven.ca/post/30-day-public-review-greenbank-transformer-station-project](https://www.davidhillbarrhaven.ca/post/30-day-public-review-greenbank-transformer-station-project)

§3 City Hall Watch — Decisions That Cost or Save You Money

Transit reliability package approved June 10

Ottawa City Council voted June 10 to direct transit reliability improvements. The items most relevant to Barrhaven and South Nepean businesses:

• Para Transpo Friday/Saturday evening pilot — extended evening service for customers and staff with mobility needs.

• Two 60-foot articulated buses added to the fleet for higher-capacity service on busy routes.

• Heat tracing for Line 1 overhead wires — the direct fix for the Limebank disruptions that affected south-end commuters last winter.

Funding comes from transit reserves; the City is seeking cost recovery from Rideau Transit Group.

What it means: More reliable evening transit for staff and customers is good for any business that draws from the wider south end. When these go live, it's worth a line in your employee communications.

Source: City of Ottawa e-subscriptions — Council meeting 81, June 10, 2026; [eScribe item 52](https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=c769b666-b62b-4062-abc1-950c634f21f6&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English&Item=52&Tab=attachments)

Ottawa 200 extended service hours — act before end of June

Licensed restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs can apply for extended alcohol service hours for events tied to Ottawa's 200th anniversary on Saturday, September 26. The City advises applying before end of June because each step — a City letter of municipal significance plus an AGCO special permit — can take up to 30 days.

What it means: If you host private events, live music, or want to extend service on a high-traffic fall evening, the application window is effectively the next two weeks. Start at the City's event permits page.

Source: City of Ottawa e-subscriptions; [ottawa.ca event permits and applications](https://ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/laws-licences-and-permits/planning-outdoor-special-event/event-permits-and-applications?page=3003611)

§5 The Footfall Calendar — When Barrhaven Shows Up

*This weekend — June 20–21:*

• Sat June 20 — Log Farm Farmers' Market, 670 Cedarview Rd, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.

• Sun June 21 — Barrhaven Farmers' Market, Nepean Woods Park & Ride, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

*The next two weeks:*

• Sun June 28 — Barrhaven Farmers' Market, Nepean Woods P&R, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

• Mon June 30 — Canada Day Barrhaven: Classic Car Show (Clarke Fields, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.) + Country Music Fest (3:15–10:45 p.m., The Rockphiles, The Barn Burners, Almost Country, The Derringers)

• Tue July 1 — Canada Day main event: seniors breakfast, Kidz Zone, multicultural food vendors, fireworks at 10 p.m. No on-site parking — shuttle, bike, or walk.

The Barrhaven Farmers' Market runs every Sunday through October 25 at Nepean Woods P&R — a reliable weekly footfall anchor at the south end.

What it means: Canada Day is a two-day event at Clarke Fields this year, with no parking on site. That means pedestrian traffic and a lot of residents moving through the neighbourhood on foot. If you're within walking range of Clarke Fields, plan staffing for both evenings. The weekly Sunday market means Nepean Woods P&R sees consistent activation through the entire summer and fall.

Sources: [canadadaybarrhaven.ca/schedule-of-events](https://canadadaybarrhaven.ca/schedule-of-events/); [ottawafarmersmarket.ca/barrhaven-market](https://ottawafarmersmarket.ca/barrhaven-market/); [thelogfarm.com/farmers-market](https://thelogfarm.com/farmers-market/)

§6 The Big Picture — National Trends, Local Meaning

*Bank of Canada holds steady — fourth consecutive decision with no change (June 10)*

The Bank of Canada held the overnight rate at 2.25% on June 10 (Bank of Canada, June 10, 2026). The accompanying statement says Canadian GDP edged down 0.1% in Q1 (weaker than expected), the unemployment rate sits at 6.6%, and the economy "remains in excess supply." Consumer spending grew 1.4% in Q1. CPI hit 2.8% in April, driven by energy prices and the carbon tax base effect; core inflation has moved down to around 2%. The Bank says total inflation is expected to hover around 3% near-term before easing.

*CFIB Business Barometer falls below 50 (May 2026)*

Per the CFIB Business Barometer, May 2026 (published May 21), the long-term optimism index fell to 46.3 — down about 12 points from April, and below the 50-point neutral threshold for the first time in this run. Short-term optimism fell to 47.9. Both readings mean more small-business owners expect weaker performance than better over the next 3–12 months. Retail and hospitality are among the most pessimistic sectors. Insufficient demand is the top constraint, cited by 53% of SMEs.

What it means: Borrowing costs are stable — the rate has not moved since December 2025, which helps financed businesses and anyone considering an equipment purchase. The national demand picture is cautious. The local offset: Barrhaven has a summer of events, two weekly markets, and active residential development in planning — demand drivers that won't show up in CFIB's national numbers.

§8 The Bottom Line

Reading the Borrisokane file: what it means now and what it doesn't

The 268-unit application on Borrisokane Road (D07-12-26-0049) has circulated through local conversation. For businesses, there are two ways to read it.

What it doesn't mean yet: the file is in initial circulation. There is no approval, no construction start, no move-in timeline. A Site Plan Control application at first-submission stage can still be substantially revised, delayed, or denied. Businesses that make operational decisions — larger leases, new equipment, added staff — based solely on this file are acting on a signal that hasn't cleared.

What it does mean now: a live 268-unit file tells you something about where Ward 3 is heading. Stacked townhomes at this density mostly attract young families and households that shop locally, use nearby services, and eat out in their neighbourhood. The development pattern in Barrhaven East has been consistent for years; this is one more data point in that direction.

The practical move: note the file number, check DevApps once a year, and let the planning process run. The Brief will flag it when the status changes — zoning approval, site-plan sign-off, or a building permit being issued are the milestones worth acting on. For now, knowing it exists is enough.

§9 AI for Your Business — beyond the hype

*This week: let AI draft your Google review replies*

If your business has a Google Business Profile, Google now offers an AI-assisted reply button on your Reviews tab. Open Business Profile on desktop, navigate to Reviews, and look for "Use AI to help reply" next to any unanswered review. Google drafts a response you can edit and post. It takes about 30 seconds.

What it does for you: responding to reviews — including critical ones — signals to Google that you're an active, engaged business. The algorithm rewards that with better local placement. The AI removes the blank-page friction that causes most business owners to ignore reviews for weeks.

First step this week: Log into Google Business Profile, go to Reviews, and try the AI button on one unanswered review. Edit the draft so it sounds like you, then post. No training, no subscription needed.

§10 The Exchange — your questions, concerns, and advice

This section is for you. `business@barrhavenbugle.ca` is your line to the Brief — a question about a zoning notice, a heads-up about something happening on your block, or advice you'd share with another local owner. We run the best submissions each issue so owners learn from and help each other.

Got a question or advice? Write us: business@barrhavenbugle.ca

§11 Quick Hits

• I Love Barrhaven Market recap (June 14): The BIA says the third annual market drew approximately 100 farm, artisan and Barrhaven business vendors at Nepean Woods P&R — with an expanded footprint for parking and vendors compared to prior years. (barrhavenbia.ca)

• Presto daily fare capping is live (June 8): OC Transpo riders now tap through the day and pay no more than a DayPass price. If you communicate transit options to staff, the math just changed for anyone making multiple trips. (octranspo.com)

• Lalande Conservation Park remains closed after a coyote incident on June 9. City By-law advises residents to avoid the park and surrounding greenspace until operations are complete. If your customers or staff use the trails, it remains off-limits. (ottawa.ca newsroom)

You're receiving the Barrhaven Business Brief as a founding local business. It's free, every Thursday, and it's for you. Reply anytime or write to business@barrhavenbugle.ca.

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