Ottawa skaters lace up as Rideau Canal Skateway fully opens

Skating enthusiasts are celebrating as the full Rideau Canal Skateway opens, a welcome milestone after unpredictable winters. Annie Bergeron-Oliver reports.

OTTAWA — The National Capital Commission has opened all 7.8 kilometres of Ottawa’s Rideau Canal Skateway.

The milestone move comes less than a week after a 3.4-kilometre section of the skateway opened on New Year’s Eve.

“It’s just beautiful,” said skater Deb Paterson. “It’s a magnificent thing. It’s the best thing on Earth.”

According to the National Capital Commission (NCC), the typical skating season for the UNESCO World Heritage Site runs from January until early March. The earliest the canal has ever opened was on Dec. 18, 1972, and again in 1981, while the latest it has ever opened was on Feb. 2, 2002.

Gabriel Pietrovito came to Ottawa from Montreal without realizing the good news.

“This is my first time doing it,” Gabriel Pietrovito said. “Apparently it’s the most Canadian thing you can do, and I’m just excited.”

In recent years, however, warmer weather has made conditions and the seasons far more unpredictable.

During the 2024-25 season, the canal opened on Jan. 11 and remained open for 52 days. However, during the 2023-24 season, the canal was only open for 10 days, and in 2022-23, warm weather prevented the skateway from opening at all.

“Two years ago was brutal,” said Bill McGee during a break from his first 7.8 km skate.

So far this year, cold weather during the day – and especially at night – have led to great ice conditions. However, Environment Canada is predicting warmer weather later this week that could temporarily affect the skateway. Thursday is expected to rain with a high of 4 C.

In an interview with 580 CFRA news anchor Patrica Boal on Monday, Bruce Devine, senior manager for facilities and programs at the NCC, said his team is monitoring the weather closely.

“It does concern us,” he said. “Weather forecasts, as you know, change quite quickly so we will see but we are encouraged to see that the cold weather is back again shortly after.”

Asked whether they might have to close the canal for a day or two, Devine said he wouldn’t speculate.