André Pinard takes us back to a pivotal moment in a period of cultural tension in Bytown. Read the story (in French): Première réunion publique bilingue à Bytown

André Pinard is originally from Ottawa's Lower Town. He pursued a career in education in Northern Ontario and the Ottawa region.

Ryan Stevens shares the fairy tale story of “Canada’s Sweetheart” who astounded the world with her prowess and grace on ice – and endeared herself to generations of Canadians. 

Enjoy this episode of the HSO/Rogers TV series Time Travelling with Jeff Wang – Under the Archway: A History of Ottawa’s Chinese Community.

Enjoy this episode of the HSO/Rogers TV series Time Travelling with Dominique Lajoie: The Château Laurier (If These Walls Could Talk!).

Larry Delaney is a builder, but don’t think bricks and mortar house construction. For over 32 years, the long-time New Edinburgh resident has been instrumental in helping to “build” the careers of hundreds of Canadian country musicians as the former editor/publisher of Country Music News . Launched on a shoestring budget (with local musician Neville Wells) in 1980, the CMM was the only country music publication with a national focus, ceasing publication in 2012. Delaney’s incalculable contribution to the country music industry was most recently recognized in May 2022 when he was awarded the “Impact Award” from the Country Music Association of Ontario as a “Builder”.

But that represents only a fraction of the numerous accolades he’s acquired over the years. Larry is an 11-time recipient of the CCMA’s Country Music Person of the Year award, an inductee into the Canadian County Music Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Hall of Honour in 1996. For a guy who never played an instrument, (“other than a turntable” he jokes), these are impressive accomplishments for the long-time resident of New Edinburgh.

Enjoy this episode of the HSO/Rogers TV series Time Travelling with Steve Rennie - Play Ball! The History of Baseball in Early Ottawa.

Enjoy this episode of the HSO/Rogers TV series Time Travelling with Glenn Crawford - The History of Ottawa’s 2SLGBTQ+ Community.

Many thanks to CTV Ottawa and CFRA iHeart radio for highlighting our bicentennial celebrations planned for 2026.

Watch HSO spokesperson Ben Weiss on CTV Ottawa Morning discuss the Historical Society's bicentennial plans. And stay tuned to the end of the clip to see a 100-year old relic from the centennial celebrations in 1926 to compare civic festivities of yesteryear!  Link to Ottawa turns 200 this year video. 

Check out our Bytown 200 story collection: www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/resources/bytown-200

Dave Watts has had a long career on the Ottawa radio scene. In addition to being an on-air announcer, his career at CFRA included Music Director (CFRA) and Assistant to the Program Director (1976-1989) and Promotion Director (CFRA, CFMO and later KOOL FM).1989 to 1996.

In January 2025, John Leefe of the HSO’s Memory Project interviewed Dave about his career at CFRA, with a focus on the various well-known personalities he worked with and his observations on the transformations in the radio industry over the past 60 years. Below is an edited transcript of the interview.

1. How did your involvement in Ottawa radio begin?

To go right back to the beginning, in the fall of 1963 we had a high school project in our business class to find a company and learn about it to do a report. So I thought, I like radio and CFRA is the station I listen to, so I’ll write to them. I explained the project in a letter to the managers and they invited me down for a tour of the station. It was a great idea so I went down with a buddy of mine and in that tour, we met Gord Atkinson, who was probably my earliest connection to the radio station. Just before he was to go on air with his “Showbill” program that afternoon, we chatted a bit and subsequently stayed in touch from that point forward. In the coming days Gord invited me to join him on his “Campus Club” show to report on the latest Ottawa high school activities.

When we acknowledge that, here in the Ottawa Valley, we are on the “unceded” and “unsurrendered” land of the Anishinaabe Algonquin people, what does that really mean?

A preliminary understanding of the history behind the land claims of the Anishinaabe Algonquin peopleis offered in a “Report on the Algonquins of Golden Lake Claim” prepared for the Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat in 1993.

The following is the text of the report’s “Executive Summary”. 

Here is a link to the full report, residing on the Government of Canada website: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2018/aanc-inac/R32-492-1993-1-eng.pdf.

This report was authored by Joan Holmes & Associates, Inc. Joan Holmes has a Master’s Degree in Northern and Native Issues from the Institute of Indigenous and Canadian Studies at Carleton University (1983) and over the past 40 years has been widely called upon as an expert in the field of Indigenous land claims and litigation.

REPORT ON THE ALGONQUINS OF GOLDEN LAKE CLAIM

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Prepared by Joan Holmes & Associates, Inc. for Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat October 30, 1993