On the afternoon of Monday, February 23rd, the Historical Society of Ottawa offered its first English language in-person Speaker presentation for 2026, generously hosted by the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. That afternoon, we were honoured to welcome Mohamed Ghadban, former member of Tannis Food Distributors and current Vice-President of the Ottawa Muslim Association. He has been recognized by the awarding of the King Charles III Medal for his community work, Mohamed told us the history of the Ottawa Mosque, the oldest Mosque in the City and the second oldest in Canada.
Mohamed Ghadban was born in Lebanon, coming to Canada in 1956, aged 2 ½, with his parents and 11-month-old brother. Some older siblings remained in Lebanon, rejoining the family a couple of years later. Mohamed was one of 8 children, and after the marriage of his eldest sister and the death of his father, his mother raised Mohamed and his 6 siblings on her own. Fortunately, his father had always insisted that in a family all members had responsibilities, so together they managed. It had been Mohamed’s father’s dream that Ottawa have a Mosque and so he sees himself as helping to fulfill that dream.
Mohamed stated that when his family arrived in Ottawa, after a month at sea and a train trip from Halifax, they found themselves in a city with only about 200 other Muslims. The community had been so small that they had initially held their prayer meetings outside in Vincent Massey Park. In 1962, they began renting the basement of the Western United Church, 545 Wellington Street, every Sunday afternoon for these services. The church was expropriated in 1963 and later demolished as part of the National Capital Commission “rehabilitation” of the LeBreton Flats, and a new church was built on Northwestern Avenue, and simply called the Northwestern United Church, which began services in September 1964. Mohamed explained that the Ottawa Muslim Association, which was founded in 1965, decided that they would follow their friends, and so began renting the basement of the Northwestern United Church on Sunday afternoons, for their 500 members, as they had done before.
The dream of a mosque for Ottawa remained, and after considering other sites, Mohamed explained that, in 1967, they decided to purchase the ½ acre lot adjacent to the Northwestern United Church. One of the two old houses on the lot was demolished to make way for the Mosque, while the other was retained and used by the community. Mohamed told us that it was really thanks to the work of the Muslim Women’s Auxiliary, who, from the mid-1960s, undertook much of the required fundraising that the project proceeded. He said that they raised enough to complete the basement, but not the entire $700,000 for the mosque. Many governments of predominantly Muslim countries, notably Pakistan, contributed funds to allow the project to continue and the Mosque to be completed. They continued to hold their services of worship on Sundays until they were able to obtain an imam in the 1990s, who instituted the more traditional Friday observance.
Mohamed showed us a photo of the ceremony in September 1973, at which two children, Basher Ghadban and Yasmine Ismaily, broke ground for the mosque, at 251 Northwestern Avenue, as G. K. Chaudhry, the then president of the Ottawa Muslim Association looked on. The Ottawa Mosque began offering prayer services in the basement in the fall of 1975, with the upper portions being completed in the spring of 1977. He then gave us a brief description of the Mosque. Its three levels, including the basement, can accommodate about 1,000 people, the main hall itself with room for 700. Its large dome is copper clad and is supported by 16 wooden beams. Its minaret, the only one in the city, stands some 35M (115ft) in height and has, on occasion, been used to call the faithful to prayer. Since its construction, some upgrades have been made including the addition of air conditioning and enhancements to the parking lot. During the Covid 19 lockdown, when all other mosques were closed, the Ottawa Mosque was able to conduct its prayer services, the worshipers sitting in their cars in their parking lot, where by great fortune, all the parking spots faced to the east.
Declining attendance at the United Church in the early 2000s, led to the amalgamation of three neighbouring congregations, those of Kingsway, Westboro and Northwestern United, which was decommissioned in 2016 – see: A farewell to Northwestern United Church . Rather than seeing the church which had befriended them and supported them in the early years demolished, the Ottawa Mosque purchase the Northwestern United Church, preserving it for the community, and has renamed it as The Hall of Peace. It provides many of the social services offered by the Ottawa Muslim Association and is used for overflow on major services.
The Ottawa Mosque follows the teachings of Sunni Islam, but welcomes all Muslims to come and join them in prayer. There are now over 150,000 Muslims in Ottawa, almost 15% of the population, and there are now many mosques in the city, though the Ottawa Mosque is considered to be the Mother Mosque.
The Ottawa Mosque received heritage status in 2025 and the Ottawa Muslim Association invites all members of the public to come and visit, not only at Doors Open, but on any day.
