Unused Canada Day fireworks set off over Ottawa on Thursday night: councillor

Fireworks over downtown Ottawa on the opening night of Ottawa Bluesfest. (@Bknaissi_/X)

The late-night fireworks display near Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats that sparked anger and confusion in nearby residential areas were the unused fireworks from the rained-out Canada Day celebrations.

Several people complained on Reddit and social media about fireworks set off at around 11 p.m. during the opening night of Ottawa Bluesfest. The City of Ottawa said the fireworks began at approximately 10:53 p.m. and lasted “approximately 11 to 12 minutes.”

There was no notice issued to the public about the planned fireworks display.

Coun. Jeff Leiper told CTV News Ottawa on Friday morning that he received information from City of Ottawa staff that “those were the unexploded shells from Canada Day,” and city staff decided not to inform the public of the display.

“It was deemed by Canadian Heritage that it was safer to dispose of them that way rather than dismantle and move them, so they took this step in conjunction with Bluesfest,” Leiper said.

The Canada Day fireworks at LeBreton Flats on July 1 were cancelled due to heavy rain and storms in Ottawa.

Thousands of people were at LeBreton Flats for the opening night of Ottawa Bluesfest, the largest music festival in Ottawa. The opening night lineup included Cody Johnson, and the fireworks were set off following his show.

In a post on Bluesky, Leiper noted the fireworks seemed to have been “let off over a very compressed timeframe and so were very intense.”

“Coming off the very intense storms we just had, and the general discomfort that people are feeling in a very unsettled time, the decision to take this step with no notice that I can discern is hard to understand.”

Leiper shared information from City of Ottawa staff on Facebook, which said the decision not to “advertise or proactively notify residents of the fireworks display” was made by the city’s Special Event Advisory Team, which includes police and health.

“Given the significant public interest in those cancelled fireworks, there was concern that broad promotion of the July 9 display could result in large numbers of residents gathering outside the ticketed event footprint in an attempt to view the show,” said the note posted by Leiper.

“This had the potential to create an ‘event surrounding an event,’ placing additional pressures on crowd management and City services.”

“I’m angry”

Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal, Leiper said a no-notice fireworks scale was inappropriate.

“The city decided that it would not allow the show to be announced ahead of time because they didn’t want a large crowd of people gathering for which there might not be the resources in place to ensure that everyone is safe,” Leiper said, adding he woke up to a lot of comments in his inbox.

“I understand the thrust of that but requiring that there be no announcement for the show is completely inappropriate given the impact that it’s had on you know, presumably thousands of residents.”

Leiper said he is “angry” at the decision made by city staff not to inform the public.

In a post on Bluesky, Coun. Ariel Troster said councillors received no notice “they were going to let off the Canada Day fireworks at 11 p.m.”

“It seems that it was determined that it was safer to do this than try to remove the unexploded shells from Lemieux Island. But on a weeknight, so late, with no notice = unacceptable,” Troster said.

A spokesperson for the Ottawa Fire Services said the service wasn’t informed of the fireworks display.

CTV News Ottawa has reached out to Canadian Heritage, Ottawa Bluesfest and the City of Ottawa for information.

NAV Canada notified on Monday

NAV Canada says it was notified about the fireworks display at LeBreton Flats and published a notice on Monday at Transport Canada’s request.

“Under the Aeronautics Act, it restricted the airspace around the Lemieux Island launch site on the Ottawa River, from the surface up to 2,000 feet above sea level, from the morning of July 9 until shortly after midnight,” NAV Canada said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

“The restriction applied to all aircraft, including drones, with exceptions for police and medevac operations.”

NAV Canada says it is advised of a planned fireworks display if it could affect air operations, and it publishes a NOTAM to inform pilots and aircraft operators of the activity.

“Where a temporary airspace restriction is warranted, the request is made through Transport Canada,” NAV Canada said.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Leah Larocque

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