For sale? Feds offer to buy Ottawa's Wellington Street, but will the city bite?

The City of Ottawa is open to considering a request from the federal government to purchase Wellington Street and transfer the land from city to federal jurisdiction.

Speaking to CTV News, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said conversations about the future of Wellington Street have been going on for months. While any decision ultimately has to be approved by Ottawa city council, Sutcliffe says the parties involved are "open minded" about plans for the street.

"There would have to be an exciting plan for Wellington Street if it were to be closed and owned by the federal government," Sutcliffe said. "So, I think that everyone has an open mind and I think that everyone has shared priorities."

Wellington Street has been closed since late January 2022 when “Freedom Convoy” protesters descended on the capital and parked their vehicles on the street. At the time, then-mayor Jim Watson said the street, which runs directly in front of the Prime Minister's Office, the Supreme Court and Parliament Hill, would remain closed until a new council was elected.

“We do not want, in the short term or long term, another caravan coming and invading this very important space that I consider the most important street in the country,” Watson said in February 2022.

One year later, city councillors voted to reopen the street as soon as it was feasible.

This week, city crews were busy preparing Wellington Street to open. New bike lanes have been painted, with protective barriers installed; traffic lights have been re-hung above the extra wide street; and, for the first time in more than a year, the cement barricades blocking the street from regular traffic have been removed and replaced by temporary fences. The mayor says the street will open in about a week.

"If that road is not open to vehicles, it can't be what it is now, which is designed for vehicles but isn't being used by them and just has concrete barricades at either end," the mayor told CTV News.

The federal government has urged the city to keep the street closed. It argues that re-opening the street to regular traffic creates a security risk.

In a letter sent to Mayor Sutcliffe on April 4, Federal Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek asked about the possibility of an "interim area and control agreement" that would keep the road closed and under the temporary control of the federal government.

“The objective of this agreement would be to address the immediate security imperative by maintaining the current road closure, while providing the City and the federal government time to establish a fair deal and launch planning activities," the letter reads.

Jaczek went on to say that the two governments could work together to "create a vibrant public space that works for parliamentarians, residents, local businesses and attracts visitors.”

She also said the federal government would be willing to pay for the short-term beautification of the street in time for this summer’s tourist season. It’s unclear how much the federal government would considering paying for the portion of Wellington Street that passes through the Parliamentary Precinct.

The government's opinion that Wellington should remain closed was echoed by a parliamentary committee that found last December that the street should stay closed to cars. The House of Commons committee recommended parliamentarians look into the expansion of the Parliamentary Precinct to include sections of Wellington and nearby Sparks Street, a pedestrian mall.

The committee recommended "that Wellington Street, from the War Memorial to Kent Street, be closed off to vehicular traffic, yet remain open to traffic related to parliamentary business, public tramways, pedestrians and other forms of active transportation."

Former Ottawa police chief and former senator Vern White says the City of Ottawa should take the government up on its offer. He says the proximity of Wellington Street to important federal buildings, including Parliament Hill, creates a security risk that can best be mitigated by the road's partial closure.

"If for no other reason, blockading and closing off Wellington Street, and only allowing access if and when you require, is the best security measure you can take to protect Langevin and Parliament Hill," he said.

White says that transferring Wellington Street would give the federal government more control over the street and how it is used.

The City of Ottawa is currently conducting an internal audit and traffic study about the implications of transferring Wellington Street to the federal government.

With files from CTV News Ottawa and Michael Woods