Rural Summit 2024

Background

In 2005, the City of Ottawa hosted a Rural Summit to address the results of the City’s Citizen Satisfaction Survey. This summit helped advance several successful initiatives in rural Ottawa. In 2008, another Rural Summit occurred, and this resulted in improved opportunities for rural residents. A Rural Summit has not occurred in over a decade due to the pandemic, a municipal election, and other priority projects. Recently, a new Official Plan was adopted, a Zoning By-law is being prepared, and the Rural Economic Strategy is being updated. In addition, the newly adopted City Strategic Plan supports stimulating growth in economic districts. These plans and regulations clearly impact rural Ottawa, and therefore it is an opportune time to consult with rural residents.

At the City Council Meeting on December 14, 2022, Councillor Kelly brought forward a motion regarding the City of Ottawa hosting a Rural Summit. This motion noted that staff should be working to host the summit during the current term of council.

The objective of Rural Summit 2024 is to recommend improvements to the provision of the City of Ottawa services to residents and communities of rural Ottawa.

The rural communities in the city of Ottawa include Ward 1 Orléans East-Cumberland, Ward 5 West Carleton-March, Ward 19 Orléans South-Navan, Ward 20 Osgoode, and Ward 21 Rideau-Jock.

Project Overview

The Rural Summit will address issues that are of specific interest to rural residents, rural businesses, and other stakeholders. Broadly, these issues include current services offered in rural Ottawa, future plans and policies impacting rural areas, and opportunities to build better rural communities. Public consultation and the Resident Working Group will work to identify the specific issues and concerns that will become the focus of the Rural Summit.

Resident Working Group

The Resident Working Group (RWG) was formed in January 2024 with the specific goal of organizing and coordinating the Rural Summit 2024 for the City of Ottawa. The RWG consist of of two members from each rural ward, appointed by the ward councillor. The Resident Working Group is committed to realizing the vision of the Rural Summit 2024 , which is to create an inclusive, engaging, and informative event that addresses the needs and aspirations of our rural communities. These efforts are driven by the principles of equity and inclusion, aiming to ensure that all rural residents have access to the benefits and opportunities the Rural Summit provides.

Next Steps

The result of this work will be analyzed and summarized, which will be followed by a staff report to be tabled at the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. The report will address the themes arising from the Rural Summit and offer recommendations on how to better support our rural residents.

Additional Information

If you have any questions about this project, please contact ruralsummit@ottawa.ca

As questions are collected, please review the FAQ tab for further information.