AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Is Ottawa really the city that fun forgot? A report last year found that spending in Canada's capital was over 70% higher during the day than at night. Ottawa wants to change that reputation and learn to live it up more after the sun goes down, and they've tapped someone from Montreal to do the job. Mathieu Grondin helped revitalize that city's nightlife. He's now Ottawa's new nightlife commissioner, and he joins us now. Welcome to the program.
MATHIEU GRONDIN: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
RASCOE: So what did you know about Ottawa's reputation for nightlife before coming in as commissioner?
GRONDIN: There's a bit of a label, a - that stick to the city for - since - I think it was the '70s. Ottawa is the capital of Canada. It's a government worker city. So it had a bit of a reputation of being a sleepy town at night. Although, I must admit, since I've been here, I'm discovering a city that's very different from when I used to come here 25 years ago on field trips with school to visit Parliament.
It's a city that has grown a lot. We're over a million inhabitants now. There's a strong, thriving local scene, and the idea is to shine a bit more light on this and try to rebrand a bit the city, to show that the city has changed, and now it's a fun city.
RASCOE: And so you've had a month to get your sense of your new city after dark. What do you think it should be doing to encourage people to stay out, to enjoy themselves and to spend some money while doing so?
GRONDIN: The city council here adopted a - the Nightlife Economy Action Plan last year. In general, I see this in three part. You got to protect what's already there because cities are changing rapidly. Especially since COVID, a lot of cities want more livable downtown. They want to bring in residents.
We have a plan to revitalize downtown that's going to bring in 40,000 residents in the next 10 years. So we need to make sure that the bylaw framework of the city protects these venues, protects the uses that have been there for nocturnal uses. And then we need to grow what's already happening.
And, you know, we have great initiatives that need a little bit more light to create new ones. And finally, we need to promote all the nightlife that the city has to offer so we can get rid of this stigma, this dirty label that was apposed to the city 40 years ago, 50 years ago.
RASCOE: Incentives like maybe having clubs and bars extend hours or getting the word out about events that are actually happening - that's one thing. But what about changing the mindsets and habits of people who may be used to going home at 5 and aren't used to sticking around in Ottawa?
GRONDIN: Well, this is a cultural change, and it's not going to happen overnight. I think there's a lot of media attention since I've taken position. So this means I'm giving a lot of interview, and we're starting this conversation about nightlife and giving it value. This is going to help change mentalities.
You know, we need to develop transportation also because Ottawa is a very wide city with just a light train system that was created 2, 3 years ago, I believe. And this is going to help connect some of the suburban areas to the core of the city.
We're going to need to do a proof of concept, a great, interesting nightlife program to offer. And when people will see that, that's going to change mentalities over time.
RASCOE: Your job is to get a more vibrant night scene in Ottawa. So before I let you go, what's your idea of an ideal night out?
GRONDIN: Oh, an ideal night for me - well, it starts with sometimes having a happy hour after work, then hitting a nice restaurant, then going out to see a show, live music. And then if you've still got some energy, maybe we can go dance late at night, you know?
RASCOE: (Laughter).
GRONDIN: In my youth, it was typical for me to stay up all night.
RASCOE: I mean, around 10 o'clock, I'm probably bringing it in. I'm like, OK, enough of that. But it sounds fun. It sounds fun.
GRONDIN: Come on.
(LAUGHTER)
RASCOE: That's Mathieu Grondin, Ottawa's new nightlife commissioner. Thank you so much for being with us, commissioner, and best of luck with your mission.
GRONDIN: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE (DISCO ROUND)")
ALICIA BRIDGES: (Singing) Oh, I, oh, I love the nightlife... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
