On Thursday June 16th, Mayor Jim Watson presented the Key to the City to the Ottawa Citizen, in recognition of extraordinary accomplishments serving generations of readers by sharing news and information in Canada’s capital for over 175 years.
Since 1845, the Ottawa Citizen has covered stories that are now woven into the nation’s history. Beginning as a four-page weekly publication, the Citizen underwent changes to its ownership, its technology and its own name to become Ottawa’s leading media outlet and oldest continuously operating business.
The Ottawa Citizen has been telling the story of Canada’s capital for 175 years. Beginning as a four-page weekly publication, the Citizen underwent changes to its ownership, its technology and its own name to become Ottawa’s leading media outlet and oldest continuously operating business.
Over the decades, the Citizen has covered stories that are now woven into the nation’s history: from Queen Victoria’s choice of Ottawa as the capital in 1857 to the assassination of Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a Father of Confederation, in 1868 to the October Crisis of 1970. Its journalists have covered key milestones in the evolution of the city: the construction of the National Gallery, return of NHL hockey, 1998 ice storm, 2018 tornadoes and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, the Citizen’s reputation for fair-minded coverage of local institutions – city hall, the courts, education and health care – underpins a rich variety of web, social media and print products. In a global, media-rich environment the Citizen remains a trusted source for news and entertainment that helps make sense and meaning of a complex world.
Not only has the Ottawa Citizen described the character of our city, but it has also helped define it.