VIDEO .
What happened to Ottawa?
Once known as a quiet government town, Canada’s capital is now grappling with rampant crime, open drug use, and widespread homelessness, visible just steps from Parliament Hill, the seat of Canada’s G7 democracy.
And this didn’t happen by accident.
In this episode of Simply Politics, I investigate how Ottawa declined so quickly, walking through the data, the reality on the ground, and the political and ideological decisions that fuelled this crisis
.Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:34 Part 1: The Surge In Crime
3:51 Part 2: The Surge In Drugs & Homelessness
7:12 Part 3: The Crime & Drug Hotspots
13:35 Part 4: Exposing The Bad Actors
15:15 Part 5: How We Fix This
16:25 Closing Remarks
TRANSCRIPT
One man was taken to hospital in
critical condition. You can see there police cordoned off RTO street. Two stabbings here in the cap last I've been uh known to to overdose twice, What is going on in Ottawa, Canada's capital city? Once known as a boring government town with beautiful landscapes and quiet neighborhoods, Ottawa has transformed into a capital of crime, drugs, and rampid homelessness. Break-ins, vandalism, and theft are becoming a near nightly occurrence. Ottawa's unprecedented disorder is visible just steps from Parliament Hill, the seat of Canada's G7 democracy for locals, tourists, and international visitors to experience firsthand. A short ride from Parliament Hill, scenes like this one are not uncommon. But what if I told you that this didn't just happen by accident, but that Ottawa's decline is the result of bad ideological policy? Hi, I'm Ellie and I've been involved in Canadian politics for almost a decade and I've spent the last 5 years covering it as a political journalist for Canada's top independent news outlets. And after spending the last week investigating the decline of Ottawa, a city that I've lived in for most of my life, I've come to many shocking conclusions. In this video, I'll show you how Ottawa's decline can be explained in five simple parts. I'll share shocking numbers that show just how bad the situation has become. I'll take you for a walk around Parliament Hill so that you can see the situation for yourself. And together, we'll expose the politics and the ideology that have allowed Ottawa to slip into rampid crime, chaos, and lawlessness. By the end of this video, you'll understand how and why Ottawa declined so quickly from a once beautiful capital to a national disgrace that many still refuse to acknowledge. But first, be sure to like, share, and subscribe. This is simply You journalism and commentary one year I don't believe journalism being funded by the government, you have to rebuild the foundation. You have to retell the story. market conservative other news that actually matters. I hence I think they should answer their questions especially if they're part one the surge in crime. Ottawa has seen an unprecedented crime surge in the last decade and the numbers are shocking. According to the Ottawa Police Service, Ottawa saw a 63% increase in crime between 2015 and 2024 with 50,000 criminal offenses committed in 2024 alone. Violent crime is up 58%. Property crime is up 64% and shoplifting has increased by a shocking 384% between 2015 and 2024. Ottawa police data also shows that there were 188% more homicide victims in 2024 compared to 2020, 20% more shooting incidents in 2024 compared to 2020. and 85% more vehicle thefts in 2024 compared to 2020. Police have also issued warnings to residents about a horizon break and enter, and Ottawa is dealing with a considerable knife problem. But as we're about to see, crime is not the only thing that has surged in Ottawa in the last few years. Part two, the surge in drugs and homelessness. In addition to being nicknamed the crime capital, Ottawa has also been nicknamed the drug capital. In 2024, Ottawa had 175% more overdose calls compared to 2020 and 90% more drug overdose deaths compared to 2018. Now, according to CBC, overdose deaths have declined this year, but even they admit that no one really knows why. But what we do know is that the drug crisis could actually be about to get a lot worse. That's because there are now reports of Zillazine, also known as Tran, which is a flesh rotting zombie drug, showing up in Ottawa's drug supply. According to the Capital Current, a local media outlet, a quarter of all fentinyl seizures in Ottawa have been found to contain zilline. Also concerning is the fact that Ottawa Public Health says that opioid use amongst kids grades 7 to 12 has doubled in just 2 years. Ottawa, like many other progressive cities, has embraced the harm reduction agenda. Addicts have been given so-called safer supply drugs. There have been vending machines that give out crack pipes and needles. And there are drug consumption sites where addicts can go and consume dangerous drugs. Although some of these sites have recently closed, I should note that some of the people running these so-called harm reduction sites are making millions of dollars. Ottawa's homeless population has also hit a record high. There has never been more homeless people in Ottawa than there are today. There are more homeless people in Ottawa today compared to 2018 and the total number of homeless people is expected to increase by a further 58% by 2035 if interventions are not made. Across Ottawa, homeless encampments have appeared, many of them near Parliament Hill. But police have dismantled some of these encampments. Now, activists in the legacy media will say that the cause of the homelessness crisis is housing affordability, and they will blame landlords and developers. However, the reality is far more complicated. Yes, housing costs in Ottawa have increased dramatically just like they have in most places in Canada in the last 10 years, but drugs, addiction, and mental health are also a cause of the homelessness crisis. When someone is addicted to drugs, they are often pushed out of where they are living, sometimes by family members or partners. And if they live on their own, addiction gradually consumes more and more of their income. Eventually, they are spending so much on drugs that they can no longer afford rent. They get evicted and end up living on the street to sustain that addiction. As their dependence deepens, they require additional money, which often leads to panhandling and stealing items from store to resell for cash. This growing demand for drugs in turn empowers drug dealers and fuels the broader criminal economy. Part three, the crime and drug hotspots. What's so striking about Ottawa's explosion in crime and lawlessness is that it's not happening in some faroff sketchy neighborhood away from the city center. It's happening right downtown for everyone to see. According to the Capital Current, Canada's crime hotspots include the Barwood Market, Center Town, and Lower Town. All areas that are near Parliament Hill, the seat of Canada's federal government. These hotspots have also become a ground zero for Canada's opioid crisis. The top intersection for has been the one outside Dorito Center. That's Ottawa's main downtown mall featuring the city's high-end stores, although some of these nice stores have closed in recent years. But don't just take my word for it or the numbers I cited because it's worth seeing for yourself. Let's go for a little walk around the city near Parliament Hill with my hidden camera and I'll show you firsthand how bad things have gotten. Let's start off in center town. The moment I stepped out of my Uber, the first thing I saw was a man screaming and having a mental breakdown. The neighborhood has seen a considerable rise in public safety issues as people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and untreated mental health crisis have begun moving into the neighborhood. Residents say they're seeing more and more people in visible distress, more disorder on the streets, and businesses have experienced an increase in break-ins and thefts. While in Centertown, I walked past so many stores that are either boarded up or empty. And it's strange because this is supposed to be prime real estate. Parliament Hill is literally a 5minute walk up this street. And yet there are so many businesses that are locked up, abandoned or sitting empty with for lease signs. Now to the RTO area and let me show you something that shocked me and that will probably shock you. Here I am standing right outside the Senate of Canada building and literally just down the stairs there is a homeless encampment with people smoking and drinking in the early hours of the day. Again, there is a homeless encampment right outside the upper house of a G7 country. Many Ottawa residents feel so unsafe using this underpass that they choose to instead walk in the bike lane. And if you look closely, you'll notice that there are concrete barriers along that bike lane that protect those walking in it to avoid the underpass. Next, I went inside the notorious RTO center. Thankfully, there were no stabbings the day I went. Inside the mall, you'll see that many stores now have private security guards because of the shoplifting problem. Now, I should note that the Red Center has had a police station inside the mall, but personally, I haven't felt much safer since it has opened. And it also begs to ask, if there is a police station inside the mall, then why do all these stores need private security? I'm just asking questions. Outside of the RO center and along Raido Street, you'll find more boardedup storefronts along with a number of cannabis shops and magic mushroom stores, some of which have been targeted by arson. And now to the Byword Market. Described on its own website as Ottawa's unique heritage destination for cuisine, shopping, arts, entertainment, and professional services, the byword market has become notorious for drugs, crime, and disorder. Here is how Ottawa based journalist Rupermania, who writes for the free press, described living in the area. Quote, "It's a mess. homelessness, open drug use, petty crime, violence, prostitution, the occasional gunshot, and a constant air of lawlessness. I've lost count of my calls to 911. My local dry cleaner keeps the door locked after a man, high as a kite from the nearby safe injection site, barged into steel clothes, attacked a woman behind the counter, and then ran off. Businesses have been leaving the area. A daycare center has closed. And get this, the Canadian Department of National Defense, whose job it is to protect Canada from foreign threats, had to move employees out of one of its buildings last year after staff reported being verbally and physically accosted. Now, I should note that some data suggests that this year, 2025, crime has gone down in the market. That said, residents continue to feel unsafe and continue to be assaulted. National Post columnist Adam Zeo, whom I interviewed for a similar video about the decline of Toronto, also explained that there is reason to be skeptical of claims that crime is down when our very eyes tell us something very different. The question we should be asking is how often do people report crime and do they report crime less often if they feel like nothing is going to get done? And my hypothesis, which is very difficult to prove because once again there's a data desert here, is that reporting reports of crime have gone down because people feel like it's futile, right? If you have an addict who is harassing you or harassing the neighborhood again and again and again and you feel that there's a revolving door toward justice system where they are taken in by the police and they're back on the streets the next day, eventually you're just going to have to deal with it and you're going to have to stop calling 911 because you feel like it's not going to do anything. And then that increase in public disorder is not measured. The last place on my walk is King Edward Avenue, a street that has become the total ground zero for the opioid crisis. With scenes like these becoming quite a short ride from Parliament Hill, scenes like this one are not uncommon. Okay, let's go, my dear. Pack it up Sergeant Avery Flanigan has been called to this church many times before. So, options that police can do. I I can arrest and I can charge for a possession of uh crack cocaine. Am I going to do that to an addict um with that small amount? No. That's that's not what we're down here to do. Part four, exposing the bad actors. While Ottawa's municipal politicians do deserve criticism, the largest contributing factor to the city's decline is the federal government, or more precisely, the policies of the federal liberals of Mark Carney and Justin Trudeau. First, for nearly a decade, the Liberals failed to accelerate housing construction and then dramatically increase immigration to unprecedented levels never seen before in Canadian history. As a result, housing prices skyrocketed, leaving some people to no longer afford a place to live and on the street. Second, the Liberals went allin on the drug liberalization agenda, supporting so-called harm reduction initiatives like supervised consumption site and socalled safer supply drugs. Um, safe consumption sites, there was one when we came into office in in 2015. Now there are dozens and dozens and dozens. Safe consumption as well, making sure there's a safer supply. And critics argue that these policies have had a negative impact on the drug crisis. And I would add that they've also contributed to the homelessness crisis. Third, the Liberals bill C5 and Bill C75 have resulted in the release of repeat violent offenders and have taken away mandatory jail time for certain violent crimes, creating a revolving door justice system and unleashing a crime wave. This disastrous combination has led to the destruction of Ottawa and many other Canadian cities. Part five, how we fix this. The city of Ottawa has taken a few steps to try to deal with the disorder, including by opening that police station downtown in the RTO center and with plans to beef up security in the byword market. But let's be honest, the real action needs to take place at the federal level. There needs to be a reduction in immigration level to a level that the housing supply can manage. There also needs to be more pressure on municipalities from the feds to build more housing. There needs to be a complete end to the so-called harm reduction and safer supply drug agendas. There needs to be mandatory treatment for those dealing with a drug addiction. And we need to reopen mental health institutions so that vulnerable people can finally get the care they desperately need. There needs to be harsher penalties for petty crime and bail and sentencing laws need to be changed so that the revolving door justice system is put to an end and repeat offenders are put behind bars. My friends, Ottawa's decline is not just shocking. It is a national disgrace. When visitors and foreign dignitaries come to Canada's capital, they are met with scenes of absolute worstcase scenario, crime, chaos, drugs, and disorder. This should not be the image of a G7 nation. Nor should we as a society think that it is acceptable that so many people are left dealing with vulnerable addiction and homelessness without receiving the proper care they need. It is time for bold change. It is time to make our capital beautiful again to make it something that Canadians are proud of and not ashamed of. If you agree that it's time to restore law and order in Ottawa and across Canada, then sign the petition below and consider supporting my media venture EMCN Media by getting a YouTube membership or Patreon membership or Substack membership or making a one-time contribution because unlike the legacy media, I refuse to take government money. Until next time, God bless.
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