By Nancy Miller Chenier
In the fall of 2011, the Global Centre for Pluralism announced that it would occupy the heritage landmark building at 330 Sussex Drive. At the same time, the Lowertown community began a battle to save the more humble heritage buildings at 273 to 279 Sussex Drive from demolition.
As the stories of the buildings emerged, the community recognized that they provided a symbolic “corner of history” representative of Canada’s rich cultural diversity. It was at 277 Sussex where Adrienne Clarkson, Canada’s twenty-sixth governor general, started her life in Canada in the 1940s as a child refugee. She witnessed the kindness of French-Canadian neighbours and the diversity of cultures at York Street Public School.
The home at 273 Sussex was built in the same decade by Rosina Mandia, who emigrated from Sicily with her husband in 1902. When Mandia arrived in Canada she spoke no English or French, but even as a young widow with seven children she operated a fruit store at Dalhousie and St. Patrick for over 50 years. William Davis, who lived at 279 Sussex and fired the noonday gun in Major’s Hill Park for over 25 years, was a first-generation Canadian of Welsh and Irish descent.
The National Capital Commission owned the buildings as part of the “Mile of History” along Confederation Boulevard and had agreed with the City of Ottawa that they could be demolished in order to widen the roadway and sidewalks. In 2013, after protests by the community, the decision was changed, and the NCC agreed to relocate the buildings on their respective sites. This meant that the only single-family dwellings remaining along this stretch of Confederation Boulevard would still be visible.
So now the people of Canada and international visitors can see the modest homes of real Canadians preserved along a ceremonial route dominated by institutional buildings. Here we have built heritage as physical evidence of Canada’s experience as a diverse and inclusive country. And now there is an opportunity to highlight the people and institutions that make our Capital City so special.
The National Capital Commission promotes the Confederation Boulevard as a “discovery” experience and has developed multiple interpretation panels explaining the significance of the route to pedestrians and cyclists. Perhaps visitors could be further engaged through an extension of interpretation panels along this section of Confederation Boulevard. There is a lovely spot near the end of Bolton Street overlooking the Alexandra Bridge that could fill the gap between Major’s Hill Park and the National Research Council.
In combination with the Global Centre for Pluralism, these residential buildings provide a unique opportunity to highlight some concepts that are not yet represented along the route. Let us celebrate the mosaic of the immigrant experience with the Poy and Mandia families and the ceremonial link to Clarkson as governor general and Davis as cannoneer for the noonday gun. Their stories provide examples of what it means to be a Canadian.