This is Ottawa

From the best of This is Ottawa: She was told to try hairdressing. Instead, she picked up a wrench. Despite a shortage of skilled trade workers, women are still under-represented. Robyn Bresnahan visits a Manotick automotive garage to hear what life is like for the only woman who works there.

(Originally published June 10, 2024)

From the best of This is Ottawa: A young girl was kicked in the chest by a horse -- causing a rupture to her heart. The child was airlifted to hospital by a specialized team from CHEO. Robyn Bresnahan hears the story and gets a chopper ride with the crew responsible for emergency care in the air. 

(Originally published February 2024)

From the best of This is Ottawa: From its opening in 1982, the Yangtze restaurant on Somerset Street became a destination for lovers of dim sum. But in the fall of 2024, the family-run business closed and the building was sold. The woman who grew up at the Yangtze tells Robyn Bresnahan about the bitter sweet good-bye.

(Originally published October 2024)

From the best of This is Ottawa: In 2018 a boutique hotel called The O’Brien opened to great fanfare in Gatineau Park. The derelict mansion overlooking Meech Lake had been given a multi-million dollar facelift - funded by taxpayers. But the following year, it closed. Robyn Bresnahan investigates.

(Originally published September 16, 2024)

From the best of This is Ottawa: They come up through toilets. They dangle from birdfeeders. Sometimes rats make your home THEIR home. Some residents proclaim rodent birth control is the answer. Others say it’s keeping rats out in the first place. Robyn Bresnahan talks to an Ottawa resident who dealt with a backyard overtaken by rats.

(Originally published January 27, 2025)

The black horses ridden by Canadian Mounties are recognized the world over. But their lives begin just outside of Ottawa. Robyn Bresnahan visits the local breeding farm to discover what it takes for a foal to become a Musical Ride horse – and what happens to those that don’t make the cut.

If you hate mosquitoes, Kanata North might be for you. It’s the only ward in the city that has a mosquito control program. But why? How safe are the pesticides? And is it realistic to expect neighbourhoods to be mosquito-free? Robyn Bresnahan casts a wide net in search of answers.

Roller derby has a reputation for being loud and rough. It’s definitely that. But it’s also one of the warmest, most joyful sporting communities you’ll find in the city. Robyn Bresnahan hits up a practice to meet players who joined for very different reasons - but stayed on for the same one.

Once upon a time, Ottawa was dubbed ‘Silicon Valley North’. But what’s it like to start-up a tech company here these days? Robyn Bresnahan attends a pitch-a-thon for budding entrepreneurs and hears why they think Ottawa’s still got it.

This city is much more than tulips and politicians. A million people now call Ottawa home. Each week, host Robyn Bresnahan seeks the answer to one question about the city we love. She finds the characters at the heart of the story - whether it's in the burbs, along the Greenbelt or right in the core of the capital.