This is Ottawa

CBC Local
  • 4.7 (77)
  • NEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

How are high rents impacting Ottawa businesses? What happens during an all-nighter at the Elgin Street Diner? Every week, host Robyn Bresnahan does a deep dive into a story you're curious about and the issues you want to understand in the city we call home. New episodes every Monday. Have an idea for an episode? Email: thisisottawa@cbc.ca

  1. 1D AGO

    Ottawa’s oddest auction: how to legally buy confiscated goods

    It’s like eBay - but run by the Canadian government. The GC Surplus site sells everything from ATVs used by the military to Air Jordan sneakers confiscated at the border. Robyn Bresnahan gets a tour of the Ottawa warehouse - where she discovers the most gobsmacking item of all.

    17 min

  2. FEB 2

    Dude, Where’s My Bus?

    If you’re sick and tired of your bus being late or cancelled - this episode is for you. We’ll look at why service is so unreliable, how OC Transpo got into this mess, why the busiest routes in the city are cancelled the most often – and – when things are expected to get better.

    19 min

  3. JAN 26

    ‘You are not your job’: how job cuts helped public servants reinvent themselves

    It’s an anxious time for federal public servants. Thousands of job cuts are coming. Robyn Bresnahan meets two former government workers who thought they’d be in the job for life, but jumped before they were pushed, reinventing themselves in second careers.

    21 min

  4. JAN 19

    Heated Rivalry is fiction. What’s the reality for Ottawa’s 2SLGBTQ+ hockey players?

    The steamy Canadian series Heated Rivalry has hit home for Ottawa players who spent years playing hockey as closeted athletes. But will the show be the catalyst for a cultural earthquake in hockey? They say that’s another story.

    18 min

  5. JAN 12

    Will a floating sauna make you hate the NCC less?

    The National Capital Commission has been a lightning rod for criticism. From shutting down a lemonade stand on Colonel By Drive to a Sparks Street with no spark - Ottawans have loved to loathe the NCC. But after a slew of new initiatives - and more to come in 2026 - are people’s tunes changing?  And, if you listen then want to know more about the historic O'Brien House in Gatineau Park we have a whole episode on it here.

    15 min

  6. JAN 5

    What it’s like for women inside Ottawa’s jail

    There’s a big increase in the number of women incarcerated in Ontario. The CBC’s Julie Ireton dug into why - and spoke with two women who were in and out of the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre – and never want to go back.

    24 min

  7. 2025-12-29

    I did a podcast about stolen cars. And then my car got stolen.

    Sometimes art imitates life. And sometimes life imitates podcast. That was the case for Robyn Bresnahan when she stepped outside one morning to discover her car was gone. In that moment, this episode from December 2024 flashed through her mind.

    21 min

  8. 2025-12-22

    How Ottawa became the capital of Christmas movies

    According to Ottawa Tourism, more Christmas movies have been filmed in Ottawa than anywhere else. In this encore episode, Robyn Bresnahan hears why producers love the city for cheesy holiday rom-coms – and what it takes to make the city look like Christmas in the middle of the summer.

    19 min
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4.7
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About

How are high rents impacting Ottawa businesses? What happens during an all-nighter at the Elgin Street Diner? Every week, host Robyn Bresnahan does a deep dive into a story you're curious about and the issues you want to understand in the city we call home. New episodes every Monday. Have an idea for an episode? Email: thisisottawa@cbc.ca

Information

  • Channel
    CBC Local
  • Creator
    CBC
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    101
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    Copyright © CBC 2026
  • Show Website
    This is Ottawa

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