Local stories to watch in 2025
CBC News | Posted: January 1, 2025 9:00 AM | Last Updated: January 1
We'll have at least 2 elections and 2 new rail lines this year
We'll be one-quarter of the way through the century come the end of this year. Along the way there will be stops at the polls, on the train and at some new or returning attractions.
2 or 3 elections
Whether or not the governing minority Liberals fall or call one, a federal election must be held by late October, including in many redrawn and renamed ridings.
Most local incumbents have said they will run again.
Quebec's municipal elections are Sunday, Nov. 2, which should include Gatineau Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette's first general election as incumbent following her June 2024 byelection win.
Ontario must hold an election by June 2026, though that could also come this year instead. Municipal elections across Ontario will take place in October 2026, but the campaigns will likely start taking shape by this time next year.
New team, new goals
Debuting on the Ottawa sports scene this year is the Ottawa Rapid pro women's soccer team in April, and the Ironman triathlon in August
The Ottawa Black Bears will finish their first National Lacrosse League season, the Ottawa Senators try to snap an eight-season playoff drought, the Ottawa Charge are working toward their first playoff berth and Atlético Ottawa will have a new coach at the helm.
If you can't wait for those, the World Juniors wrap up at the Canadian Tire Centre in a matter of days.
Legal matters
We'll couch these timelines because of considerations such as plea deals and scheduling, but major legal 2025 matters to watch include a decision for convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber in March, and the man accused of March 2024's Barrhaven mass killing set to go on trial in November.
Sept. 22 marks 10 years since the murders of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam in and around Renfrew County. The trial and inquest are long over, and the killer died behind bars.
Anticipated openings
The first two sections of the Stage 2 light rail expansion in Ottawa are scheduled to open this year, though delays have beset other aspects of the project.
The north-south Trillium Line should start opening in stages this month, followed by the eastern extension from Blair to Montréal, Jeanne d'Arc, Convent Glen, Place d'Orléans and Trim stations by the end of the year.
The province's transition from supervised consumption to more recovery-based HART Hubs means Ottawa's Somerset West site has to close by April.
The city is hoping to open its tent-like asylum seeker support centre near the Nepean Sportsplex this year.
The National Capital Commission (NCC) missed its goal of reopening the renamed Kìwekì Point behind the National Gallery of Canada this past fall, and now says it should open this spring.
WATCH | A tour of the point at the end of summer:
Westboro Beach should be back to full strength this summer after a few years of renovations and unsupervised swimming, according to the NCC.
The Thunderhead monument recognizing people affected by 2SLGBTQ+ discrimination is expected to open this summer between the Supreme Court and Portage Bridge.
On the policy side, the city is putting out its full transportation master plan for the next 20+ years, and the NCC has an interprovincial travel report of its own that's part of planning for a new Ottawa River bridge.
Locals are waiting for more details including cost and timeline for the proposed new Ottawa Senators arena at LeBreton Flats. The NCC says it intends to finalize the terms of sale for the land this year, along with building the broader community around it.
Outside the capital, the Quebec government has said it could start installing more safety barriers on Highway 50 east of Gatineau this year.
The company that paused a $2.76-billion electric vehicle battery plant near Kingston has said a strategic review of its battery business should be done soon.