Barrhaven BIA 2026 Municipal Election Priorities

Building a Complete, Prosperous, and Distinctive South Ottawa Economy

Barrhaven has grown into one of Ottawa’s largest suburban communities and an increasingly important employment, commercial and investment centre.

Through our ongoing research, member feedback, and direct conversations with Barrhaven businesses and property owners, the Barrhaven BIA sees both the opportunities created by this growth and the challenges that can prevent it from translating into a stronger local economy.

Our next challenge is not simply accommodating more growth. It is ensuring that growth creates the kind of community and local economy we want.

That requires thoughtful land-use planning, infrastructure investment, a stronger mix of businesses and employment, attractive and safe commercial places, and a City that sees the Barrhaven BIA as a partner in economic development.

These priorities reflect what we are hearing from our local business community, what our research tells us about Barrhaven’s evolving economy, and the five pillars of the BBIA’s refreshed 2025-2030 Strategic Plan.

1. MARKETING & PLACE PROMOTION

Build Barrhaven as a destination, not simply as a place to live.

Barrhaven should be a place where people choose to shop, dine, work, invest and spend their time.

Our work with local businesses reinforces the importance of creating destinations and experiences that encourage residents and visitors to spend more time within Barrhaven and support its local economy.

We need City partnership to:

Create distinctive destinations and gathering places within Barrhaven.
Support events, public art, animation and placemaking in commercial areas.
Advance the Downtown Barrhaven Civic Complex and public square as the civic and cultural heart of our community.
Strengthen Barrhaven’s profile as a destination for business and investment.

These investments are not simply about aesthetics. Creating recognizable, active and welcoming commercial places can support business visibility, encourage repeat visits and strengthen Barrhaven’s identity within Ottawa.

2. MEMBERSHIP EXPERIENCE & BUSINESS SUCCESS

Create the conditions for independent businesses to succeed.

A healthy local economy needs more than national chains. Barrhaven needs a stronger mix of independent restaurants, retailers, services, entertainment and locally owned businesses that give our community character and keep more spending local.

Through member feedback and conversations with businesses and property owners, the BBIA regularly sees how the physical form of commercial development, municipal processes and the availability of appropriate commercial space can influence where businesses choose to locate and whether they can successfully grow.

That requires looking beyond individual business support to the broader business environment that makes entrepreneurship and investment possible.

We need City partnership to:

Reduce unnecessary barriers, delays and complexity for businesses opening, expanding or investing.
Improve coordination of permits, patios, signage and other business-facing City services.
Support business attraction, retention and expansion.
Work with the BBIA and property owners to identify opportunities to attract more independent and locally owned businesses.
Consider how commercial planning and development decisions affect the availability of spaces suitable for smaller and independent operators.

The BBIA can contribute direct local business intelligence to this work, helping the City understand emerging opportunities, recurring barriers and the needs of businesses operating in Barrhaven.

3. PUBLIC EXPERIENCE & PLACEMAKING

Make commercial areas places people want to be.

The experience outside the front door matters almost as much as what happens inside a business.

Safe, attractive, connected and memorable commercial districts encourage people to stay longer, return more often and support local businesses.

This is particularly important in a growing suburban community such as Barrhaven, where commercial areas must increasingly serve not only as shopping destinations but also as places for community activity, social connection and everyday life.

We need City partnership on:

Responsive community safety and By-law services.
Youth engagement initiatives.
Beautification, public art and placemaking.
Better pedestrian, transit and cycling connections within and between commercial districts.
Public spaces designed for people, activity and community life.

The BBIA is prepared to bring local business feedback, on-the-ground observations and research to these conversations so investments respond to the experience of Barrhaven businesses and their customers.

4. ADVOCACY, LEADERSHIP & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Plan the next Barrhaven, not the last one.

This is where municipal decisions can have the greatest long-term impact.

Barrhaven’s continued growth creates an opportunity to make deliberate choices about the kind of local economy that growth will support.

Zoning Shapes Our Economy

Zoning does more than determine where development occurs. It influences what gets built, and what gets built influences which businesses can afford to locate here.

If commercial development is dominated by large-format buildings, drive-throughs and standardized retail units, our tenant mix will inevitably reflect that built form.

Barrhaven needs greater variety: smaller storefronts, flexible commercial units, mixed-use buildings, patios, entertainment spaces, offices and other formats that create opportunities for entrepreneurs and independent businesses.

This connection between planning and economic development is important. A community cannot expect a diverse business mix if its built environment provides only a limited range of spaces in which those businesses can operate.

We want the city to consider business mix, entrepreneurship and economic diversity as outcomes of good planning.

Priorities for the next Council include:

Zoning and development policies that enable a greater diversity of commercial building types and unit sizes.
More mixed-use and pedestrian-oriented development in appropriate locations.
Protection and strategic development of employment lands.
Acceleration of critical transportation infrastructure, including the Greenbank Road realignment.
Better transit connections between neighbourhoods, commercial districts and employment areas.
Delivery of the Downtown Barrhaven Civic Complex and public square.
Support for new employment opportunities, including federal workplace opportunities in south Ottawa.
Infrastructure planning that anticipates growth rather than follows it.

As these projects and policies move forward, the BBIA believes decisions should be informed by current municipal information, local economic data and direct consultation with businesses and property owners.

Our goal is simple: more people living, working, shopping and spending locally.

5. ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE & GOVERNANCE

Treat BIAs as economic development partners.

The BBIA brings local business intelligence, relationships, research, data and implementation capacity directly to the City’s economic development work.

Because we maintain ongoing relationships with businesses and property owners, the BBIA can provide municipal decision-makers with insight into conditions on the ground: what businesses are experiencing, where barriers exist, what opportunities are emerging and how broader City decisions affect commercial districts.

That knowledge should be integrated into economic development and policy-making.

We want the next Council to strengthen that partnership through:

Predictable and equitable support for Ottawa BIAs.
Continued investment in shared economic and consumer data.
Better coordination between BIAs and City departments through a centralized office with a stronger City-wide approach to small business support and BIA service delivery.
Meaningful BIA participation in policies affecting commercial districts.
Earlier engagement with BIAs when planning, infrastructure or policy decisions could materially affect local businesses.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Barrhaven will continue to grow.

Our opportunity is to make sure population growth translates into economic growth, better places and a more complete community.

That means moving beyond simply adding housing, roads and commercial square footage.

It means intentionally building a community with:

More local jobs.
More independent businesses.
More interesting places.
More ways to move around our community.
More reasons to spend time and money locally.

These priorities are informed by the BBIA’s research, member feedback and ongoing conversations with the businesses and property owners that invest, employ people and serve customers in Barrhaven every day.

The Barrhaven BIA is ready to bring that knowledge and experience to the table and work with the next Council to turn Barrhaven’s continued growth into lasting local economic opportunity.

A Commitment for the Next Council

We are asking candidates for Ottawa City Council to recognize Barrhaven’s growing economic importance and commit to working with the Barrhaven BIA on these five priorities.

Specifically, we ask the next Council to:

recognize BIAs as partners in local economic development;
consider business and economic outcomes in planning and infrastructure decisions;
advance the infrastructure and civic investments needed to support Barrhaven’s growth;
create conditions in which independent and locally owned businesses can succeed; and
engage the BBIA and Barrhaven business community meaningfully when decisions affect our commercial districts.

Barrhaven’s next chapter should not be defined simply by how much we grow, but by what that growth allows our community to become.

The Barrhaven BIA is ready to work with the next Council to build a more complete, prosperous and distinctive south Ottawa economy.

Barhaven BIA 2026 Municipal Election Priorities