Cultures · Western Europe
Italian community in Ottawa.
45,685 Ottawa residents report Italian origin, eighth among every origin in the city. Little Italy on Preston Street has been home since about 1900.
Figures · Census 2021, Statistics Canada
The short answer.
Census 2021 counts 45,685 Ottawa residents of Italian origin, the eighth most reported origin in the city. 4,625 were born in Italy and 65 arrived between 2016 and 2021: Italian Ottawa is a community of children and grandchildren. Italian is the mother tongue of 7,960 residents, fifth among non-official languages, and 15,235 can speak it.
All figures · Census 2021, Statistics Canada
Residents of Italian origin
Eighth among every origin Ottawa residents reported, after Irish, Scottish, English, French, Canadian, German and Chinese.
Census 2021, Statistics Canada · ethnic or cultural origin, alone or with other origins, City of Ottawa
How the community got here.
A neighbourhood, a church and a census: three records of the same community.
Arrival · three lines
Little Italy since about 1900
Italian families settled around Preston Street in Centretown West from about 1900. St. Anthony's Church, founded in 1913 on Gladstone Avenue, became the anchor of the neighbourhood.
A community of generations
45,685 residents report Italian origin; 4,625 were born in Italy and 65 arrived between 2016 and 2021. Nine in ten Italian Ottawans were born somewhere other than Italy.
Census 2021, Statistics CanadaCorso Italia
Preston Street carries a second name, Corso Italia, and an arch in the colours of the Italian flag marks its southern end. Gladstone Avenue is also Via Marconi.
The language.
Italian in Ottawa is often a family's second or third language: 7,960 residents have it as their mother tongue and 15,235 can speak it. Six words that work at any counter on Preston Street.
Italian · stress on the capitals
| Say | Sounds like | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Buongiorno | bwon-JOR-no | Good morning, until about lunch. |
| Buonasera | bwo-na-SEH-ra | Good evening, from the afternoon on. |
| Come stai? | KO-meh STY | How are you? Between friends. |
| Grazie mille | GRAHT-see-eh MEEL-leh | Thanks a lot. |
| Buon appetito | bwon ap-peh-TEE-to | Enjoy your meal. |
| Salute | sa-LOO-teh | Cheers; also bless you. |
The kitchen.
Ottawa knows the Italian kitchen through Preston Street: its cafés, bakeries and family restaurants.
Five dishes · what they actually are
Espresso
A short, strong coffee, drunk standing at the bar in a minute.
Fresh pasta
Egg dough rolled and cut by hand: tagliatelle, ravioli, tortellini, each region with its own shapes.
Arancini
Fried rice balls filled with ragù or mozzarella, from Sicily.
Porchetta
A boned pork roast rolled with herbs, garlic and fennel, sliced thin into bread.
Cannoli
Crisp fried pastry tubes filled with sweetened ricotta, Sicilian again.
The year.
June is the Italian month in Ottawa. The rest of the year follows the civil calendar and the church year.
Fixed and moving dates
| When | What | How the date behaves |
|---|---|---|
| 2 June | Festa della Repubblica | Fixed. Italy became a republic by referendum in 1946. |
| 13 June | Feast of St. Anthony of Padua | Fixed. The patron of the neighbourhood's parish: an open-air mass and a procession through Little Italy. |
| June | Italian Week, Preston Street | Every June; it opens with the feast of St. Anthony. |
| 24 December | La Vigilia | Fixed. Christmas Eve dinner without meat, in many families built on fish. |
| Easter | Pasqua and Pasquetta | Moves every year. Pasquetta, the Monday after, is a day for a picnic. |
Where the community gathers.
A church, a street and a family table carry most of the community's life.
Four kinds of place
St. Anthony's Church
Founded in 1913 on Gladstone Avenue, the parish that gives Italian Week its opening feast.
Preston Street
Cafés, bakeries and family restaurants along Corso Italia, and the street itself during Italian Week in June.
Clubs and associations
Clubs and associations run the dinners, the dances and the committees that carry the year from one celebration to the next.
Language classes
Italian classes for children and adults carry the language to grandchildren born here.
At the festival.
Italian Week in June belongs to Preston Street. A pavilion at Capital Cultures in September is a different weekend and a smaller ask.
First edition · September 2027 · free entry
- The kitchen decides the menu. Food, drink and souvenirs sold at a community pavilion stay with the community in full, and the pavilion fee is zero.
- The stage is programmed by the community. We hold the schedule, the sound and the licences; the community holds who performs and in what order.
- A community festival and a pavilion here are separate things. Italian Week in June stays entirely Preston Street's own, and a pavilion in September takes nothing from it.
- 01The community sends the pavilion application (ten minutes)
- 02A person answers within ten working days
- 03The board reads the published terms
- 04Both sides sign the participation agreement
- 05The pavilion opens on the field, September 2027
Short answers.
What people ask about Italian Ottawa, answered from the census and the community calendar.
5 questions
How many Italians live in Ottawa?
Census 2021 counts 45,685 Ottawa residents of Italian origin, alone or with other origins, the eighth most reported origin in the city. 4,625 residents were born in Italy, and 65 arrived between 2016 and 2021.
Where is Little Italy in Ottawa?
Along Preston Street, also called Corso Italia, in Centretown West; an arch in the colours of the Italian flag marks its southern end. St. Anthony's Church stands on Gladstone Avenue, which is also Via Marconi.
When is Italian Week in Ottawa?
Every June, on Preston Street. It opens with the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, the parish's patron, with an open-air mass and a procession through Little Italy.
How many people speak Italian in Ottawa?
15,235 Ottawa residents can speak Italian, 7,960 have it as their mother tongue, fifth among non-official languages, and 1,995 speak it most often at home (Census 2021). Six words to say out loud.
Can the Italian community run a pavilion at Capital Cultures?
Yes. Capital Cultures is a free two-day multicultural festival in Ottawa in September 2027. Each pavilion is run by a community: it plans its menu and stage, keeps what its counter takes, and pays no pavilion fee. A person answers every application within ten working days. How a community applies.
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