You see toddlers wearing snow suits and bike helmets. They spend a lot of their time sitting on the ice eating snow. Then there are the couples. They move together, skating arm in arm. And there are plenty of tourists.
Visitors have easy access to hotels and restaurants near the canal.
The largest number come for the Winterlude Festival in February. Ottawa resident Bob McBurnee has been skating on the canal for almost 30 years. People have been skating on the canal for years. It's usually frozen from January to March. But in 1971, the Canadian government made it official.