Published on November 8, 2016
April 2016 marks five years since Ottawa’s Shaw Centre opened its doors and immediately changed the meetings and conventions landscape in Canada’s capital. The first half-decade has given the Centre reason to celebrate. It’s hosted thousands of events, from national and international conferences, to trade shows, gala celebrations and ceremonies. It’s won the praise of planners from around the globe. And it’s become a source of local pride, and a landmark facility that enjoys pride of place in the heart of city.
Before the Centre opened, Canadian associations were bypassing Ottawa because the capital simply didn’t have enough meeting space capacity. Recognizing the need, municipal, provincial and federal governments joined forces to respond, removing the old Ottawa Congress Centre and replacing it with a beautiful new state-of-the-art facility. What is now called Shaw Centre opened to rave reviews in 2011, and with good reason: it’s a LEED Gold certified facility committed to sustainable operations; it’s located in the heart of downtown, within easy walking distance of 6000 hotel rooms, major attractions, shopping, dining and nightlife; and it will soon be connected to hotels and the VIA Rail station by Ottawa’s new O-Train Confederation Line.
Built by our community, Shaw Centre makes giving back to the community a central part of its corporate social responsibility program. Its Leave A Legacy Program enables clients to ‘pay it forward with what’s left behind’ – donating leftover goods to the local community with the assistance of volunteer Shaw Centre colleagues. We help clients identify opportunities to donate anything left over from their event that could help those in need in our community and make all the arrangements to ensure the donation goes where it can make a difference.
Ranked among the top three convention centres in the world for customer service, Shaw Centre responds to the needs of Canadian associations and organizations who wanted to meet in their capital city but couldn’t. It’s your place, built for you. Come use it!
