Snowy Ottawa Sunday morning

Folks out skating on the canal during a blizzard. That’s Canada! The city is very quiet when a blanket of snow covers the land. Even the cars drive by quieter.

On weekdays you can often see skaters carrying briefcases or big backpacks as they glide their way to work on their daily commute. Or perhaps it’s called skatemute?

Billed as “the world's largest skating rink”, the frozen canal winds its way through downtown Ottawa. Each winter, from roughly January to late February or early March, this boating, canoeing and kayaking waterway transforms into an epic urban skating rink.

When open (weather permitting), the Rideau Canal Skateway is free and accessible 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Anyone can explore any section of the 7.8 kilometres (4.8 miles) thanks to its universally accessible ramps and facilities. Non-skaters can walk or shuffle along the edges of the Skateway (away from skaters), or on the pathways above the canal.

Further into the video, you’ll notice some red snow removal signs. There are two types. Yellow ones indicate that they will be clearing your street the very next day whereas the red ones indicate that they will be doing your street overnight. In both instances you want to make sure you don’t leave your car on the street. Along with all the snow plows and dump trucks, a small fleet of tow truck drivers travel ahead to scoop up any parked cars before the “snow train” gets to those streets. The entire thing works like clockwork.

I’ve also included a shot of Immaculata high school, a Tartarian-ish building overlooking the Rideau canal.