Vanier, Ontario

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Ottawa's Vanier neighbourhood is a former municipality that ceased to exist in 2001 by becoming part of the city of Ottawa, Ontario. It is most notable for its large francophone population, and has 15,726 residents today (2006 census).

The Vanier neighbourhood is located in the east of Ottawa across the Rideau River from the neighbourhoods of Lowertown and Sandy Hill, and just south of Rockcliffe Park and New Edinburgh. To the east of Vanier are the suburbs of Gloucester. Vanier has a relatively small area with a high population density.

In 1908, the communities of Janeville, Clarkstown and Clandeboye were joined to form the village of Eastview. In 1913, Eastview was incorporated as a town. Originally it was a popular destination for civil servants who wished to live at a distance from downtown. It later saw a large influx of French-Canadians and became the main francophone area in the capital. In 1963 it became a city, and in 1969 was renamed after the recently-deceased Governor General of Canada, Georges Vanier.

The section of Montreal Road used as the main thoroughfare of the community saw prostitution and drugs in the past, but is an up-and-coming area today. Vanier offers a wide choice of retail shops, strip malls, eateries, bars, etc. As one of the last relatively inexpensive Ottawa neighbourhoods with a desirable location next to downtown, Vanier is increasingly considered a target for gentrification. Both subsidized and self-financed housing is available here, with several existing and proposed upscale condominiums and infill developments. The population on the western edge of Vanier closer to the Rideau River, esp. the Kingsview Park neighbourhood, is among the more affluent.

Like nearby Lowertown, Ottawa's Vanier neighbourhood is home to a number of French-speaking immigrants from Africa and elsewhere. It is also the site of an urban maple syrup Sugar Bush Festival held in spring, and home to an outdoor Catholic shrine, the Grotte des Lourdes.

Vanier is part of the federal riding of Ottawa—Vanier, and the Ottawa—Vanier provincial riding. It is traditionally one of the staunchly Liberal ridings in Canada, having voted for the party consistently since the riding's creation. Federally, it is represented by Mauril Belanger, and provincially by Madeleine Meilleur.

According to the Canada 2001 Census: