For Canada Day, I tested out the NCC’s new swimming dock beneath Parliament

Ottawa Citizen reporter Olivia Belovich and Mike Adams enjoy diving from the East Wharf NCC swimming dock near Parliament Hill and the Rideau Locks, July 01, 2026. Photo by Jean Levac /POSTMEDIA

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This was my first Canada Day in Ottawa. I moved here last August and brought with me all the skepticism of someone who grew up a short car ride away from downtown Toronto.

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I also brought to the capital a distaste for swimming in waters near downtown. Not many people in Toronto swim in Lake Ontario. There’s a general understanding that it’s kind of gross.

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But I decided to embrace Ottawa’s love for swimming in places I previously wouldn’t have considered by trying out the new NCC dock at the East Wharf, right near Major’s Hill Park, on Canada Day.

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I arrived at the dock at about 11 a.m., relieved to see a body of water I could jump in after a blazing hot 30 C bike ride.

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And jump in I did. My dives are rusty — I’m not sure I’ve done one since I learned to swim — I stuck to a trusty cannonball. Just as well, because next to me was Tara Gosling, a University of Ottawa student doing handstands into the water.

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About five cannonballs later, I realized I hadn’t even taken in the view. Paddling in place, I noticed a water taxi filled with cheering, red-and-white-clad people floating by.

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A view of the East Wharf NCC swimming dock near Parliament Hill and the Rideau Locks, July 01, 2026. Photo by Jean Levac /POSTMEDIA

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Parliament Hill glowed in the heat, just to the right of the Rideau Canal’s locks.

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And then, I realized the locks were open, and foamy canal water was rushing into the river.

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Emerancia Nkambu, who was selling lemonade and ice cream at the wharf’s refreshment stand, warned me about this when I greeted her upon my arrival.

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“The water just smells,” she laughed, opening the fridge for a waft of cold air.

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For five minutes or so, there was indeed a faint stink, and a few people waited it out on land until the locks closed again and order was restored — the cannonballs resumed.

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Tara Gosling enjoyed diving at the East Wharf NCC swimming dock near Parliament Hill and the Rideau Locks, July 01, 2026. Photo by Jean Levac /POSTMEDIA

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Gosling, who swims regularly at Ottawa’s various docks, has been at East Wharf for the past three mornings. She said this is the first time she’s seen the locks open.

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“If you come at the right time, it’s not too busy. The water’s been pretty warm recently,” she told me.

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When I first arrived, the dock wasn’t busy at all, with about 20 people alternating between sunbathing and jumping in.

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But Nkambu knew it would be a different story by noon. She told me she arrived at work early so she’d have more time to set up.

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“I’m just trying to put more drinks in the fridge, refill the ice cream, and get more snacks. I’m just waiting for people, because I know it’s going to be crazy,” she said.

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By noon, as outside began to feel like more of a sauna, bike racks were full, lawn chairs littered the surrounding grass, and Canadian flags, visors and T-shirts lined the wooden seating area.

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This was short-lived, though, as an early afternoon storm blew through the capital bringing with it plenty of rain and thunder and suspending some of the party.

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But the sky was still clear at this point, and there were about 50 people in total on the dock and in the water.