Peter Szperling

3 weeks ago | ctvnews.ca | Peter Szperling

Rural Ottawa students are connecting with space. Lucky Grade 6 and 7 students from Kars on the Rideau Public School in Ottawa’s south end had the opportunity to speak with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station Tuesday morning. “It was really fun and, like, a once in a lifetime moment,” says Grade 6 student Lyla Lightfoot. About a dozen students asked questions of astronaut Nichole Ayers. “Who inspired her to go to space?” asked Grade 6 student Owen.

3 weeks ago | ctvnews.ca | Peter Szperling

An Ottawa-based foreign exchange business says the U.S. tariff war is having a direct and harmful effect on its bottom line. “A pretty significant shock to our business,” says Ali Al-Saady, senior business analyst with Altaif, Inc. “Year over year, for example, February revenue in U.S. dollars is down about 20 per cent. People are obviously canceling or deferring their travel plans, their investment decisions.”The Ottawa business has branches in Ottawa, Toronto and Windsor.

4 weeks ago | ctvnews.ca | Peter Szperling

An Ottawa-area woman, with the help of a mystery donor, is making Easter a little more special for families staying at Ronald McDonald House. Once a month, Connie Lebrun donates custom gift baskets to various charities and organizations as part of “random acts of kindness.”After seeing a social media post about items in need to fill their pantry, Lebrun knew who this months’ recipient would be. “It’s a fantastic place,” she tells CTV News Ottawa.

4 weeks ago | ctvnews.ca | Peter Szperling

With less than two weeks before election day, voters in Orléans are preparing to vote and candidates are busy canvassing. Orléans is a fast-growing suburb of Ottawa’s east end, with many public servants living in the riding. The boundary for Orléans has been redrawn for the 2025 federal election, with sections of the riding shifting to the ridings of Ottawa-Vanier-Gloucester, Carleton and Prescott-Russell-Cumberland. According to Elections Canada, there are 101,322 electors on the list.

1 month ago | ctvnews.ca | Peter Szperling

Ottawa’s busy summer tourism season is just around the corner, but with fewer Canadians travelling to the U.S. and a lower Canadian dollar, tourism organizers are hoping more people will come to the nation’s capital. Canadian visits to the United States plummeted last month amid anger over tariffs and annexation threats from its president, on top of growing fears about treatment at the border.