City staff urged secrecy on surprise Bluesfest fireworks plan, emails show
Documents reveal July 3 emails flagged "CONFIDENTIAL UPDATE" on rescheduled Canada Day fireworks display that alarmed residents across Ottawa.
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City of Ottawa staff marked the plan to fire off unexploded Canada Day fireworks at the start of Bluesfest as "CONFIDENTIAL UPDATE" and instructed staff not to share the information, documents obtained by reporters show.
Barbara Stacey, the city's program manager for event coordination, sent the July 3 email to the Special Events Advisory Team flagging that the information was "being shared to those who need-to-know only and is not to be shared externally or within your service unless operationally necessary." The email was marked "NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE."
After July 1 Canada Day fireworks were cancelled due to severe thunderstorms, unexploded shells remained on Lemieux Island. Rather than disarm each shell manually—a process the contractor described as "extremely dangerous"—Canadian Heritage decided discharging them was safer. The rescheduled display launched shortly before 11 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, lasting about 11 minutes.
The decision to proceed without public notice sparked immediate backlash. Residents across Kitchissippi and as far as Ottawa's west end reported hearing an unusually intense barrage that rattled homes. Forty-six bylaw complaints were filed. Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said the timing—coming after severe storms during an unsettled period—made the decision to act "with no notice that I can discern" difficult to understand.
Stacey's email noted the display would be "done without publicity or promotion to the public" and would benefit from Bluesfest's existing closures and security deployments. If thunderstorms had occurred on July 9, officials planned to discharge the fireworks on July 10 instead.
Why was the decision made to fire the shells rather than transport and disarm them safely at another location?
Did the city consider notifying residents in advance, given Bluesfest's planned closure and security presence would allow safe execution?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
The facts
When were the rescheduled Canada Day fireworks discharged?
The fireworks launched shortly before 11 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, 2026, and lasted about 11 minutes.
Why were the fireworks discharged without public notice?
City staff marked the plan as confidential and instructed that it not be shared externally or within city services unless operationally necessary. The display was intentionally done without publicity or promotion to the public.
How many bylaw complaints were filed after the fireworks?
Forty-six bylaw complaints were filed following the rescheduled display.
Why couldn't the unexploded shells be disarmed manually?
The contractor described manual disarming as 'extremely dangerous,' so Canadian Heritage decided that discharging the shells was the safer option.
