Stittsville

Stittsville is one of Ottawa's most compelling growth stories: a former rural village that has evolved into a thriving, family-oriented community of more than 52,000 residents, all while managing to preserve the small-town character that drew people here in the first place. Located at the western edge of Ottawa's urban boundary, Stittsville sits roughly 30 kilometres west of downtown, just south of Kanata and north of Richmond. It is bounded by Terry Fox Drive to the east, the Trans Canada Trail and Goulbourn Wetland Complex to the west, Hazeldean Road to the north, and Fallowfield Road to the south.

The area's roots go back to the early 19th century, when Irish immigrant Jackson Stitt arrived, established a shoemaking shop, and became the community's first postmaster in 1854. The village was officially named Stitt's Corner and later Stittsville. A devastating fire in 1870 levelled most of the original buildings, but the community rebuilt quickly, aided by the completion of the Canada Central Railroad in that same year. The rebuilt village centred on the railway crossing at Abbott Street, and that heritage core survives today in a designated historic district along Stittsville Main Street. The junction of Main Street and Abbott Street remains the symbolic heart of old Stittsville, and the Trans Canada Trail now follows the former rail corridor.

Growth accelerated dramatically after the extension of Highway 417 in the 1970s made commuting to Ottawa practical, and again in the 1990s and 2000s as Ottawa's tech sector boomed. Stittsville was amalgamated into the City of Ottawa in 2001 along with the rest of Goulbourn Township. Today, roughly 44 per cent of all homes in Stittsville were built since 2016, meaning nearly half the community is brand new. At the current rate of approximately 1,000 new homes per year, the ward is projected to reach 30,000 households and a population of over 75,000 within two decades.

What makes Stittsville distinctive within Ottawa's suburbs is the rare coexistence of two very different identities. The heritage Main Street corridor, with its Victorian-era brick buildings, independent restaurants, artisan shops, and the Trans Canada Trail trailhead at Village Square Park, gives the community a genuine village soul. Radiating outward from that core are the established subdivisions of the 1980s and 1990s, such as Amberwood Village, Glen Cairn, and West Ridge, followed by the massive current-generation developments in Fernbank, Edenwylde, Blackstone, and Jackson Trails. Residents in all of these areas benefit from low crime rates, abundant parks and trails, strong schools, and a community culture that prioritises inclusion, events, and neighbourliness. The Welcome to Stittsville Multicultural Festival, the Front Porch Concerts, Art in the Park, and an active events calendar at Village Square Park all reinforce a community identity that goes well beyond simply being a bedroom suburb.

The trade-off is the commute. Stittsville is currently car-dependent by design: Highway 417 via Hazeldean Road or Carp Road is the primary route to downtown, and under normal traffic conditions that drive runs approximately 27 to 35 minutes. Transit options have improved since OC Transpo's April 2025 "New Ways to Bus" network overhaul, and longer-term plans call for LRT to eventually reach a Hazeldean Station in Stittsville. But that is a horizon-year aspiration, not a near-term reality. For buyers who value space, community, school quality, and relative value over transit speed to the core, Stittsville represents a genuinely strong proposition in Ottawa's west end.

Stittsville's housing market has demonstrated consistent long-term appreciation with a healthy mid-cycle correction in 2023–2024, positioning 2025 and beyond as a constructive entry window for buyers. The full-year 2025 average across all property types was $805,829, representing a 3.2 per cent increase over 2024, which itself closed flat year-over-year after the sharp correction from the 2022 peak of $848,105. For context, the average price was $211,980 in 2000, crossed $400,000 in 2011, and surged 28.6 per cent in 2021 alone during the pandemic buying frenzy. The current market reflects a return to fundamentals: moderate, sustainable appreciation rather than speculative heat.

By property type (December 2025 market update)

The majority of active inventory lists within the $700,000 to $1,000,000 range, and approximately 15.6 per cent of homes sold above asking price in 2025, indicating healthy but not overheated demand. Average days on market sits at approximately 21 to 32 days. New construction in the Fernbank area provides an additional price entry point, with townhomes starting from approximately $519,900 to $650,000 and detached singles ranging from roughly $796,990 to over $1 million depending on builder, model, and lot size.

New construction in the Fernbank area is where the most active development is concentrated. The intersection of Fernbank Road and Shea Road is currently anchored by multiple active communities:

The Fernbank Crossing community, one of the earlier phases of development in this area, was a joint project of eQ Homes and The Regional Group that welcomed over 900 families and is now complete. Looking further ahead, Caivan has proposed a 1,692-home subdivision on Flewellyn Road and Fernbank Road in the adjacent Stittsville South W-4 area, and Claridge Homes has a proposal for a further 2,391 homes on land west of the current urban boundary. The latter is currently opposed by Ward 6 Councillor Glen Gower and the Ward 21 councillor due to infrastructure and servicing concerns.

For buyers looking at established resale properties, the earlier subdivisions, including Amberwood Village (adjacent to the Amberwood Golf Club), Glen Cairn, Fairwinds, West Ridge, Blackstone, and Poole Creek Village, offer a range of home sizes on mature lots with established landscaping and community infrastructure already in place.

Stittsville Main (Heritage Village Core) is the original heart of the community, centred on the stretch of Stittsville Main Street between Hazeldean Road and Bell Street. This is where the 1870s brick streetscape survives, where the Trans Canada Trail meets the village at Village Square Park, and where independent restaurants, cafes, and shops have been revitalised over the past decade. Holy Spirit Catholic School sits on Main Street, and the Goulbourn Museum at 2064 Huntley Road preserves the area's history. The area is designated a Traditional Mainstreet under the City's Official Plan, with a Community Design Plan in place to guide future mixed-use intensification at a human scale. Properties here tend to be older, larger-lot detached homes and converted commercial buildings.

Amberwood Village and Glen Cairn are established, mature subdivisions immediately east and south of the village core. Amberwood is notable for its location adjacent to the Amberwood Village Golf Club, offering premium lots along the fairways. These are predominantly 1980s and 1990s detached homes on generous lots with mature trees. Glen Cairn is a similar vintage, family-oriented community with its own parks, schools, and strong community association.

West Ridge and Fairwinds represent the transition to newer planned communities. West Ridge Drive is a key arterial through the community's more recent development, and Fairwinds was a major master-planned project from Mattamy Homes that is now largely built out.

Poole Creek Village is a contemporary neighbourhood centred on the Poole Creek natural corridor, one of Ottawa's outstanding urban natural features that originates in the provincially significant Goulbourn Wetland Complex west of Stittsville. Walking trails line the creek through the neighbourhood, giving it a distinctive natural amenity.

Jackson Trails is a newer subdivision in the northern part of Stittsville, characterised by contemporary detached homes and townhouses, with access to Hazeldean Road and proximity to the commercial corridor at Tanger Outlets.

Blackstone sits on the border between Stittsville and Kanata, offering modern townhomes and detached homes at varying price points. The community benefits from proximity to both Terry Fox Station (the key transit hub) and the Bell Sensplex.

Fernbank is the largest active development zone in Stittsville, spanning the area around Fernbank Road and Shea Road in the southern portion of the ward. Multiple builders are actively constructing homes across several named communities including EdenWylde, Idylea, Shea Village, and Union West. This area will include new schools, parks, and a planned commercial node as it matures over the coming decade. Maplewood Secondary School, which opened in September 2024 at the corner of Robert Grant Avenue and Cope Drive, anchors the educational infrastructure for this growth area.

Edenwylde is a Cardel Homes-anchored community within the broader Fernbank development zone, positioned near the Trans Canada Trail and offering a range of townhomes, bungalows, and two-storey singles with design choices aimed at connecting new construction to the natural surroundings.

Bradley Estates and Bradley Commons are slightly older residential areas in the southern and southwestern portions of Stittsville, offering more established housing stock relative to the current Fernbank builds.

Stittsville is exceptionally well served by schools across all four Ottawa boards, and the recent opening of Maplewood Secondary School has addressed a long-standing gap for the fast-growing Fernbank and western Stittsville communities.

French Catholic Secondary (CECCE)

The combination of Maplewood Secondary School (OCDSB, now phasing in its full programme) and Sacred Heart Catholic High School (OCSB) gives Stittsville families strong secondary options in both the public and Catholic systems without requiring a cross-city commute. The pending full opening of Maplewood with all grades by September 2027 is particularly significant for the Fernbank area, which has operated for years without a local secondary school.

Stittsville Main Street

The revival of Stittsville Main Street is one of the community's defining stories of the past decade. Following the adoption of the Stittsville Main Street Community Design Plan in 2015, investment in independent businesses, heritage restoration, and streetscaping has created a walkable village corridor that is genuinely distinctive within Ottawa's west end. Key anchors include Napoli's Cafe (Italian cuisine, established over 30 years), Ritual On Main (coffee, sandwiches, and treats, a key stop for Trans Canada Trail cyclists), Hurley's Grill (casual dining and sports bar), Cafe Vanille (new addition, coffee and treats), Poco Pazzo (Italian), The Glen Scottish Pub, and Brown's Independent Grocer. Village Square Park at the intersection of Abbott Street and Stittsville Main serves as the community's outdoor gathering space and is the western entry to the Trans Canada Trail.

Shopping

The Hazeldean Road commercial corridor is the primary big-box and grocery hub for Stittsville, running east from Carp Road toward Terry Fox Drive. Major anchors include Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore on opposite sides of the Hazeldean and Terry Fox corridor, along with Homesense, Farm Boy, Shoppers Drug Mart, and a range of services. The Jackson Trails Plaza on the west side of Terry Fox Drive serves the northern Stittsville and Jackson Trails communities. Tanger Outlets Ottawa on Palladium Drive (near Terry Fox and the 417) provides an outlet shopping option within a 5-minute drive. Kanata Centrum, the major regional shopping and entertainment hub, is approximately a 5-minute drive to the northeast and includes Chapters, Best Buy, Lowe's, restaurants, and the Canadian Tire Centre. Costco is located off Kanata Avenue in Kanata, accessible via Terry Fox Drive.

Recreation: CARDELREC Recreation Complex (Goulbourn)

CARDELREC (formerly the Goulbourn Recreation Complex, renamed following a naming rights agreement with Cardel Homes) at 1500 Shea Road is Stittsville's primary recreation facility. The complex features skating arenas, a swimming pool, gymnasiums, gymnastics facilities, programming spaces, and meeting rooms. It is home to numerous hockey, figure skating, and aquafitness programmes and serves as the eastern terminus for bus Routes 61 and 62. Hours are Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 9:30 PM, Saturday and Sunday 7:30 AM to 8:45 PM.

Johnny Leroux Stittsville Community Arena

Located at 10 Warner-Colpitts Lane, the Johnny Leroux Arena is a community ice facility named after the former Ottawa Senators player who is a Stittsville native. It supports local hockey and skating programmes and is distinct from CARDELREC as a smaller neighbourhood rink.

Bell Sensplex

While located just across the ward boundary near Kanata, the Bell Sensplex (formerly Richcraft Sensplex) at 1565 Maple Grove Road is within easy reach of most Stittsville communities. It features four regulation-size ice surfaces and is one of the premier multi-ice hockey and figure skating facilities in the Ottawa region. Route 60 connects Stittsville to Terry Fox Station, which is a short distance from the Sensplex.

Trans Canada Trail

The Trans Canada Trail runs through the heart of old Stittsville, entering the community from the west along the former Canada Central Railroad corridor. The Village Square Park trailhead on Abbott Street is the civic anchor for this connection. The trail extends west toward Carleton Place and east toward downtown Ottawa, providing a multi-use pathway for cycling, running, walking, and cross-country skiing. It also connects to the Goulbourn Wetland Complex, a provincially significant ecological area west of Stittsville that supports conservation programming led by the Friends of Stittsville Wetlands.

Parks

The Stittsville area offers an extensive network of community parks, including Bradley Craig Park (home to the Stittsville Cricket Club's annual festival), various Fernbank-area parks, and green corridors along Poole Creek. Walter Baker Park on Terry Fox Drive, while just across the ward boundary in Kanata, is a major destination for soccer, cycling, and walking. The Goulbourn Wetland Complex west of the community is one of the most significant natural areas in suburban Ottawa.

Community Events

Stittsville has a rich and growing community events calendar. The Welcome to Stittsville Multicultural Festival (held annually in June at Village Square Park, now in its fifth year) celebrates the community's growing diversity. Stittsville Art in the Park (Village Square Park, June), the Front Porch Concerts (June), Music and Movies in the Park (August), and the West Side Pride Festival (July) all draw residents throughout the warmer months. The Goulbourn Museum at 2064 Huntley Road, built in 1872 as the former Goulbourn Township Hall, is open to visitors Thursday through Sunday in summer and Friday through Saturday in fall and winter, offering interactive exhibits including the Village General Store, a colonial-era exploration exhibit, and a collection commemorating the Great Fire of 1870.

Stittsville is candidly car-dependent: it is one of the most important caveats for any prospective buyer to understand before committing to the community. That said, the picture is evolving.

Highway Access

Highway 417 (the Queensway) is the primary commuting artery. Drivers enter the 417 via Hazeldean Road (Exit 138) or Carp Road (Exit 136) in the west end. Under normal conditions, the drive from central Stittsville to downtown Ottawa covers approximately 29 to 30 kilometres and takes 27 to 35 minutes. Return-to-office mandates since 2024 have increased rush-hour congestion on the 417, particularly in the three-kilometre section west of downtown where lane reductions from multi-year bridge rehabilitation work have persisted. The Ministry of Transportation has indicated that this construction phase is expected to conclude, reinstating the highway to its original configuration. For Stittsville residents, the reality is that rush-hour drives to downtown regularly take 40 to 50 minutes or more in both directions during peak periods.

Current Bus Network (OC Transpo)

OC Transpo's April 2025 "New Ways to Bus" network overhaul introduced a new local route structure for Stittsville. Key routes currently serving the community include:

All local routes connect to Terry Fox Station (Kanata Centrum), which serves as the primary transit hub for the west end and the departure point for express and connexion routes into the city. From Terry Fox Station, a bus journey to downtown Ottawa takes approximately 45 to 60 minutes. By car, residents can also drive to any of the Park and Ride facilities along the Transitway corridor to join the bus network closer to downtown.

Stage 2 O-Train: Moodie Station

The closest O-Train station to Stittsville under the Stage 2 western extension is Moodie Station , located on the Queensway near Moodie Drive in Nepean. This station is part of Line 3 (the western extension), which the City of Ottawa expects to open in early 2027, after construction delays pushed the initial timeline. Moodie Station is approximately a 10-minute drive from central Stittsville. Once open, Moodie will offer LRT connections to Lincoln Fields and onward across the Confederation Line, reducing transit travel time to downtown to under 30 minutes for those who can drive or cycle to the station.

Future: LRT to Hazeldean Station

The City of Ottawa's 2025 Transportation Master Plan identifies an O-Train Stage 3 extension to a Hazeldean Station in Stittsville as a priority transit project. The total cost for Stage 3 extensions to Stittsville, Kanata, and Barrhaven is estimated at $8.3 billion, contingent on full provincial and federal funding. The plan also identifies Transit Priority Corridors on Hazeldean Road, Stittsville Main Street, and Fernbank Road, which would receive queue jump lanes, transit signal priority, and other improvements ahead of any rail extension. Councillor Gower's final term advocacy has emphasised the Kanata-Stittsville Health Hub and transit connectivity as legacy priorities. Realistically, LRT to Stittsville is a long-range aspiration: residents planning a move to Stittsville today should budget for car-based commuting for the foreseeable future, with transit options improving incrementally over the next five to ten years as Stage 2 opens and bus service continues to be refined.

Commute Summary

Families with young children are the clear primary demographic for Stittsville, and for excellent reason. The combination of new construction that offers larger homes at more accessible price points than central Ottawa, strong school infrastructure anchored by Sacred Heart Catholic High School and the new Maplewood Secondary School, and a community culture built around parks, trails, and family events makes Stittsville one of Ottawa's top family destinations. CARDELREC and the Bell Sensplex serve competitive and recreational hockey, swimming, and gymnastics at a high level. The parks are well maintained, the streets in established areas are low-traffic, and the community events calendar is genuinely active.

Move-up buyers from Kanata or Barrhaven who want more space, newer builds, or a slightly more village-oriented community feel will find Stittsville a natural next step. The price premium over Kanata is modest or nonexistent depending on the sub-area, and the trade-off of a slightly longer commute is offset by the quality of newer construction and the Main Street lifestyle amenity.

Tech sector workers employed at the Kanata North Business Park, Telesat, Nokia, or other west-end technology employers will find Stittsville almost ideally positioned. The drive to Kanata North is 10 to 15 minutes, making reverse-commute congestion a non-issue. Federal public servants who have returned to hybrid work schedules can manage two or three office days per week on the 417, particularly those with flexibility around commute timing.

Buyers seeking new construction value will find the most competitive cost-per-square-foot pricing in the Fernbank area, where multiple builders are competing across a range of price points. Entry-level townhomes begin near $519,900 and detached single-family homes are available in the $800,000 to $950,000 range from several builders, offering genuine new-construction value relative to comparable product in Barrhaven or Kanata.

Those who value community identity over urban density will feel at home in Stittsville more than almost anywhere else in Ottawa's suburbs. The Main Street revival, the Trans Canada Trail culture, the active community associations, and the growing multicultural festival scene all point to a community that takes its identity seriously and invests in making it tangible.

Stittsville is not the right fit for buyers who require daily rapid transit to downtown, who want urban walkability for daily errands without a car, or who prioritise proximity to the cultural amenities of the downtown core. Those buyers are better served by communities closer to the Confederation Line.

At The Campbell-Maric Group, we work with buyers and sellers throughout Stittsville's full range of sub-areas, from heritage village properties on Stittsville Main to new-construction singles in Fernbank, and our view of this community's fundamentals is straightforwardly positive. What Stittsville offers is a combination that is difficult to find elsewhere in Ottawa at this price point: genuine community identity, competitive new-construction pricing, strong schools including the newly opened Maplewood Secondary School, low crime, and the Trans Canada Trail as a backyard amenity.

The opening of Maplewood Secondary School in September 2024 is, in our view, one of the most consequential developments for long-term demand in the Fernbank area. A community that previously required families to plan for secondary school outside the neighbourhood now has a growing local option. When Maplewood reaches its full Grades 7–12 complement in September 2027, it will remove a persistent friction point for Fernbank buyers and should support sustained price appreciation in that sub-area.

The transit picture remains the honest counterpoint. Stittsville is a car community today, and it will remain predominantly car-dependent until Stage 2 LRT opens at Moodie Station in early 2027 and, further out, until Stage 3 reaches a potential Hazeldean Station. Buyers who can work from home two or three days per week, or who work locally in Kanata, are well positioned to enjoy Stittsville's quality of life without the commute friction. Those who must drive downtown daily should stress-test that commute before committing.

The new construction market in Fernbank represents genuine value: multiple competing builders, a range of price points from townhomes to executive bungalows, and the opportunity to choose finishes, floorplans, and lots in a way that resale cannot match. We have helped numerous clients work through the new-construction process in this area, and our familiarity with each builder's strengths, warranty practices, and lot premiums is a tangible advantage in that process. If you are considering a move to Stittsville, whether into an existing community or a new build, we would welcome the conversation.

Sources: Glen Gower (Ward 6 Councillor) / glengower.ca (population data, transit updates, development proposals, community events, Transportation Master Plan deep dive); Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB); Agent In Ottawa neighbourhood market reports (agentinottawa.com); OttawaIsHome.com Ottawa House Prices By Neighbourhood (October 2025); Reddit/OttawaRealEstateStats (December 2025 Stittsville market update); Wahi.com Stittsville Housing Market Report; Stittsville Central (stittsvillecentral.ca, Main Street dining and community news); City of Ottawa (CARDELREC Recreation Complex Goulbourn; Johnny Leroux Stittsville Community Arena; ottawa.ca); Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB: Maplewood Secondary School, A. Lorne Cassidy Elementary, Westwind Public School, South Carleton High School); Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB: Sacred Heart Catholic High School, Holy Spirit Catholic School); Ontario Ministry of Education School Information Finder; AllThingsHome.ca new home developments; Cardel Homes EdenWylde community page; The Regional Group / eQ Homes (Fernbank Crossing); CTV News Ottawa (Claridge Homes urban boundary expansion, February 2026); CBC News Ottawa (Glen Gower re-election announcement, February 2026); Capital Current (O-Train Stage 2 western extension, July 2025); OC Transpo / octranspo.com (New Ways to Bus, April 2025); Goulbourn Historical Society (goulbournhistoricalsociety.org); Goulbourn Museum (goulbournmuseum.ca); Heritage Ottawa (Stittsville Historic District); OttawaHoods.com (Stittsville safety ranking); Jason Polonski Real Estate (safest Ottawa neighbourhoods data); City-facts.com (Stittsville population data); OntarioConstructionNews.ca (TMP Capital Infrastructure Plan, July 2025).