The Westboro Community Association is calling on residents to help protect one of Westboro’s last remaining historic green corridors: the Nun’s Walk at the former Les Soeurs de la Visitation convent site.
A petition launched this week urges the City of Ottawa and the property owner to preserve the mature maple trees lining the path between Richmond Road and Byron Avenue. The petition will be presented to Councillor Jeff Leiper, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, and the developer before June 10, 2026.
The Nun’s Walk is one of the last surviving elements of the convent grounds established more than a century ago. The convent, founded in 1910, was built around a pre-Confederation farmhouse known as The Elms, an important example of Gothic Revival residential architecture in Ottawa’s west end. Over time, much of the original landscape was lost through redevelopment. Today, the mature maple canopy of the Nun’s Walk remains as a rare and significant cultural landscape feature in Westboro.
Community members fought to protect the convent grounds more than 15 years ago. While redevelopment ultimately proceeded, public advocacy helped secure heritage landscape designation for the Nun’s Walk in 2012. The path continues to be recognized in the City’s Official Plan as a cultural heritage landscape.
That protection is now being tested again.
A proposed adjacent residential development includes plans to remove most, if not all, of the mature maple trees along one side of the path. Residents have raised concerns about the loss of tree canopy, shade, stormwater absorption, urban cooling, wildlife habitat, and the overall character of the historic walkway.
The issue also comes at a time when Ottawa is facing increasing concern about urban tree loss. The City’s Official Plan sets a target of 40% tree canopy coverage for the urban area, while Kitchissippi Ward is estimated to sit closer to 25%.
While replacement trees have been proposed, mature trees provide environmental and community benefits that take decades to replicate.
The Westboro Community Association encourages residents who care about greenspace, heritage, and protecting Westboro’s urban forest to sign and share the petition:
Petition deadline: June 10, 2026