Stories to watch 2023: Check out our top 10

… but who will own the hockey team?

In November 2022, the Ottawa Senators confirmed that they have initiated a process to sell the hockey club, with the one condition that the team remain in town.

“This was a necessary and prudent step to connect with those deeply interested parties who can show us what their vision is for the future of the team,” said Sheldon Plener, chairman and governor of the Ottawa Senators, emphasizing that, “A condition of any sale will be that the team remains in Ottawa.”

Some valuations estimate the franchise’s worth at US$655 million, up more than 20 per cent over last year. Speculation is that some big-name local business leaders could be involved in the bidding for the team.

For example, Roger Greenberg, the executive chairman of the Minto Group and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, told local media in April his family would likely be a part of a new ownership team if the Senators were sold.

And look out — Ryan Reynolds is firmly

in the mix and says he wants to be part of the group that buys the Sens. Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon asked Reynolds if he was interested in purchasing the club.

“Yes, that is true,” said Reynolds, who is co-owner of the Welsh soccer club Wrexham. “I am trying to do that. It’s very expensive. I need a partner with really deep pockets.”

Give us the deets: The feds will shrink their real estate footprint in Ottawa

If there was one overall theme to the 2022 Ottawa Real Estate Forum, it was the industry coming to grips with the reality that the federal public service, which occupies virtually half of all the office space in Ottawa (about 42 million square feet, both owned and leased) is not going to be re-occupying that office space at anywhere near the density of pre-pandemic levels.

The federal government reaffirmed that the scheduled rollout of its current workplace strategy, GCWorkplace, has been greatly accelerated by COVID. That strategy outlined a plan to reduce the overall government office space portfolio by as much as 30 per cent over 25 years.

Forum participants learned that the federal government expects to release a list of surplus government-owned properties that will be available for purchase and/ or partnership in redevelopment,

representing 15 to 20 per cent of the existing owned portfolio of 21 million square feet. These end-of-life buildings would be in addition to some planned relocations of an undisclosed number of public servants from buildings with government leases coming to an end in the next few years, to properties where the government has signed long-term leases, as a further means of maximizing the federal public service’s use of space.

Stories to Watch in 2023

BY OBJ STAFF

news@obj.ca

So, we could have a new sports arena at LeBreton Flats …

What do we know? Well, the National Capital Commission and a group led by the Ottawa Senators NHL hockey team signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2022 toward the development of a major event centre at LeBreton Flats.

Capital Sports Development Inc. (CSDI) proposes to build an NHL hockey arena and events venue surrounded by mixeduse development, on Albert Street between Preston Street and City Centre Avenue.

CSDI’s concept for the arena facility will be developed further in 2023 in a series of “bite-sized, realistic phases” with a “realistic but aggressive timeline,” said NCC board chair Marc Seaman.

“The vision is a destination for people to live, work and play,” said Seaman. “People can visit and Canadians can feel at home.”

While CSDI elaborates on its concept and creates an implementation plan, the NCC and CSDI will work toward signing a longterm lease agreement by the fall of 2023.

Almost there … companies chase the elusive $1B annual revenue mark

A handful of local companies have the one-billion-dollar revenue mark firmly in their sights. “The path to a billion is not unrealistic. I think we’re doing all the right things to make it happen,” Solace CEO

Denis King told Techopia in November. “It’s accurate, absolutely, and we’re pretty enthusiastic about being named to the list,” RVezy’s vice-president of marketing Tom St. John said in October after being named to Communitech’s list of firms with the highest probability of reaching the lofty goal. Also on the list alongside Solace and RVezy was Ross Video. “We can definitely see the path to a billion dollars now. Nineteen acquisitions and creating a true unicorn internally financed, there’s probably not too many companies like that,” said CEO David Ross. And don’t forget Calian Group. “We’re feeling pretty good,” CFO Patrick Houston said in November. “We’ve got a good backlog; we’ve got some good momentum … it shouldn’t be too long until we can actually say that we’re a (billion-dollar revenue company).”

Will Shopify strategies pan out?

It was a tough year for Shopify, which saw deteriorating results, a falling stock price and significant layoffs. After admitting a whoopsie on estimating post-pandemic online shopping habits, the exec team embarked on a number of strategies to buoy the e-commerce juggernaut.

“If you look over the seven years since (our) IPO, five of those years, we’ve been profitable. We plan on becoming profitable again,” said president Harley Finkelstein in October. “We said this year is an investment year, but this is a company that thinks deeply about managing expenses, growing revenue and, ultimately, this is a company that likes to be profitable and we will get back there.”

One of the biggest strategies for Shopify involves its fulfilment network, which helps merchants ship goods to consumers and is seen as a way to up the ante in its battle with Amazon. It’s also teaming up with professional services giants such as Ernst & Young to drive more enterprise-level customers to its platform.

Nokia Canada to break ground on ‘hub’ of the future

in the Kanata North Business Park into a “world-leading, sustainable research and development (R&D) hub,” with construction slated to begin in 2023.

According to the company, the project will transform Nokia Canada’s 26-acre campus into a “sustainable, accessible, mixed-use corporate, residential and commercial hub where nearly 2,160 local employees, Ottawa residents and businesses and Canada’s entire tech ecosystem can collaborate, innovate and drive Canadian and global well-being and prosperity.”

The new development would add thousands of residents to an area that’s already among the city’s fastest-growing neighbourhoods. Kanata North Business Association told OBJ in May that the development could play a big part in the

tech park’s “necessary transformation” into a mixed-use district with vibrant commercial and residential components.

Whither the downtown core?

The downtown core suffered during the pandemic as thousands of employees who once commuted to office towers began working remotely. At one point, Statistics Canada estimated that 46 per cent of Ottawa’s workforce was working from home, compared with 28 per cent elsewhere in the country.

Neil Malhotra, CFO of Claridge Homes, is co-chairing a task force aimed at creating a long-term plan to revitalize Ottawa’s downtown. He said the task force — whose members include Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi as well as social housing advocates, Indigenous leaders, sustainability advocates, local business improvement area representatives, and tourism stakeholders – has its work cut out for it.

“It’s not a simple issue,” he said. “I’d love to give you a one-word soundbite, but it’s going to be very complicated. I think the best way to describe it right now is it’s a blank slate. Everything is on the table, and we’re just at the start of that process. There are no easy answers here.”

New kids on the block

Ottawans voted in a new mayor and council in October and are waiting to see what the priorities and agenda will be for the fledgling municipal government. From transit to red tape and from zoning to tourism, Ottawa’s business community will have many points of intersection with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and his team. “We can help the city identify where there are impediments to building more homes in their processes and regulations and the city-imposed costs that negatively impact housing affordability,” said Jason Burggraaf, executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association, in reaction to Sutcliffe’s win.

“Mayor Sutcliffe understands the business community and the value tourism brings to Ottawa, particularly in the downtown core where the absence of federal government employees is having such a negative impact,” said Steve Ball, president of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association.

“Ottawa’s swagger is the single most important thing we can do right now. We have to compete and seize the moment and I know Mark knows that,” said Michael Tremblay, president and CEO at Invest Ottawa. Ottawa International Airport continues to regain altitude after air travel virtually ground to a halt during the pandemic, with significant upgrades to its facilities, including hangars and taxiways.

CEO Mark Laroche warned that the airport, which drew more than five million passengers in 2019, won’t fully recover until more business executives start jumping on planes to meet customers face-to-face. The airport authority is projecting that the not-forprofit facility won’t hit the break-even point until at least the second quarter of 2023.

In November, an airport spokesperson said the airport is rebuilding its network of direct flights to the U.S. but said it is still anybody’s guess when a full slate of U.S. destinations will return.

The new world of work

It seems everyone can agree that the pandemic changed the way we work — or at least expedited shifts that were already underway. Many of the kinks are still being worked out, as most HR experts can attest.

Heather Tyrie, chief talent officer of Fullscript, points to her company’s policy of “work wherever you work well.” She related how some of her colleagues preferred to drive to Fullscript’s small Kanata office, while those who preferred to take public transit could go to the company’s larger space downtown.

A key criteria appears to be recognizing that the best way to get people back in the office is to create a sense of community and even moments of joy.

“This is a great opportunity for organizations to figure out how to be a lot more thoughtful about the workforce and the trends that are changing it,” said Stephen Harrington, a partner at global business advisory firm Deloitte.

“We need to figure out how to attract employees and engage them differently postpandemic.”

Heidi Hauver, vice-president of people experience at Shinydocs, is all about the athome experience. “It’s about having access to talent and not requiring them to relocate to Ontario,” she explained.

“They can remain where they are, where they’re building their lives, and still be part of a really exciting opportunity and a growing organization. We are seeing a lot of great talent reaching out to us directly because of the amazing culture we are creating, which includes a work-from-home environment.”

UP CLOSE

Influential lobbyist lets her moral compass be her guide

BY CAROLINE PHILLIPS

caroline@obj.ca

Ottawa lobbyist Jacqueline “Jacquie” LaRocque was fêted recently at a swanky gala in Toronto as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100, hosted by the Women’s Executive Network.

She normally shuns the spotlight, so stepping before a large crowd to collect an award was definitely outside her comfort zone. As was sitting down for an interview to discuss how she grew her public affairs firm, Compass Rose, from a one-woman show into a team of whip-smart former journalists, political staffers and public servants.

It’s hard to know where LaRocque’s career story begins. Maybe in the small Northern Ontario town where her dad supported the family of four kids through his job at the pulp and paper mill. Or, during her eight years as a public servant, developing her love for shaping public policies that can benefit all Canadians. Certainly, her two years as director of communications for International Trade Minister Jim Peterson was some of the best training she’s ever had.

LaRocque is the first to acknowledge that, even while building skills, knowledge, experience and long-lasting relationships, she didn’t always know in which direction she was headed. Maybe it’s fitting that she named Compass Rose after a symbol of safety and guidance.

“The path that I’ve taken, in building this company, my career and my family, has generally been non-linear,” said LaRocque in the bright and bustling headquarters of Compass Rose, located in a beautiful heritage building in the ByWard Market. “I followed my instinct and I just feel so fortunate that the plans I made brought me to where I am now.”

In 2015, LaRocque stepped away from her position as managing principal at public affairs firm Ensight Canada to go out

Jacqueline “Jacquie” LaRocque, public affairs counsellor, founder and principal of Compass Rose at her office at 1 York St. in the ByWard Market. PHOTO BY CAROLINE PHILLIPS.

on her own. She got married later in life, at age 39, and became a mom at 43.

Many people assumed her career change was about achieving better parental work-life balance. However, it was more about her wanting to be in a position to make professional decisions based on her core values and principles.

“For me, it’s about honesty, truth, empathy, finding the common good,” said LaRocque. “I wanted to chart a path for myself and bring those beliefs back up in the lobbying ecosystem.”

Public affairs professionals work to influence legislation, regulation or other government decisions on behalf of their clients. LaRocque remains proud of the work she does because it’s so strongly driven by her desire to find solutions to challenges faced by Canadians today, she said. “Being a lobbyist is a big word for a lot of people. It’s a badge of honour for me.”

Compass Rose serves businesses and organizations in critical sectors of Canada’s economy, including agriculture, creative industries, natural resources, green industries, fintech, digital, tech, transport, communications and trade and commerce.

Key to her success, she believes, has been building a strong foundation for Compass Rose, as well as expanding to a full-time equivalent of 22 staff through smart, incremental growth.

“But, you can’t do it alone, which is where the team and the kind of team that I’ve gathered over the years comes in,” said the University of Ottawa graduate. “I am known to work with a lot of amazing women and some of my colleagues are also really smart men.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, LaRocque shone as a leader. She was adamant about not laying anyone off and, in fact, hired and promoted. “We all need each other right now; we don’t need a pink slip. I was very determined to make sure the team was taken care of, that our business was protected and that the clients were supported.”

Compass Rose also transitioned to a remote workforce “without skipping a beat” as soon as offices started shutting down.

Of priority to LaRocque was everyone’s mental health. She did daily video check-in calls with employees during the thick of things. “We were deeply flexible with the team, with how and when they worked, but never compromising the output.”

It wasn’t always easy for LaRocque, who put in long, hard days. “We always keep staff top of mind, but this was a different level. I admit, it really tested me as a manager.”

As for clients, Compass Rose kept them in the loop with regular updates based on the whirlwind of government announcements and new developments of the day. “For about four months, every single client of Compass Rose received a deep and detailed dispatch. Not something general, like a PR tool, but geared strictly toward them, based on their needs. We also lobbied for supports.”

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT JACQUIE LAROCQUE

1Her Top 100 award included glowing reference letters and testimonials from members of her staff, as well as Treasury Board President Mona Fortier, former Conservative cabinet minister Lisa Raitt, Business Council of Canada CEO Goldy Hyder, former NDP strategist Kathleen Monk, Carleton University chancellor Yaprak Baltacıoğlu, and journalists such as Paul Wells and Evan Solomon.

2One cause she really enjoyed being part of was the Hope Live fundraisers for Fertile Future. The concert benefit gala featuring top Canadian performing artists was led by her good friend and fellow lobbyist Heidi Bonnell from Rogers Communications. LaRocque was sponsorships chair.

3Her French Canadian heritage is important to her. Growing up in Espanola, she travelled an hour each day to and from her French-language high school in Sudbury.

4Her favourite piece of advice is: “It’s as important to know who you are not, as it is to know who you are.”

5She’s a community leader, especially when it comes to small business. When the Freedom Convoy blockades shut down huge swaths of downtown in February 2022, she led a fundraiser for the staff of Stephen Beckta’s Play Food & Wine, located at 1 York St. in the same building as Compass Rose. It raised $17,000.