Some neighbourhoods sell you energy; Old Ottawa East sells you balance. Tucked between the Rideau Canal and the Rideau River, it's a leafy, low-key pocket of the city that happens to sit on one of Ottawa's most valuable pieces of infrastructure: the O-Train.
Passage's Lees location — a modern high-rise called The Canal — puts you directly at this intersection of calm and connection, with furnished all-inclusive rooms from $215 per week, the most accessible price at Passage.
The Neighbourhood: Between Two Waterways
Old Ottawa East is bounded by the Rideau Canal on one side and the Rideau River on the other. That geography shapes everything about living here:
- Waterside by default. The canal pathway network is your running track, bike commute, and — in winter — the world's largest skating rink.
- Quiet streets, central address. You're minutes from downtown, but evenings here sound like a residential neighbourhood, not a nightlife strip.
- Lansdowne Park nearby. Farmers' markets, restaurants, cinema, and TD Place stadium are a short ride down the canal.
- Main Street's local character. Cafés, bakeries, and small grocers give the neighbourhood its own centre of gravity, independent of downtown.
Compared with Sandy Hill next door — livelier, more student-dense — Old Ottawa East attracts people who want central Ottawa at a lower volume. For a broader comparison of the city's areas, see our Ottawa neighbourhoods guide.
Why "Lees" Means Connected
The neighbourhood's superpower is Lees Station on the O-Train Confederation Line. From our building beside it:
| Destination | How |
|---|---|
| uOttawa main campus | 1 stop or a short walk |
| Rideau Centre / ByWard Market | Minutes by LRT |
| Parliament / downtown offices | Minutes by LRT |
| Tunney's Pasture (federal offices) | Direct on the Confederation Line |
| Lansdowne Park | Short bike or bus ride along the canal |
For anyone whose life runs on a commute — federal employees, hospital staff, downtown professionals, students — this is the rare Ottawa address where you genuinely don't need a car.
The Canal: Passage's Lees Building
The Canal is a modern high-rise on Lees Avenue at our Lees location. Like every Passage home, it works on the co-living model: your own fully furnished private room, shared kitchens and lounges with a managed community, and one weekly price that covers rent, utilities, WiFi, laundry, air conditioning and heat, and streaming.
Rooms start at $215 per week — which, compared with a central one-bedroom at $1,900+ per month plus furniture and utilities, makes The Canal one of the smartest ways to live centrally in Ottawa.
Who Lives Here
Young professionals are the heart of the Lees community. New-in-town engineers, analysts, nurses, and public servants choose it for the commute math: LRT to work, canal path for evening runs, quiet room to come home to. If you're relocating for work, our relocation guide for professionals covers the wider move.
Graduate students pick Lees over Sandy Hill when they want proximity to uOttawa without living in the middle of undergraduate life. Campus is one stop away; your desk at home is quiet.
Newcomers to Ottawa use The Canal as a soft landing — furnished, all-inclusive, no Canadian credit history hurdles, and a built-in circle of housemates in a new city. Start with our Moving to Ottawa hub if that's you.
Make Lees Home
- See The Canal — rooms, photos, and current pricing.
- Book a tour — walk the building and the neighbourhood, or tour virtually.
- Apply online — arrive with a suitcase; everything else is ready.
Rooms at the $215 entry price point are the first to go each season — if your start date is September or January, apply a few months ahead.