Ottawa: A Place In My Heart

Square & Compass Promotions
The Pub
Published in
4 min readDec 22, 2024
Photo taken by Cameron Adamson-Ottawa, ON
Photo taken by Cameron Adamson-Ottawa, ON

To be a Mason is to be a traveller.

We, at Square & Compass Promotions, consider ourselves “professional travellers.”

These travels have taken us to many amazing places throughout North America and, if you count virtual travel, throughout the world.

Over the coming weeks, we will be using this platform to discuss highlights of/from these travels.

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Travel and visitation is an incredibly important part of the Masonic experience. It is also a very important part of life.

As Anthony Bourdain stated:

  • “If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food [or sit in their lodge], it’s a plus for everybody.

Normally, when we write these medium stories focused on travel, we focus on travel to Masonic jurisdictions.

This story focuses on a City close to the author’s heart (and our Nation’s Capital): Ottawa, ON.

[As this is a personal story of travel, we’ll be switching to the first-person perspective for the remainder of the story].

I moved to Ottawa in 2004-it was the first place I lived when moving from home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. That alone makes it a special place for me…a place that represents the freedom of living on one’s own for the first time.

In 2006, to attend the University of Windsor Faculty of Law, I moved from Ottawa to Windsor (and I am grateful I did); but I made a point to regularly return to Ottawa.

These return trips (usually long weekends) were wonderful, as were the summers of 2008 and 2009 in which I returned to Ottawa for summer internships. In 2009, I interned in the Office of the Prime Minister and felt (and continue to feel) honoured to have interned in such a prestigious office with truly dedicated professionals.

Post summer 2009, I still made an effort to return to Ottawa regularly, sometimes for political conferences or training, other times to see old friends, and still other times to perform stand-up comedy.

However, none of these return trips involved Freemasonry.

That changed starting in 2023.

In October 2023, I attended the National Trust 50th Anniversary Conference. This conference provided me with the opportunity to learn about historical building preservation while promoting masonic buildings as the vital and important architectural and historical treasures they are.

This also gave us the chance to promote the “For The Next 100 Years” project of which I was and am so proud.

As noted in a previous story:

  • Sadly, once again, my time in Ottawa was limited but at least I had a few hours to visit some of my old haunts-all while learning about heritage restoration and historical preservation with the National Trust. Learning about these things is vital for our Masonic order-including (especially) our built heritage.

I returned to Ottawa in 2024 for February’s Masonic “Day of Education — A Day Of Learning,” which Ottawa Masons held at the Ottawa Masonic Centre.

Despite being a Mason since 2007, and having a connection with Ottawa dating to 2004, February 2024 marked my first visit inside the Ottawa Masonic Centre.

Thankfully, it was not the last!

In December 2024, I returned to Ottawa and attended a 3rd degree one day, followed by a Christmas dinner another day (all while exploring the beauty that is an Ottawa winter-the blue skies are amazing).

The degree was excellent.

The dinner was delicious.

The masons were friendly and welcoming.

It was a wonderful visit and also marked another first…the first time I attended a tiled meeting at the Ottawa Masonic Centre.

Ottawa is a beautiful City, full of historical significance, architectural beauty, as well as amazing natural parks and trails. It is a place that helped me become the person I am today.

It is a place that every Mason, should a masonic destination!

Ottawa will always have a piece of me…just as I will always carry a piece of Ottawa with me.

Visiting Ottawa is like reuniting with an old friend-a best friend. It has been so long since I went there, and I was so sad to leave.

All opinions expressed are those of Square & Compass Promotions and the guest(s), and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Windsor Masonic Temple and/or any other Masonic group!

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Square & Compass Promotions
Square & Compass Promotions

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Square & Compass Promotions explores the many ways in which Freemasonry is relevant to our communities. We share both Masonic & Personal stories.

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