Who doesn’t like free stuff?
Free activities, free services, free goodies… it’s always good to take! Canadians are pretty generous, there are tons of free stuff out there—you just have to find them. I put up a list of ten free-everything available in Ottawa.
Note that many of the finds here are also available in other cities across Canada, you don’t necessarily have to live in Ottawa to benefit from them… just look for something similar!
Library services
I’m the freak who reads a book a day and I’m addicted to the library. It’s my happy place for many reasons.
First, membership is free if you are a resident of Ottawa (it’s $50 if you live outside Ottawa). A library card allows you to borrow as many books, magazines and movies as you want, usually for three weeks.
Public library branches also offer cardholders free Wi-Fi, two hours a day at computer workstation (with free Internet access and everything you need to work on your resume, for instance), programs for newcomers (including free modules to take the IELTS language test), programs for parents, job and career resources and much more, all that for free. Yeah, I’ve heard of this thing called “the Internet”—but your local library offers invaluable resources and support from actual human beings.
Guided tour of Parliament
Parliament Hill is one of the main landmarks in Ottawa—it’s kind of hard to miss the Peace Tower.
But have you visited the Parliament? All tours and programs are free of charge. When the House is sitting, tours may be shorter so check the House of Commons sitting calendar. You may visit the Centre Block and the East Block, go to the top of the Peace Tower and enjoy the view, see the Memorial Chamber, and have a look at the beautiful Parliament Library.
Another fun activity to do is to sit in the public galleries and to attend Question Period. Expect security checks and book ahead, but you’re welcome to watch democracy in action!
City of Ottawa programs
The City of Ottawa regularly offers programs to improve the city and the country. For instance, it often distributes free trees and native tree seedlings to help replant the urban tree canopy. Other past campaigns and programs included free energy-efficient light bulbs. Keep an eye on current programs!
YMCA newcomers and employment services
Your local YMCA is a goldmine for employment counselling and programs with employment resource centres, job search and skills development workshops, placement opportunities, entrepreneurship supports, mentorship and one-on-one supports and apprenticeship information.
Many YMCA locations also offer services to help newcomers to Canada feel welcome in their new home.
Language test and language instruction
Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) is a free language class program funded by the Government of Canada. You must be 18 years old or older, be a resident of Ontario and meet the immigration status criteria.
This free service includes a benchmark assessment of your language skills (French or English) and a referral to LINC training programs (language classes that meet your needs).
Take the CLB online self-assessment language test and visit an organization that helps newcomers to get a formal language assessment.
Donation-based Internet access
National Capital Freenet is a not-for-profit community network owned and controlled by people living in the region. They offer a donation-based dial-up model access: you can either volunteer some time or make a donation of $5/month to cover the cost of running the service. They also offer a high-speed DSL at $29.95/month, which is very cheap for Canada. Their popular services also include email, webpage hosting, discussion groups and help for people new to the Internet.
Free learning materials
Post-secondary education is expensive in Canada and not everything has access to training at work. Don’t worry, use LearningExpress Library, a portal from the Ottawa Public Library offering all kinds of learning materials online.
For instance, you can take free TOEFL practice tests (this is an awesome tool considering how expensive TOEFL prep materials are!), prepare the Canadian citizenship test, improve your writing skills, learn how to create great resume and cover letters, take a business writing course, take a number of practice tests to be certified for a job (law enforcement, teaching, civil service…)… There are even “recursos para Hispanohablantes”! All you need to access these online resources is an Ottawa Public Library card.
A little bit of everything… free
Search for “free” on Kijiji, the popular local classified website, and you could find free doors, free phones, free rollerblades, free fridge… Plenty of people want to get rid of their stuff all year long but since garage sales are not that fun in the middle of the winter, Kijiji comes in very handy. Just use common sense (i.e. if it’s too good to be true, it probably is…) and browse often for great finds.
Reading magazines at Chapters
Chapters is a large Canadian bookstore chains. They invariably offer a large magazine section as well as thousand of books and pride themselves on being somewhat cozy. You can often grab a coffee at Starbucks and use the chairs and couches inside the store—yes, Chapters does not discourage the reading of books inside the store! I love to go there once a week to read the French magazines I wouldn’t otherwise buy (imported stuff are expensive!).
A free Canadian flag
And not just any flag, but one of the three flags that has flown on Parliament Hill. The government of Canada is regularly packaging and mailing the flags that have flown on top of the Peace Tower, and on the East and West blocks of the Parliament. To qualify, you must live have a mailing address in Canada. All you have to do is submit a request to Public Works and Government Services Canada. One caveat: the waiting list is rather long… 27 years for the Peace Tower flag and 19 years for the East and West blocks flags!
“Donation-based” ~ I love it. Actual meaning: still wondering whether PayPal actually works or technical hitch in set-up stopping all them multi-millions from rolling in..(!)
I’ve been told on several occasions that, so to speak, that a free lunch doesn’t taste as good as one you’ve paid for… I say save the money and lose that special flava!
.-= Gledwood´s last blog ..Doggies down the park… =-.
Such a good social system and benefit in Canada. I just wish that there will be more cities available for free Wi-Fi. It will definitely benefit for the travellers!
.-= micki´s last blog ..Miaoli Yuanli, hometown of Lin Cao (Lin Grass) =-.
don’t forget to put in your flag request. it might
take 20 years to get, but you can always sell it
on ebay (or kijiji) to fund your early retirement!
.-= Seraphine´s last blog ..Silly Goose =-.
I must say that libraries in London are excellent!
It’s free to become a library member as long as you can show them a permanent UK address.
There are 32 boroughs in London. Each borough manages its own libraries.
You can apply a library card from each borough, if you like.
I used to have 4 library cards from 4 different boroughs, that allowed me to take more than 80 books at a time! That’s a lot!
But now I only maintain 2 library cards, which I use frequently in two different boroughs.
One card I use it mainly for Chinese books (there are a lot of them, from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong!!!) another card mainly for English books.
What’s more? Everything you borrow something, whether it’s a book or 20 books, they will give you a “star” sticker. Collect five stars, you can take out 2 DVDs for free.
Well, that’s so much better than those free Canadian flags, right? 😉
.-= London Caller´s last blog ..One Thousand and One Nights / 一千零一夜 / Seribu Satu Malam / 千夜一夜 =-.
What a comprehensive list 🙂 You have helped alot of travellers who intend to make their next trip to Canada ya 😀
I love this post!
So many people leave home only to shop and spend money – while there’s “a wealth” of things to do, see and enjoy which cost nothing.
.-= Beth´s last blog ..The Post Where She Finally Speaks Out =-.
Those are some great tips.
To help you add, There is usually alot to do in any city for Free. For example in Toronto during the summer months you can go to out door movie showings usually once per week.
Also sometimes in the winter Tim Hortons provides Free Skating day, as well as in the summer a free swim day. Its always good to check into your town, and see what events are being planned.
Also feel free to check out http://www.canadianfreestuff.com as well to get some free samples of things. or on our forum http://www.canadianfreestuff.com/forum for more samples and coupons.
.-= happy´s last blog ..Shoe Company Canada Coupon =-.
Makes sense, Canadians are world class cheapskates!
@Gledwood – I’d rather pay for my lunch too 😆 but free deals can be pretty sweet as well. Depends on the economy I guess!
@micki – I know, a lot of places should have wi-fi and still don’t. Fir instance, I was shocked to see that in many airports, wifi is not a free service but a very expensive one!
@Seraphine – You think so? I should write and request my flag then. But wait… will Ebay still exist?
@London Caller – Oh, wow! The library of the city I grew up in wasn’t so good. We had to pay for membership (even as residents) and we couldn’t borrow more than two books and two magazines at the same time. It sucked!
@shionge – Thank you! This is mainly a reference post.
@Beth – We are lucky in Canada, pretty good services and great deals are not so hard to find. Yet we spend like crazy!
@happy – Good points! I see you know what you are talking about 😉
@beaverboosh – At least, we are too in debt… are we?
Salut Zhu,
My library card is also absolutely free at Zhu’s oneline reading library ( 🙂 ), but I have not been around. And I regret it but life has sent me so many challenges.Having a close family member pass away
is already the biggest stress.
But, I’am feeling stronger.
What a wonderful post… Could I say the same thing about France? I can’t think of any!
Bises xx
Wow. There’s a lot of free items in Ottawa! And too bad it takes 27 years to get a free flag!
.-= Linguist-in-Waiting´s last blog ..Catatonia =-.