Home to Canada’s oldest hydroelectric station still in operation, Chaudière Falls was responsible for lighting Ottawa’s streets with electricity and fueled the industrial explosion of the mid-1800s by providing water power for the vast complex of lumber mills that once occupied the shoreline of the Ottawa River.
The expanded Chaudière Falls generating station exemplifies responsible hydroelectric generation with minimal to zero impact on the visual, natural and aquatic environments and serves as a tourist attraction - offering safe viewing platforms and a new bridge across the intake canal.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Chaudière Falls has remained closed to school and general public tours that would otherwise be experienced on the expanded grounds, but as of June 2021, you can take a virtual tour of one of Ottawa’s most stunning natural landmarks.