Bytown Beginnings

Bytown Walkers Club de marche exists to promote fitness walking and competitive walking in the Ottawa area. The club began informally in 2002 under a Steering Committee that evolved into the first Board of Directors. The inaugural Annual General Meeting (AGM 2004) was held on January 30, 2005. Membership has grown from the initial 6 members to between 30 and 40 members annually.  The Club’s 20th anniversary was in January 2023.

History of a Name
“Bytown” comes from the name of the community that later became Ottawa, Canada’s capital city. The name commemorates the British military engineer Colonel John By, who, from 1827 to 1832, supervised the construction of the 200 kilometre Rideau Canal that joins Lake Ontario and the Ottawa rivers. The city portion of the Canal has become one of the capital’s most recognizable and attractive features. The Bytown name lives on in many organizations, businesses and landmarks.