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Orléans

East

The Butler House, a heritage home on St. Joseph Boulevard in Orléans.
Photo: Cantons-de-l'Est, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fast Facts

  • Population: 102,455 (City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (sum of the nine combined boundaries))
  • Size: 50.86 km² (Computed from the combined City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study boundary polygons)
  • Distance from Parliament Hill: About 15.4 km east (straight-line distance)

Overview

Orléans is one of Ottawa's largest and most established suburbs, in the city's east end along the Ottawa River. Settled from around 1830 and long known as the bilingual village of St. Joseph d'Orléans, it grew from about 6,000 residents in 1971 to well over 100,000 today, anchored by Place d'Orléans shopping centre and a large French-speaking community alongside a strong Indian and South Asian presence, particularly along St. Joseph Boulevard.

Boundaries

The City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study covers greater Orléans with nine separate boundaries, merged here into a single shape spanning the Ottawa River in the north to roughly the Highway 174/Innes Road corridor in the south, and from Blair Road west to Trim Road east.

Map

History

Some of the earliest known settlers in what is now Orléans arrived in the 1830s, not long after Bytown (now Ottawa) itself was founded in 1826. Local historical societies credit early settler François Dupuis, who arrived around 1830, with naming the community Saint-Joseph d'Orléans after Orléans, France.

Orléans started as a small police village within Gloucester Township in the late 1850s, and was formally an incorporated police village from 1922 to 1974 under the name St. Joseph d'Orléans.

Suburban expansion began in the 1960s with the construction of the Queenswood Heights neighbourhood. Place d'Orléans shopping centre opened in 1979, straddling the boundary between Gloucester and Cumberland townships, and the population grew rapidly — from about 6,000 in 1971 to 24,000 by 1981 and past 106,000 by 2010.

Orléans officially became part of the City of Ottawa in the 2001 amalgamation. It remains one of the city's largest and most established suburbs, with its own extensive network of schools, shopping and parks, and Ottawa's O-Train network is being extended east into Orléans for the first time as of 2026.

Claim to Fame

Orléans is Ottawa's largest bilingual suburb, defined by its French-Ontarian heritage, its rapid growth from a small village to a community of over 100,000, and Place d'Orléans, one of the city's major shopping centres since 1979.

Surrounding Neighbourhoods

Blackburn Hamlet and the National Capital Greenbelt lie west, Cumberland Village and Navan lie east and north along the Ottawa River, and Gloucester and the airport area lie south.

Architecture

Orléans' housing spans from 19th-century heritage homes such as the Butler House on St. Joseph Boulevard to the extensive single-family, townhouse and low-rise construction built during its rapid suburban growth from the 1960s through the 2000s. Place d'Orléans, one of the last enclosed malls built in Ottawa, has been expanded and renovated repeatedly since 1979.

Restaurants

  • Rangoli Indian Cuisine and Sweets — Indian

    North Indian restaurant at 2491 St. Joseph Boulevard, family-owned and serving Ottawa since 2002.

    Visit website
  • Pak India Restaurant — Pakistani and Indian

    Pakistani and Indian restaurant at 4025 Innes Road.

    Visit website

Grocery Stores

Pedestrian and Cycling

Orléans is largely a car-oriented suburb, though the Ottawa River pathway along its northern edge and trails such as the Bilberry Creek Trail offer walking and cycling routes, and St. Joseph Boulevard and Orléans Boulevard carry much of the pedestrian commercial activity.

Schools

  • Cairine Wilson Secondary School in Orléans.Cairine Wilson Secondary School — Ottawa-Carleton District School Board

    Secondary school (grades 9-12) at 975 Orléans Boulevard.

    Photo: SimonP, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsVisit website
  • Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School — Ottawa-Carleton District School Board

    Secondary school (grades 9-12) at 1515 Tenth Line Road in the Fallingbrook area, opened in 1966 and relocated to this site in 1992.

    Visit website
  • Convent Glen Catholic School — Ottawa Catholic School Board

    Elementary school (JK-6) at 6212 Jeanne D'Arc Boulevard North, founded in 1979, offering French immersion.

    Visit website

Amenities

Transit Options

OC Transpo bus routes cover Orléans extensively along St. Joseph Boulevard, Orléans Boulevard and Innes Road. The O-Train Confederation Line's east extension, adding five new stations from Montréal Road to Trim Road, was under construction as of 2026 with no confirmed opening date. Check octranspo.com for current routes and extension updates.

Nearby on This Site

No listings yet in this area.

Official Information

Last verified: August 27, 2026