Carlingwood
West
Fast Facts
- Population: 8,773 (City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study ("Carlingwood West - Glabar Park - McKellar Heights"))
- Size: 2.95 km² (Computed from the City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study boundary polygon)
- Distance from Parliament Hill: About 7.8 km west (straight-line distance)
Overview
Carlingwood is a residential neighbourhood in west Ottawa that grew up around the Carlingwood Shopping Centre, which opened in 1956 at the corner of Carling Avenue and Woodroffe Avenue as one of the city's first major shopping centres. The area also includes the riverside communities of McKellar Heights and Glabar Park, and in 1957 its shopping centre became home to the first library in Canada located inside a mall.
Boundaries
The Ottawa Neighbourhood Study's "Carlingwood West - Glabar Park - McKellar Heights" boundary covers the riverside residential area west of Woodroffe Avenue, including McKellar Heights along the Ottawa River and Glabar Park further south; it does not extend east to include the Carlingwood Shopping Centre itself.
Map
History
Carlingwood Shopping Centre opened in 1956 at the corner of Carling and Woodroffe Avenues, following the completion of a Simpsons-Sears department store the year before. With 40 stores and 24 acres of free parking, it was considered the largest shopping centre in Ottawa at the time, and the surrounding residential neighbourhood was built up later in the decade.
In 1957, the Carlingwood Branch of the Ottawa Public Library opened inside the mall, becoming the first library in Canada located within a shopping centre.
McKellar Heights and Glabar Park developed as residential communities along the Ottawa River to the west of the shopping centre, giving the wider Carlingwood area its riverside character alongside its retail core.
Carlingwood Shopping Centre has continued to evolve through renovations and ownership changes, marking its 70th anniversary in 2026 and remaining a community-focused shopping destination after Streamliner Properties and Anthem Properties Group acquired the 30-acre site in 2024.
Claim to Fame
Carlingwood's defining feature is its namesake shopping centre, opened in 1956 as one of Ottawa's first major malls and home to Canada's first library located inside a shopping centre, anchoring the surrounding McKellar Heights and Glabar Park residential communities.
Surrounding Neighbourhoods
Westboro and Island Park-Wellington Village lie south, Britannia and Bayshore lie further west along the Ottawa River, and Carlington lies south across Carling Avenue.
Architecture
McKellar Heights and Glabar Park retain mid-20th-century single-family homes built after the Carlingwood Shopping Centre opened in 1956, with the shopping centre itself expanded and renovated repeatedly since, most recently under new ownership beginning in 2024.
Restaurants
- Honest Indian Restaurant — Indian
Vegetarian-friendly Indian restaurant at 2369 Carling Avenue, serving street food, Indo-Chinese, Punjabi and South Indian dishes.
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Grocery Stores
- M&M Food Market — Specialty frozen food store
Specialty frozen food store at 2249 Carling Avenue.
Pedestrian and Cycling
McKellar Heights and Glabar Park are quiet, walkable residential streets near the Ottawa River, while Carling Avenue itself is a busier arterial road oriented more toward driving.
Schools
- D. Roy Kennedy Public School — Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
Elementary school at 919 Woodroffe Avenue, also home to the Hellenic School of Ottawa.
Visit website
Transit Options
OC Transpo bus routes run along Carling Avenue and Woodroffe Avenue; the neighbourhood does not have its own O-Train station. Check octranspo.com for current route numbers, since the network is periodically redesigned.
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Official Information
Last verified: August 27, 2026