Ottawa's Byward Market: a festive bone of contention?

This paper considers recent developments in the revitalization of the Byward Market, with reference to applicable concepts of the ‘tourist‐historic city' and the ‘convivial city. The central objective is to assess its convergence, in specific detail, with the festival marketplace model. Convergence on most dimensions is demonstrated, but shown to be limited by alternative management philosophies and the fractured complexity of a ‘real world' setting. The Market's growing real‐world centrality is shown to give rise to a range of stakeholder contest beyond a festival marketplace, as specifically defined. It is suggested that this will prove more generally true of evolved traditional markets.