I saw my first motorcade in Ottawa this week. The French Prime Minister was visiting Ottawa and I saw his motorcade zip by as I was on my way to work. It didn’t delay me too much and I haven’t seen one here, so it was kind of fun and exciting to see it.
Ottawa and Washington have a lot in common since they’re both capital cities with lots of museums, festivals, government employees, etc. However, Ottawa is smaller and also seems a lot more laid back. There’s not quite the hype around important people, security is less intense, and, as evidenced by this being the first time I’ve seen a motorcade here, there are a lot fewer motorcades. So, there are a lot of the same benefits of being in Washington without some of the downsides of DC like the traffic, security setups, and motorcades.
Now, a few pictures of the preparations: