Hindu Temple of Ottawa-Carleton
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Deities
- Ganesha, Kartikeya, Shiva, Krishna, Radha, Lakshmi Narayan, Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Durga, Hanuman, Nataraja
- Traditions
- vaishnava, shaiva, shakta
- Worship status
- active
- Address
- 4835 Bank Street, Gloucester, in the rural area south-east of Ottawa's urban core, near the airport.
- Coordinates
- 45.3103, -75.5868
- Darshan hours
- Varies by season; consult the temple directly for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- Year-round; Diwali and other major Hindu festivals draw large community gatherings, and the temple serves as eastern Ontario's principal Hindu community hub.
- How to reach
- At 4835 Bank Street in the Gloucester area south-east of downtown Ottawa, near Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport; reachable by car or public transit.
Location
Open in Google MapsBuilt on a former cornfield purchased in 1984 and officially opened in 1989 at a cost of $4 million funded entirely by donations from Canadian Hindus, the Hindu Temple of Ottawa-Carleton was the first Hindu temple in Eastern Ontario. Its construction was driven by Pandit Madhu Sahasrabudhe, a food-science researcher who had served as a priest since 1960 and remained central to the temple and its community until his death in 2004 — a figure significant enough in Ottawa’s civic and interfaith life that he led prayers at a multi-faith thanksgiving event attended by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.
The temple complex, at 4835 Bank Street in Gloucester on Ottawa’s rural south-eastern edge near the airport, houses nine shrines: Ganesha, Kartikeya (Subrahmanya), Krishna with Radha, Shiva, Lakshmi with Narayana, Rama with Sita and Lakshmana, Durga, Hanuman, and Nataraja — reflecting the pan-Hindu, multi-deity worship style common among diaspora temples serving a broad regional Hindu community rather than a single sectarian tradition. Its architecture adapts traditional Hindu temple design to Canada’s cold climate and snow loads, and the complex includes community halls and a library, serving as the principal Hindu institutional and cultural hub for the roughly 6,000 Hindus of the Ottawa-Carleton region.
Sources
- historical record: Sourced from Wikipedia's dedicated 'Hindu Temple of Ottawa-Carleton' article, which describes it as the first Hindu temple in Eastern Ontario, built on a former cornfield purchased in 1984 and officially opened in 1989 as a $4 million structure funded by donations from Canadian Hindus. It credits Pandit Madhu Sahasrabudhe — a food-science researcher and priest since 1960 who remained central to the community until his death in 2004 — as the driving force behind the temple's construction, and states the temple houses nine shrines (including Ganesh, Shiva, Krishna and Radha, Lakshmi Narayan, Durga, and Hanuman) and serves roughly 6,000 Ottawa-area Hindus with halls and a library alongside worship space. Its architecture is described as traditional Hindu design adapted to Canadian winters, built to withstand snow-load. The article also notes Sahasrabudhe led prayers at a 2002 multi-faith thanksgiving event attended by Queen Elizabeth II.
- historical record: Re-verified this pass directly against the current Wikipedia article's raw wikitext, resolving the prior review flag: the full roster of nine shrines is given verbatim as 'Ganesha, Kartikeya, Krishna with Radha, Shiva, Lakshmi with Narayana, Rama with Sita and Lakshmana with Hanuman, Durga, Hanuman, and Nataraja' (Hanuman appears twice in the source's own wording, once grouped with the Rama shrine and once as a separate ninth shrine). The article's {{coord}} template also gives precise coordinates of 45.310263, -75.586807, added to this entry. Current darshan hours were still not found and remain unconfirmed.