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Gordon, who was born at the Civic Hospital and fled the city after graduating from Col. By High School in 1970, says Ottawa has improved immeasurably in the intervening years.

“Ottawa’s quite a livable place,” he said this week. “A lot of my students want to live there, and my family are very happy there.”

It’s better, in part, because of good infill development, Gordon says. Neighbourhoods such as Wellington West and Westboro are “impressive places, good places to live. That’s a good sign for me.”

So are the improvements now being made to public transit. Ottawa has a lot of road infrastructure, Gordon says. “It’s still a little too easy to get around by car, so it’s taken a longer time to get really serious about rail transit.”

But the job of capital-making is still only half-finished, he says. “The critical mass of attractions is not strong enough.”

Confederation Boulevard, the ceremonial circuit that connects key parts of Ottawa and Gatineau, is “a brilliant piece of work,” Gordon says.

“It circles and connects English Canada, French Canada and, by lucky accident, indigenous Canada. It focuses on the river, and that works very well for Canada’s connection to the landscape.”

But it’s not enough, Gordon says.

“We could do a whole bunch more and make the capital a teaching machine for the history and culture of our country. What’s our museum of science and technology doing in a former bread factory? Where’s our portrait gallery?”