About Constance Bay
Constance Bay takes its name from Simon Constant, an Algonquin man known to the French fur traders who worked this stretch of the river long before permanent settlement.
The surrounding Township of Torbolton, established in 1821, merged into West Carleton in 1974 and became part of Ottawa at amalgamation in 2001.
The community covers about 5.6 square kilometres and recorded 2,263 residents in the 2021 Census. Water and protected land explain its unusual shape: the Ottawa River and the Constance Bay Sand Hills, a provincially designated Area of Natural and Scientific Interest, border the village on three sides.
Change has come slowly. Electricity arrived only in 1951, and the village still reads the way the City’s planning documents describe it: river views, big oak trees, and houses set well back from the road.
Homes in Constance Bay
Detached houses make up most of the market here, with few condominiums, semi-detached houses, or townhouses.
The older waterfront pockets along Bayview Drive and the Baillie Avenue area were laid out as cottage lots and remain compact, some under a tenth of a hectare, while streets set back from the water tend to offer more room.
New construction is incremental rather than subdivision-scale: the City’s secondary plan for the village identifies capacity for roughly 132 more homes on the remaining undeveloped land.
Buyers coming from inside the greenbelt should know that Constance Bay is serviced entirely by private wells and individual septic systems. There’s no municipal water or sewer anywhere in the village, so well testing and a septic inspection belong in any offer.
At the time of writing, Wahi reports a median sold price of $584,500 for detached homes in Constance Bay, based on July 2026 sales. Volume in a village this size is thin enough that monthly medians move around, so the spread of active listings tells you more: roughly $290,000 for an inland home up to over $2.4 million on the water.
To see what’s available right now, start with our Constance Bay homes for sale, or widen your search through our full property listings.
Schools in Constance Bay
Students from Constance Bay attend school in the neighbouring West Carleton communities of Woodlawn, Fitzroy Harbour, and Dunrobin, with public and Catholic elementary options and one public secondary school.
If available, we include a Fraser Institute ranking. Please note: rankings represent only one metric, and we advise families against using them as the only criterion for selecting a school. Direct outreach to specific schools is encouraged.
- Location: 3791 Stonecrest Road, Woodlawn
- Grades: K – Grade 8
- Fraser’s Ranking: 5.8/10
- Visit website
- Location: 159 Kedey Street, Fitzroy Harbour
- Grades: JK – Grade 8
- Fraser’s Ranking: 6.9/10
- Visit website
- Location: 3088 Dunrobin Rd, Dunrobin
- Grades: Grade 9 – Grade 12
- Fraser’s Ranking: 8.3/10
- Visit website
Shopping in Constance Bay
Day-to-day shopping in the village runs through the Constance Bay General Store on Constance Bay Road, which carries groceries and convenience items and operates an LCBO and beer agency outlet on site.
For fuel and a second convenience stop, Nicholls Esso & Convenience Store sits on Dunrobin Road in Woodlawn, on the way in and out of the community.
Public Transportation
Constance Bay has no local bus service. OC Transpo doesn’t operate a route into the village, so residents rely on personal vehicles.
The nearest service is Route 303, a free OC Transpo shopper route that makes one round trip on Wednesdays from the Dunrobin area to Kanata Centrum, Bayshore, Lincoln Fields, and Carlingwood.
Commuters heading downtown generally drive to a Kanata Park and Ride such as Innovation, Terry Fox, or Eagleson and connect to rapid transit there.
Healthcare in Constance Bay
The village has its own pharmacy, and the nearest clinic and hospital are a short drive away in Carp and west Ottawa.
Queensway Carleton Hospital on Baseline Road is west Ottawa’s only full-service hospital. It runs an emergency department, surgical services, critical care, a childbirth program, mental health, geriatrics, and rehabilitation.
For primary care, the West Carleton Family Health Team operates from Langstaff Drive in Carp, with family physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, psychologists, a dietitian, and a pharmacist on staff, plus weekend urgent care hours for its own patients.
In the village itself, Constance Bay Pharmacy handles prescriptions, medication reviews, and vaccinations, and can assess and prescribe for a list of minor ailments without a doctor’s appointment.
Community & Entertainment in Constance Bay
Community life here is organized largely by residents themselves, through a volunteer association and a Legion branch.
The Constance and Buckham’s Bay Community Association operates the community centre on Len Purcell Drive and programs it year-round, with fitness classes, youth camps, pickleball, ball leagues, and outdoor rinks.
The building holds five multipurpose halls, a fitness centre, a commercial kitchen, and a branch of the Ottawa Public Library. The association also runs the Constance Bay Community Market through the warmer months and the village Santa Claus parade in December.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 616 on Allbirch Road is the other hub: a licensed hall with weekly darts and euchre, monthly dinners, rentable event space, and the Remembrance Day parade and service each November.
Dining Out in Constance Bay
The village supports a small group of restaurants, most within a couple of minutes of each other on Constance Bay Road, plus one waterfront room out at the tip of the peninsula.
The Point Lounge on Bayview Drive is that waterfront option, a lounge and bar with an Ottawa River patio. It serves pub food and has seasonal live music.
Happy Times Pizza is the village takeout and delivery counter, with a menu that runs from pizza through Canadian, Italian, Chinese, and Thai dishes.
Scratch Sandwich Shop is a local deli-style restaurant along Constance Bay Road.
Archie’s Poutine & BBQ is a seasonal chip stand at Dunrobin Road and Kinburn Side Road, serving poutine and barbecue with online ordering for pickup.
Parks in Constance Bay
Outdoor space in Constance Bay is less a matter of formal parkland than of shoreline and forest. The City owns 39 road allowances running down to the water as public access points, many of them undeveloped.
Constance Bay Beach – A long, shallow, sandy stretch of Ottawa River shoreline reached through those access points, with parking and outhouses at The Point and Auger’s Beach. The City doesn’t operate it as a supervised beach, so there are no lifeguards, and visitors should respect adjoining private property.
Torbolton Forest Trails – A City of Ottawa conservation area of jack pine and ancient dunes behind the community centre, with north and south hiking loops, a trailside fitness circuit, and snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in winter.
Constance and Buckham’s Bay Community Centre Park – The village’s central park, with lit ball diamonds, soccer fields, a free skateboard park, pickleball and basketball courts, a playground, and a winter outdoor rink.
Buckham’s Bay boat launch – A boat ramp and wharf at the foot of Ritchie Avenue on the west side of the community, and one of the four main water access points named in the City’s secondary plan for the village.
Curious how this corner of the city stacks up against the rest? Our roundup of Ottawa’s top neighbourhoods covers the wider picture.
Ready to Call Constance Bay Home?
Constance Bay does ask something of its buyers. You drive everywhere, you maintain a well and a septic system, and the general store covers the basics while anything larger means a trip.
What you get back is a beach at the end of the road, a protected forest, a close-knit community, and detached homes on generous lots inside the City of Ottawa.
This village suits people who want a cottage without the second mortgage: families who would rather raise kids on a river than a cul-de-sac, retirees leaving the city, and remote workers no longer tied to a transit station five days a week.
Still narrowing your options? Our rundown of up-and-coming Ottawa neighbourhoods covers other areas worth a look.
When you’re ready to talk specifics, our team can tell you what’s on the market in the village and what to look for on a waterfront lot.
Paul Rushforth
Since 2004, Paul and his team have helped over 7000 families reach their real estate dreams. He continues to train and consult agents throughout the industry and is considered one of the most forward thinking pioneers in the industry, blazing trails for those around him.