In the old rhythms of Canadian public service, the federal workplace was always Ottawa. Parliament Hill, rising above the banks of the Ottawa River, anchored not just governance, but geography itself. For decades, the logic was simple. If government work was done in one place, then the people who did that work would go there.

That logic no longer fits the country we live in.

What is often framed as an “Ottawa problem” – empty office towers, struggling downtown businesses, and debates about return-to-office mandates – is in fact a regional and national economic issue. The conversation has focused narrowly on the capital’s core, while ignoring the quieter, more fragile economies that surround it.

Small towns and villages do not have the economic buffers that large cities enjoy. They do not have diversified commercial districts, deep tourism markets, or the ability to absorb sudden shocks. When people leave town every weekday morning and return only to sleep, the effects are immediate and visible. Cafés close. Retail shrinks. Volunteer organizations struggle. Municipal tax bases flatten. One employer leaving, one policy shift, one lost opportunity can tip the balance.

And yet, this is where population growth is increasingly happening.

Across Eastern Ontario and much of Canada, families are choosing towns like Kemptville not because they are cheaper versions of cities, but because they offer something cities increasingly cannot. Space. Community. A sense of belonging. The growth is not speculative. It is real, measurable, and ongoing. The problem is that economic policy, particularly federal workplace policy, has not kept pace with that shift.

This is why North Grenville Mayor Nancy Peckford’s proposal to establish a federal remote work hub in Kemptville deserves to be understood as more than a local initiative. It is a response to a structural imbalance. Peckford pointed to the Kemptville Campus as an ideal off-site federal workspace, with secure buildings, high-speed internet, and flexible co-working space. Its location, she noted, offers a practical alternative to grinding commutes and limited parking in downtown Ottawa.

But the deeper argument is economic.

When federal employees work where they live, money circulates locally. Lunch is bought on Main Street, not in a food court. Childcare is local. Errands happen mid-day. The economic multiplier effect in a small town is outsized because the base is smaller. A handful of stable, well-paid jobs can sustain multiple businesses. The presence of daytime professionals supports services that would otherwise be unviable.

Large cities, including Ottawa, undoubtedly face challenges, yet they are resilient in ways small towns are not. They attract private investment. They adapt. They reconfigure. Small towns rarely get that luxury. Growth may be happening there, but it is fragile growth, easily reversed if policy decisions treat these places as peripheral rather than integral.

There is also the environmental dimension, one that aligns neatly with federal climate commitments. Long daily commutes from surrounding communities into Ottawa generate emissions that are entirely avoidable. Distributed work hubs reduce traffic congestion, lower greenhouse gas output, and do so without massive infrastructure spending. This is climate policy that improves lives rather than restricting them.

Mayor Peckford framed her proposal in terms of quality of life and community sustainability, emphasizing the importance of keeping people close to their families and rooted in their towns. That framing matters. It acknowledges that public servants are not abstract units of labour. They are neighbours, parents, volunteers, and taxpayers.

Ottawa will always matter. Parliament Hill will always be the symbolic heart of federal governance. But a modern public service does not need to be physically concentrated in one city to remain effective, coherent, or accountable.

If anything, the legitimacy of federal institutions is strengthened when they are visibly embedded across the regions they serve.

Kemptville’s proposal points toward a future where federal employment supports not just a capital city, but an entire constellation of towns and villages that are quietly doing the work of growing Canada. It is not about taking something away from Ottawa. It is about recognizing where the country already is – and where it is going.