Living in McNab/Braeside

Welcome to the municipality of McNab/Braeside, the gateway to the rural Upper Ottawa Valley.   Embracing a rural life-style, McNab/Braeside is intrinsically dependent on our natural infrastructure and as such, committed to protecting and living in harmony with our environment.   Maintaining our rural life style, values and sense of community is a priority.  Celebrating and promoting our historic heritage is important to us.  We are constantly reminded of who we are in the physical beauty of the Ottawa and Madawaska rivers, White Lake, our many creeks, forests, hills and glens stretching across 254 km along the TransCanada Highway running between the towns of Arnprior and Renfrew. 

Agriculture remains the backbone of our economy while we continue to diversify into tourism, recreation, manufacturing, the arts, wellness, professional and trade services.  With our proximity to the neighbouring City of Ottawa, the extension of Highway 417, our lower tax base, and expanded access to broad band services, nearly 200 commercial and home businesses have made the healthy choice of settling in McNab/Braeside.

The Township is comprised of nearly 20 distinct settlement areas, hamlets and new developments.   This distinction is reflected in the different character, interests and amenities that each community brings to McNab/Braeside.  From the quiet riverside neighbourhood of Sandy Beach in the north-reach corner of the Township to the broad hills of Canaan to the south-west; from the recreation offered by White Lake to the artistic community of Burnstown, family-focused Braeside, to the historic farming settlement area of Lochwinnoch, McNab/Braeside revels in the many aspects of its rural character.

Our award winning McNab Public School is acknowledged throughout the province for its innovation and excellence.  Our six churches, four branches of the Women’s Institute and various community associations are core to our sense of mutual support and celebration as a community.  McNab/Braeside invests heavily in family recreation.   Our eleven parks, sports fields and recreation facilities support softball, soccer, skating and festivals for every age.  Adults also enjoy horseshoes and euchre.  Recreation is further augmented by McNab/Braeside’s sponsorship of the Arnprior Library, the Renfrew Library, the Arnprior Nick Smith Centre (swimming, hockey and figure skating), the Arnprior Braeside McNab Seniors Home Support, the Renfrew Seniors Home Support, the Arnprior Agricultural Society, and the Arnprior McNab/Braeside Archives.

In spite of the strong community spirit in McNab/Braeside, we are an independent people.  We believe in property ownership where we each maintain our own well and septic infrastructure.   The Township also recognizes that the need for community water and waste water systems will grow with us.  Where we have invested in municipal services, they are top quality.  McNab/Braeside can boast of one of the highest levels of waste diversion in Eastern Ontario through its recycling program.  Where other municipalities are cutting back, garbage pick up continues door-to-door on a weekly basis.  Our 200 kilometers of Township roads are well maintained.  The McNab/Braeside volunteer Fire Department is the envy of Eastern Ontario.  We have the quickest paramedic response of any rural municipality in Renfrew County.  The quality of our Emergency Management was evident to the entire province during the Disaster of July 2009.

We are a proud people, proud of our land, our families, our community, our accomplishments, and our heritage.   McNab/Braeside is proud to share our rural values and lifestyle, we welcome you to join us.