Unexploded bombs from WWII still buried in Ottawa bog: National Defence

Defence officials say a number of unexploded bombs from the Second World War are still buried in a bog in Ottawa, but they say there is low risk to the public so long as the site is kept as parkland.

The Department of National Defence says bombs of up to about 450 kilograms were dropped on the Mer Bleue bog, which served as a practice bombing range in the 1940s.

It says the range was never cleared and was later taken over by the National Capital Commission, which knew of the site’s history, to turn into parkland.

The details were first published in the Ottawa Citizen, which reported based on newly declassified documents that “large numbers” of the explosives were still sitting in the bog.

The Defence Department says aerial photographs and historic maps show where the bombs were dropped, but it’s not known how many of them are still in the bog.

It says the bomb impact areas are “deep within the bog” and far from any areas used by the public.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.