Russell is a former police village that is part of Russell Township in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located immediately east of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, the city limits of which are just over 2km west of Russell. Ottawa's downtown core is about 40km (25mi) northwest of Russell. The 2016 Census stated that the community had a population of 4,464, making it the second largest community in the township of Russell (Russell's neighbour to the east, Embrun, is the largest community in Russell Township). The vast majority of its residents work in the city of Ottawa, making Russell a true

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for commuters to

. Agriculture is the main industry in and immediately around the village. The town produces a large number of hockey prospects for development leagues such as the OHL, OJHL, and NCJHL. The most notable contributions are to the Embrun Panthers Jr. C hockey team. The town has a significant number of schools for its size – English Catholic Elementary (Mother Teresa Catholic School) and Secondary (St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School), English Public Elementary and Secondary ( Russell High School) and French Elementary school (École Saint-Joseph

Russell also has a summer

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

, a

skating Skating involves any sports or recreational activity which consists of traveling on surfaces or on ice using skates, and may refer to: Ice skating *Ice skating, moving on ice by using ice skates **Figure skating, a sport in which individuals, ...

arena, a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

, an all-weather running track and a

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

rink. The village also has its firehall on the south end. Russell is policed by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The Russell Watch Program is a community watch where volunteers patrol the village as a second set of eyes and ears for the OPP. Patrols are mostly made during the evening and into the late night. Commercial, recreational, and residential areas are all monitored frequently after dusk. The village has practicing

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

s, doctors,

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

s and other professionals. It also has

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

, garage, restaurants and many little shops. The Castor River (translated from French means "Beaver") runs through the town in summer and offers a flat trail for

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

s during the winter. The village passed a local bylaw requiring all commercial signage to be bilingual. This bylaw is being challenged by many, in one case in court. Russell is a predominantly English-speaking community, although with a sizeable French-speaking minority. 87% of the community speaks English at home, while 11% speak French at home. The travel time to the nearest built-up areas of Ottawa is typically 20–25 minutes. In the rush hour it can take up to one hour to reach downtown Ottawa, and much more to reach Ottawa boroughs west of the core zone. In terms of ethnic origin, the people of Russell are mainly of Anglo-Celtic descent, although there are significant populations of Dutch, French, and German descent. Russel ON 2

References

{{PrescottRussell Communities in Russell, Ontario