📅 Event Date: Sundays, 12:00–5:00 p.m. ET — next Ottawa session Sunday, August 9, 2026
Shopify runs a free drop-in work session called Builder Sundays, and after starting in Toronto and Montréal it now runs out of the Ottawa office at 151 O’Connor St. Sessions are every Sunday from noon to 5:00 p.m., and the format is deliberately plain: bring a laptop, work on your own thing for a few hours, then hang around for demos and a networking hour at the end.
Ottawa sessions are on a short break right now. There were no dates on July 19 or 26 because of a private event, and August 2 is out for the Civic Holiday long weekend. Ottawa resumes on Sunday, August 9, 2026, and tickets for that date are released the Wednesday before at noon Eastern.
Event details
- Next Ottawa date: Sunday, August 9, 2026 (then weekly on Sundays)
- Time: 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET, drop in any time
- Location: Shopify Ottawa office, 151 O’Connor St. — enter through the Shopify lobby at the west entrance, sign in at the front desk, then take the elevators to floor 2
- Cost: Free, but registration is required and spots are capped
- Tickets: Released weekly on Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m. ET for the following Sunday. If a date sells out, a second batch goes live about 24 hours before, Saturday around noon
- Bring: Government-issued ID, laptop, chargers and adapters, water bottle
- Getting there: Closest O-Train stop is Parliament/Parlement. No onsite parking; the closest outdoor lot is Capital Parking at 138 Gloucester St.
What the afternoon actually looks like
This is a deep work session, not a conference. You claim a spot, put your head down, and work solo or in a small team on a side project, an early-stage startup, or an experiment you have been meaning to prototype. Coffee, tea and snacks are provided, and you can bring your own lunch. Shopify staff and security are onsite the whole time.
The suggestion from the organisers is to work until around 4:00 p.m. and then move into the common areas. Open demos run from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., with networking until 5:00. Demo slots are first come, first served and you sign up when you arrive rather than in advance, so showing up earlier helps if you want to present.
Is it worth it if you are still a student?
It is free, it is five hours, and it puts you in a room at Shopify with people who build things — that combination is rare in Ottawa. If you are in finance or business and you have never shipped anything, this is a low-stakes way to sit beside people who have. Bring something concrete to work on: a financial model you want to turn into a tool, a market analysis, a case competition deck, a budgeting app idea. Turning up with a vague plan to network tends to go badly in a room where everyone else is heads-down.
The realistic catch is capacity. Spots are limited and they go quickly, so set a reminder for Wednesday at noon Eastern and check again Saturday at noon if the date you want is already full. Everyone attending needs their own ticket, including anyone you bring along, and you cannot walk in without registering. Anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian who has also signed up and attends with them. Pets are not allowed. Note as well that photography and filming may happen during the session, and attending means consenting to Shopify and other participants using that media.
Registration and current dates: Builder Sundays Ottawa sign-up page. Venue and FAQ details: buildersundays.ca.
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