During its construction from 1981 to 1982, the construction of the Rideau Centre is speculated to have been largely controversial and widely opposed by local residents and business owners, as a whole block of stores south of Hudson's Bay Company's "The Bay" on Rideau Street would have required demolishing, solely to make room for the new building, and vehicle traffic was most likely to increase substantially upon its completion.

The redevelopment project expanded the Rideau Centre by 230,000 square feet and renovated retail and dining spaces.

[5] A key feature of the redevelopment project was a 35,000-square-foot dining hall offering 16 eating establishments, seating for 850 people, and reusable dinnerware, glassware, and metal cutlery.

Stores such as Harry Rosen have undergone major renovations, capitalizing on the Ottawa area's density of high income salaried government employees.

The expansion at the Rideau Centre opened to the public on August 11, 2016, bringing the total retail floor area to over 969,000 sq.

In 2002, security staff handcuffed and detained two men for carrying an Israeli flag to enforce a mall rule prohibiting political signs.

[14] The man was released when police arrived, and the Rideau Centre's tenant GoodLife Fitness suffered a media backlash over the incident.

[15][16][17] That year, nine people, including a former Speaker of the House of Commons and other dignitaries, were trapped for more than an hour and a half in the mall elevator.

Rideau Centre and the adjacent Major-General George R. Pearkes Building are served by a stop located on Mackenzie King Bridge, which was the mall's major transit hub until the opening of the Confederation Line in 2019.