My wife and I had a somewhat different and less stressful situation on the same day, when the flight we were taking from Puerto Vallarta to Comox was cancelled for "maintenance" issues. Perhaps because the problem developed before the plane left Canada, we had plenty of notice that the flight was cancelled. I received an automated cell phone text, and an email and there was a plan for a replacement the next day. We were instructed to go to the airport, where there would be a voucher.
Once we got to the airport, after some confusion with the agent we had, we received transportation to an all inclusive hotel about 20 minutes away. This wasn't a place I would chose to vacation, but it was certainly adequate in the circumstances. The next day a bus took us back to the airport and the new flight left at the scheduled time.
Reading about the Ottawa folks makes me feel a little lucky, but at least in our case, WestJet met our expectations.