Why bring your business to Ottawa?

As the capital of Canada, the City of Ottawa is home to more than one million people and is the fourth largest municipality in the country. With a vibrant technology sector, high median household income and affordable living costs - Ottawa is a great place to live, work and play. The following are some quick facts and an economic overview of Ottawa.

Population

The Planning, Infrastructure, and Economic Development Department tracks population change on a bi-annual basis. These City-derived estimates are based on the 2001 postcensal estimate of population and net new units from issued building permits, changes in rental vacancy and the decline on the persons per unit in existing households.

The City of Ottawa had a mid-year 2019 population of 1,001,077, a 1.6 per cent increase from mid-year 2018. 

Land area

As reported in the 2016 Census, Ottawa has land area of 2,790 km2. This means that Ottawa is larger than the cities of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Montréal combined.

Labour force

As reported by Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, between 2014 and 2018, the Ottawa CMA’s labour force grew by 2.2 per cent. The number of employed residents also increased 4.54 per cent to reach 557,600. Ottawa CMA’s unemployment rate decreased to 4.6 per cent in 2018, remaining lower than the provincial (5.6 per cent) and national (5.8 per cent) rates.

In 2017, the top five employment sectors in Ottawa CMA were:

• Health and Education (21 per cent)
• Public Administration (21 per cent)
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (11 per cent)
• Retail Trade (10 per cent)
• Accomodation and Food services (5 per cent)

Talent

The region is recognized for having the highest number of residents with post-secondary education in Canada. The percentage of Ottawa’s population aged 15 years and over with a Postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree is 63.7 per cent. Over 89,000 have Master's degrees and earned doctorates (Ph.Ds).

Ottawa has a highly sought after talent pool. The city boasts the second highest concentration of scientists and engineers in North America and the highest concentration of tech talent in the nation.

The Ottawa Economy

As reported by the Conference Board of Canada, real GDP at basic prices for the Ottawa-Gatineau CMA was at 77,689 (2012 $ millions) in 2018, which is up 2.4 percent from 2017.

As reported in the 2016 Census, the median total family income in 2015 for the City of Ottawa was $109,000. Even though Ottawa has the second-highest family income among major Canadian cities, the city’s average housing costs are affordable. As reported by the Ottawa Real Estate Board, the average housing costs in 2015 in the City of Ottawa was $391,940.

Ottawa is internationally renowned as a great place to live and to do business; the many awards received are a testament to that. There are many economic advantages to establishing your company in Ottawa; notably, great access to talent, low cost of doing business, superb quality of life, and an accessible global network.

Access to talent

Having access to talent is a key competitive advantage in a global economy. Talent is at the heart of Ottawa's economic development. The region is recognized for having the highest number of residents with post-secondary education in Canada. 

Ottawa has a highly sought after talent pool. The city boasts the second highest concentration of scientists and engineers in North America and the highest concentration of tech talent in the nation, a source of innovation and creativity. In addition, Ottawa’s high concentration of Research and Development centres is a catalyst for talent attraction and retention.

Ottawa’s four post-secondary institutions ensure a steady talent pipeline. They educate as many as 130,000 students with 20 per cent of that student population specializing in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The area is also home to many Private Career Colleges, which offer unique and specialized skills training for our dynamic labour market.

Cost of doing business

Total business tax costs in Canada are the lowest in the G7, ranking #2 among the top countries with the lowest business costs.

Furthermore, Ottawa has been rated the most business-friendly environment and third best city for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) out of 77, mid-sized cities, in the Western Hemisphere – it’s no surprise why Ottawa is home to more technology companies than Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and almost five times more than Waterloo.

Quality of life

Ottawa is a world-class capital, globally recognized as a diverse metropolitan hub, with a friendly atmosphere and magnificent natural beauty. The city is ranked as one of Mercer’s top 20 cities for global quality of living.

Affordable housing, low taxes, low crime, good transit infrastructure, strong arts and sports community, and access to healthcare have catapulted Ottawa to first place in MoneySense Magazine’s Best Place to Live in Canada, 2017. Residents enjoy:

• An abundance of parks and paths for walking, hiking, and cycling (over 1,000 parks, 200 square kilometres of protected greenspace);
• Excellent health care;
• A city of festivals and events (as many as 180 different annual festivals, fairs, and special events yearly);
• Access to 29 museums - including 12 significant national museums;
• An active city with an enormous number of outdoor and indoor recreation activities to choose from (170 kms of recreational pathways for cycling and in-line skating; boating and skating on a Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; over 200 kilometres of groomed trails for skiers).

Excellent health care

• A city of festivals and events (as many as 180 different annual festivals, fairs, and special events yearly)
• Access to 29 museums - including 12 significant national museums
• An active city with an enormous number of outdoor and indoor recreation activities to choose from (170 kms of recreational pathways for cycling and in-line skating; boating and skating on the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; over 200 kilometres of groomed trails for skiers)
• It is no wonder that Ottawa is considered one of the top 10 cities for the following rankings: Best Place to Raise Kids, the Best Place to Retire and the Best Place for New Canadians. Overall Ottawa is an ideal city to live and work!

For more information about Ottawa’s quality of life, visit Why I Chose Ottawa!

Global network

As a G7 capital, Ottawa is the political heartbeat of Canada with proximity to a large concentration of policy makers, government departments, and 65 federal research labs.

The award-winning Ottawa International Airport is within a two-hour flight of over 200 million North Americans. As the Nation’s Capital, Ottawa is host to 130 embassies, consulates and high commissions representing countries from around the world, offering you a global network right in your backyard!

For more information about Ottawa's economic advantages visit Invest Ottawa webpage!

Locate Ottawa is the City of Ottawa’s bilingual online geographic information system-based tool that provides immediate access to key information for site selectors and businesses looking for a new or expanded location. This makes the process of identifying the right location for their business quick and easy. It also provides great business data including demographics, consumer expenditure and workforce data for any business. This information can be tailored to a specific need using a user-defined radius, or a unique user-defined shape using the polygon tool.

Revamped in 2021 and powered by the most current version ZoomProspector Enterprise technology by GIS Planning, Locate Ottawa enables business owners and site seekers to learn about what Canada’s capital can offer and lay the groundwork to grow a business here.

Another feature of the Locate Ottawa tool is the ability for commercial real estate professionals, including developers/owners and brokers to list and promote current sale or lease opportunities with detailed information about properties and spaces that are available, site attributes, local demographics, pictures, site/floor plans  and proximity to other businesses etc.

Today, much, if not most site selection screening is done online, and the Locate Ottawa website provides immediate access to the critical business intelligence that decision makers need to make an investment decision. The site reduces research time from weeks to minutes. By providing accurate and timely information for site selectors, Ottawa maintains a competitive global position in attracting and retaining businesses and business investment. By stimulating business growth, the City receives economic benefits through the addition of new valuable jobs, property tax revenue, indirect and induced economic impacts, and the potential to spur further growth, and philanthropic activity.