Ottawa
Population:
Total: 812,129
Census Metropolitan Area: 1,130,761
Economy:
Boasting the highest number of residents with a post-secondary education in Canada, a bilingual rate of 44 per cent, and more engineers, scientists and PhDs per capita than any other city in the country, the strength of Ottawa's workforce has played a pivotal role in its emergence as a global technology centre. Our high percentage of English and French bilingualism, as well as our strengths in multiple international languages, are great assets for businesses that are looking to establish themselves in an area where a multilingual workforce is easily available to serve customers world wide.
The people of Ottawa are the secret to its success. They are youthful, entrepreneurial, highly educated, and multilingual. In fact, cosmopolitan Ottawa prides itself on its ethnic diversity. The city continues to attract the best and brightest from all parts of the globe.
In recent years, Ottawa has recognized the importance of education in the world's emerging knowledge economy. All sectors of the community have banded together to strengthen educational opportunities and interactions between academic institutions and businesses. The goal is to create a community that continually shapes its renewed workforce with learning opportunities that start at kindergarten and continue through post-secondary learning into the advancing careers of our workforce.
Demographics:
In 2006 the population of the city of Ottawa was 812,129, while the population of the Census Metropolitan Area was 1,130,761. The population of the pre-amalgamated city was 337,031 at the 2001 census, and had fallen to 328,105 at the 2006 Census. The census of May 2006 estimates 1,148,800 people living in the greater Ottawa (Ottawa-Gatineau) area. In 2001 females made up 51.23 percent of the population. Youths under 14 years of age number 19.30 percent of the total population, while those of retirement age (65 years and older) make up 10.81 percent resulting in an average age of 36.6 years of age.
(Source: Statistics Canada 2006 Census Profile)