4.1 How does Ottawa compare?
As the largest economic centre between Montreal and Toronto, Ottawa dominates the economy of Eastern Ontario. It has strong ties within Ontario and Western Quebec. Through its technology companies, Ottawa is also aligned with technology centres in the United States. Ottawa was amalgamated from 11 municipalities and the regional government (including four mainly rural municipalities) in January 2001. Between 2000 and 2003, the Ottawa economy has experienced the turbulence of the technology boom, subsequent downturn and recent strengthening. Ottawa leads Canada in quality of life and prosperity. Ottawa in 2003 is one of the most prosperous cities in Canada. It enjoys healthy financial growth, has the best-educated workforce in Canada and the second-highest salary per person. Ottawa celebrates its status as a capital city and all the benefits this brings. Total revenue for the city in 2003 is $33.378 billion; federal government revenue is an additional $173.315 billion-a percentage of which is spent in the national capital.
Geographically, Ottawa is one of Canada's largest metropolitan areas with a land area of over 2,600 square kilometres. Almost ninety per cent of the city's area is rural countryside. Most of the 819,000 residents live in the urban area; 80,000 live in rural Ottawa - 20,000 also work there. There are 51 villages and hamlets in rural Ottawa. During 2001, Ottawa's gross domestic product grew by 8%, the largest in Canada. Despite a shaky global economic climate in 2002, the Ottawa and Canadian economies remain strong. Job growth is steady. Ottawa's unemployment is relatively low-7.1% in mid 2002, a full percentage point below the national average. As of June 2002, Ottawa had 434,500 jobs. It is estimated that technology employs about 67,000 or 15.4% of the total jobs. From January 1999 to January 2003, Ottawa created about 58,000 new jobs, an increase of 14.7%. Capital advantages Because it is Canada's capital, Ottawa's economy is unique among other Canadian cities. The federal government is a key driver of Ottawa's economy along with technology industries and tourism. Though Ottawa is sometimes negatively referred to as a government town, the federal government is a rich source of both employment and expertise. Its research institutes are centres of excellence that benefit Ottawa businesses directly. As both a buyer of technology goods and services and a collaborator in science and technology, the Government of Canada is invaluable to Ottawa's economy. It is an economic driver in the strongest sense-greater than any other growth cluster. Far from having a limiting effect on Ottawa's economy, the federal government's presence (and especially its research centres) was the genesis of Ottawa's technology boom. From those beginnings, technology giants grew and spawned countless other companies and capabilities. Ottawa has strong R&D tradition and resources Ottawa has a well-developed science and research community, which includes academic and health care institutions. Their shared knowledge includes discoveries at the forefront of science. There is a global trend towards R&D institutions becoming active in forming new businesses-in addition to pursuing their primary research missions. Canada's institutions do form spin-offs, but such activities are not a cornerstone of the country's science culture. While improving, Ottawa's universities and national laboratories still lack the entrepreneurial and spin-off culture of technology-related industries. The result is that there are relatively fewer product and company spin-offs from Ottawa's national laboratories and universities. What cities does Ottawa compete with?
Ottawa's industry clusters compete primarily with cities in Canada and the United States. Like other cities in Ontario, much of Ottawa's trade is directed south rather than east-west. The cities that Ottawa competes with specialize in the same export-oriented industries as Ottawa does. Ottawa's key competitors, based on the analysis in Innovation Ottawa: A Strategy for Sustaining Economic Generators, are Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina, which competes with Ottawa in four industry clusters; and San Jose and Orange County in California, and Austin in Texas, all of which compete in three clusters. Other competitors include Boulder (Colorado), Portland (Oregon), Seattle (Washington), Washington DC and Boston (Massachusetts) which compete with Ottawa in two industry clusters, as well as Fort Lauderdale (Florida), Rochester (New York), San Diego and San Francisco (California), Chicago (Illinois), and New York City which compete in one industry cluster. Four of those cities (New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston) are on the roster of "world cities." Other city-regions in Canada that may offer competition include Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Montreal and Toronto. While providing competition, Ottawa's industry clusters also collaborate with these cities, where synergies and opportunities exist. |
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Official site of the City of Ottawa
