I’m really impressed with the level of energy and commitment around the Health and Wellbeing table and look forward to continuing collaboration between OLIP and OPH.

Marcela Tapia
Ottawa Public Health
I was happy to see integration to Algonquin territory and indigenous culture related programming in 2014 WOW. Please continue to involve local Aboriginal organisations and…

Linda Manning
WOW 2014 participant, Senior Fellow, University of Ottawa
The OLIP Council is committed to leadership.  In only a few years, we have a common vision and priorities, and are up to the task of implementing the Ottawa Immigration Strategy.

Salimatou Diallo
OLIP Council Vice Chair, Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario
The work and expertise that OLIP brings to our community is so important as it helps us to build bridges and break down silos.  I look forward to our continued work together. 

Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa
The Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre is so happy to have joined the OLIP Health and Wellbeing Sector Table. It is clear that OLIP cares about immigrants and refugees and…

Wendy Tang, Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre
My nomination is an indication that our hard work in building Canada is recognized. All we do is to serve the community in return for embracing us when we needed it.  

Mehdi Mahdavi
Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneurship Awards Nominee
All the WOW events that I went to were great – WOW does give a sense of a community trying to improve its attraction and retention!

Caroline Andrew
Professor, University of Ottawa
OLIP helps to unite and share scarce resources for greater impact by working together in the field of student education.

Walter Piovesan
Associate Director of Education, Ottawa Carleton District School Board
The target beneficiary of the work of OLIP is the whole community. In this short period we have planted together important seeds for Ottawa’s development.  

Dick Stewart
OLIP Council
In our city’s history, immigrants have always played an important role. They build our economic prosperity, diversify our culture, contribute to our social vitality.

Jim Watson
Mayor of Ottawa

Ottawa Immigration Strategy

The Ottawa Immigration Strategy (OIS) was developed following a period of more than 18 months of consultation and analysis. The strategy sets long-term priorities in six areas: economic integration; health and wellbeing; settlement; language; education; and community and institutional capacity development.

To devise the strategy, expert teams worked together to incorporate the diverse perspectives of individual immigrants, service providers from the settlement, social, health, and education sectors, employers, government officials, and civic groups, including immigrant and ethno-cultural minority associations. As a result, the OIS reflects a broad, local consensus on how to improve immigrants’ integration outcomes while enhancing our city’s economic and social development.  The OIS was formally launched at City Hall on June 20, 2011.

  • As a community-wide plan, the OIS is a collective vision and a roadmap for coordinated and collaborative action.
  • As a strategy, the OIS reflects our capacities and outlines new opportunities to proactively address the challenges.
  • As a future direction, the OIS builds on Ottawa’s history, traditions, unique qualities, and strengths to address current and anticipated needs.
  • As a social development tool, the OIS is a comprehensive plan for improving economic development, enhancing service delivery and coordination, investing in innovation and knowledge transfer, strengthening civic participation, and building bridges between groups, sectors, and institutions.

The OIS is dynamic and long-term. It builds in mechanisms for adjustment and course correction as awareness deepens and our community learns by doing.  These mechanisms include a flexible governance and leadership structure; a community forum to enable public input; and technical lenses to address the unique needs of subsets of the immigrant population, including Francophone immigrants, immigrant youth, immigrant women, and visible minority immigrants.