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
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
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
We are very pleased to have done the “Opportunity Cost of Not Investing in Interpretation” report – it is so important to have clarity on these challenges and…

Hindia Mohamoud, Director, OLIP
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
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
The WOW seminar on immigrant women’s nutrition and health was a step in the right direction towards closing the gap between academic researchers and service providers.

Josephine Etowa
Associate Professor, School of Nursing, 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 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
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

City of Ottawa Embarks on New Economic Development Strategy

February 17, 2023

The City of Ottawa is developing a new Economic Development Strategy. The strategy will support and advance Ottawa’s economic growth and resiliency by addressing the challenges and opportunities of the post-pandemic economy. It will also build upon well-established partnerships and programs and prioritize and guide the City’s future investments in economic development. Founded on fresh research and broad engagement with stakeholders, the strategy will aim to support the City’s vision to make Ottawa the most liveable mid-sized city in North America. The strategy will contain a series of recommendations and tactical actions for implementation by the City of Ottawa throughout the new Term of Council (2022-2026).

Guiding the strategy’s development is a Sponsor Group which consists of key economic development partners who are providing input and feedback at set project milestones including: an economic and trend analysis, and targeted stakeholder consultations. One of the vital partners in the Sponsor Group is the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP). Throughout the process, Hindia Mohamoud, OLIP’s Director, has been providing important perspectives of immigrant challenges and opportunities, including the importance of immigrant attraction, retention, and economic integration.

The stakeholder engagement for the strategy, which targeted key economic development stakeholders as well as the broader business community, included a series of consultations to gather perspectives on the current state of Ottawa’s economy as well as key challenges, opportunities, and potential future initiatives. Specifically, the consultation involved one-on-one interviews, group workshops and an online survey.

The early themes that have emerged from the consultation include, future of downtown, city branding, connectivity, city-building projects, partnerships and collaboration, small business, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, tourism, arts and culture, and talent. Specifically, we have heard from stakeholders on the importance of leveraging immigrant talent as a key driver of Ottawa’s economic and social development. It is well understood that as the average age in Ottawa increases, immigration and higher population growth will be important factors to fulfil labour market requirements.

With the recent completion of the stakeholder engagement phase, work has commenced on the development of the draft strategy. The strategy will be presented to the City’s Finance and Corporate Service Committee for consideration in late spring 2023.

This important work could not be undertaken without the support of the City’s well-established partners. We thank all stakeholders who have provided input throughout this process, including our partners at OLIP who have highlighted the importance of economic integration of immigrants. We look forward to continuing our partnership with OLIP as we shape and revitalize our city into one where everyone experiences, and contributes to, a growing, diverse and inclusive economy, where barriers are eliminated, and immigrants thrive.

This article was submitted by the City of Ottawa’s Planning, Real Estate and Economic Development Department.