Demographics of Ottawa

Map of Ottawa showing the francophone concentrations

In 2011, the population of the city of Ottawa was 883,391, an 8.8% increase from 2006.^[1] The population of the census metropolitan area was 1,215,735.^[2]

Population history

Current boundaries
Year	Pop.	±%
1901	101,102	—
1911	123,417	+22.1%
1921	152,868	+23.9%
1931	174,056	+13.9%
1941	206,367	+18.6%
1951	246,298	+19.3%
1956	287,244	+16.6%
1961	358,410	+24.8%
1966	413,695	+15.4%
1971	471,931	+14.1%
1976	520,533	+10.3%
1981	546,849	+5.1%
1986	606,639	+10.9%
1991	678,147	+11.8%
1996	721,136	+6.3%
2001[N 1]	774,072	+7.3%
2006	812,129	+4.9%
2011	883,391	+8.8%
Sources:[5][6][7][8][3][9][10]

Former boundaries
Year	Pop.	±%
1871	21,545	—
1881	27,412	+27.2%
1891	44,154	+61.1%
1901	59,928	+35.7%
1911	87,062	+45.3%
1921	107,843	+23.9%
1931	126,872	+17.6%
1941	154,951	+22.1%
1951	202,045	+30.4%
1956	222,129	+9.9%
1961	268,206	+20.7%
1966	290,741	+8.4%
1971	302,341	+4.0%
1976	304,462	+0.7%
1981	295,163	−3.1%
1986	300,763	+1.9%
1991	313,987	+4.4%
1996	323,340	+3.0%
2001[N 1]	337,031	+4.2%
Sources:[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Age and sex

In 2001, females made up 51.2% of the amalgamated Ottawa population, while the median age of the population was 36.7 years of age.^[18] Youths under 15 years of age comprised 18.9% of the total population, while those of retirement age (65 years and older) comprised 11.4%.^[18]

Migration and immigration

Between 1987 and 2002, 131,816 individuals relocated to the city, which represents 75% of the population growth for that period.^[19] Foreign immigration plays a significant role in Ottawa's population growth.^[20] Foreign born residents make up 23.4 percent of Ottawa's population, in which many come from the United Kingdom, China, India, the United States, Lebanon, Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Haiti.

Languages

Bilingualism in Ottawa became official policy in 2002, making all municipal services available in both of Canada's official languages (Canadian English and Canadian French).^[21] Nearly 300,000 people, or 37% of Ottawa's population, can speak both languages,^[9] As such it is the largest city in Canada with both English and French as co-official languages.^[22] Those who identify their mother tongue as English constitute 62.4 percent, while those with French as their mother tongue make up 14.2 percent of the population. In terms of respondents' knowledge of one or both official languages, 59.9 percent and 1.5 percent of the population have knowledge of English only and French only, respectively; while 37.2 percent have knowledge of both official languages. An additional 20.4 percent list languages other than English and French as their mother tongue. These include Arabic (3.2%), Chinese (3.0%), Spanish (1.2%), Italian (1.1%), and many others.^[1]

The Algonquian languages have been spoken for centuries by the Indigenous peoples and subsequently by the French coureurs des bois and voyageurs of the Ottawa valley during the 1600s and 1700s.^[23] Starting in the mid-1800s, Irish settlers of the Ottawa valley develop a distinct dialect referred to as "Ottawa Valley Twang".^[24] Traces of "Valley Twang" although rare, can still be heard in the valley's more isolated areas.^[25]

Ethnicities, visible minorities and Aboriginals

Members of visible minority groups (non-white/European) constitute 23.7 percent, while those of Aboriginal origin make up 2.1% of the total population. The largest visible minority groups are: Black Canadians: 5.7%, Chinese Canadians: 4.0%, South Asians: 3.9%, and Arabs: 3.7%. Smaller groups include Southeast Asians, Filipinos, Latin Americans, and West Asians.^[1]

Population by ethnicity, 2006 Ethnic origin Population Percent Canadian 227,490 28.4% English 194,845 24.3% Irish 180,525 22.5% French 172,165 21.5% Scottish 158,340 19.8% German 67,660 8.4% Italian 39,230 4.9% Chinese 34,435 4.3% Polish 25,685 3.2% Dutch 22,700 2.8% First Nations 21,600 2.7% Indian 20,525 2.6% Lebanese 17,500 2.1% Black 16,000 2.0%

Visible minority and Aboriginal population[26][27][28]
Population group		Population (2011)	% of total population (2011)	Population (2006)	% of total population (2006)
White		643,755	74.2%	627,300	78.3%
Visible minority group	South Asian	33,805	3.9%	26,510	3.3%
	Chinese	34,855	4%	30,760	3.8%
	Black	49,650	5.7%	39,070	4.9%
	Filipino	10,530	1.2%	7,115	0.9%
	Latin American	10,255	1.2%	8,075	1%
	Arab	32,340	3.7%	24,105	3%
	Southeast Asian	13,650	1.6%	10,395	1.3%
	West Asian	7,590	0.9%	6,055	0.8%
	Korean	2,250	0.3%	2,115	0.3%
	Japanese	2,005	0.2%	1,685	0.2%
	Visible minority, n.i.e.	2,130	0.2%	1,620	0.2%
	Multiple visible minorities	6,100	0.7%	4,215	0.5%
Total visible minority population		205,155	23.7%	161,720	20.2%
Aboriginal group	First Nations	10,310	1.2%	6,575	0.8%
	Métis	6,405	0.7%	4,495	0.6%
	Inuit	705	0.1%	605	0.1%
	Aboriginal, n.i.e.	585	0.1%	415	0.1%
	Multiple Aboriginal identities	175	0%	165	0%
Total Aboriginal population		18,180	2.1%	12,250	1.5%
Total population		867,090	100%	801,270	100%

Religion

In the 2011 Canadian census, 65.4 percent of the population belonged to Christian denominations, the most common being Roman Catholicism at 38.4%. Non-Christian religions are also very well established in Ottawa, the largest being Islam: 6.7%, Hinduism: 1.4%, Buddhism: 1.3%, and Judaism: 1.2%. Approximately one percent of people living in Ottawa, or 8740 persons in 2011, comprised the Statistics Canada category "Other Religions". The largest three groups in rank order are Sikhs (3420), Unitarians (1165) and Baha'is (1150), followed by Pagan and Wiccan. These five groups together comprise nearly three quarters of the total number of members of Other Religions. Those with no religious affiliation represent 22.8%, of which approximately 2% are atheist, agnostic and humanist.

Religions in Ottawa-Gatineau (only religions with more than 1% of the population listed)
Religion	%
Christianity	65.4%
Roman Catholicism	38.4%
Anglicanism	6.5%
United Church	6.2%
Christian Orthodox	2.0%
Presbyterianism	1.5%
Baptist	1.2%
Pentecostal	1.1%
Islam	6.7%
Hinduism	1.4%
Buddhism	1.3%
Judaism	1.2%
No religion	22.8%

Notes

1. In early 2001, the Province of Ontario dissolved the former City of Ottawa by amalgamating it with eleven other municipalities to form a new City of Ottawa. The 1996 adjusted population of the amalgamated city published in the 2001 census was 721,136,^[3] while the population of the dissolved former City of Ottawa in 2001 was 337,031.^[4]

References

1. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3506008&Data=Count&SearchText=Ottawa&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=3506008&TABID=1
2. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CMA&Code1=505&Data=Count&SearchText=Ottawa%20-%20Gatineau&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=505&TABID=1
3. "2001 Community Profiles – Ottawa, Ontario (City)". Statistics Canada. 2007-02-01. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
4. "2001 Community Profiles – Ottawa, Ontario (City / Dissolved)". Statistics Canada. 2007-02-01. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
5. http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/get-know-your-city/statistics-and-economic-profile/data-handbook/population/4-population
6. http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/OFR5218/OFR5218.pdf
7. https://archive.org/stream/1976928311978engfra/1976928311978engfra_djvu.txt
8. "Search Censuses". Statistics Canada. 2012-07-04. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
9. "Community Profiles from the 2006 Census – Ottawa, Ontario (City)". Statistics Canada. 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
10. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2011 censuses — 100% data". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
11. "Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1871–1951". Ninth Census of Canada, 1951. Volume I: Population, General Charactertics. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1953. pp. 6–39.
12. "Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1901–1961". 1961 Census of Canada. Series 1.1: Historical, 1901–1961. Volume I: Population. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1963. pp. 6–41.
13. "Table 2: Population of Census Subdivisions, 1921–1971". 1971 Census of Canada. Census Subdivisions (Historical). Volume I: Population, Geographic Distributions. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1972. pp. 2–70.
14. "Table 3: Population for census divisions and subdivisions, 1971 and 1976". 1976 Census of Canada. Census Divisions and Subdivisions, Ontario. Volume I: Population. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1977.
15. "Table 4: Population and Total Occupied Dwellings, for Census Divisions and Subdivisions, 1976 and 1981". 1981 Census of Canada. Provincial series, Ontario. Volume II: Population, Geographic distributions. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1982.
16. "E-STAT – Search Censuses". Statistics Canada. 2011-04-06. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
17. "1996 Community Profiles – Ottawa (City), Ontario". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
18. "2001 Community Profiles – Ottawa, Ontario (City)". Statistics Canada. 2007-02-01. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
19. "2006 City of Ottawa Health Status Report" (PDF). Ottawa Public Health. 2006. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
20. "Population". City of Ottawa. 2001–2011. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
21. "Bilingualism Policy". City of Ottawa. 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
22. Jenny Cheshire (1991). English around the world: sociolinguistic perspectives. Cambridge University Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-521-39565-6. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
23. Peter Bakker (1997). A language of our own: the genesis of Michif, the mixed Cree-French language of the Canadian Métis. Oxford University Press US. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-19-509711-5. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
24. Keshen 2001, pp. 227.
25. Jenny Cheshire (1991). English around the world: sociolinguistic perspectives. Cambridge University Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-521-39565-6. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
26. , Aboriginal Population Profile from the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada - Census Subdivision
27. , Community Profiles from the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada - Census Subdivision
28. , National Household Survey (NHS) Profile, 2011