More immigrants calling Ottawa home, census shows

Number of immigrant children settling in capital region doubled over last decade

Image | Census 2016 20170206

Caption: According to a new batch of 2016 census data released by Statistics Canada Wednesday, the number of immigrants settling in Ottawa-Gatineau continues to grow. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The number of people immigrating to Ottawa is continuing its decades-long trend of steady growth.
Newly released data from the 2016 census found more immigrants are settling in the capital region than ever before, making up about one-fifth of the capital region's population.
About 37,890 new immigrants arrived in the Ottawa-Gatineau region between 2011 and 2016, bringing the region's total immigrant population to nearly 255,800.
Ottawa-Gatineau's Indigenous population is also booming, but that could have as much to do with how people are identifying themselves as it does with how many have moved to the area.
The 38,115 people who responded last year nearly double the number who identified themselves as First Nations, Métis or Inuit in 2006.
The census also determined capital region residents are increasingly leaning toward renting homes and apartments.
Though the majority of the Ottawa's adult population owns their homes, the number now choosing to rent is increasing at triple the rate of those buying property.
Take a look at the infographic for a more detailed breakdown of some of the numbers.

Embed | Other