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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census metropolitan area of Ottawa - Gatineau, Ontario / Quebec 1

Map of Ottawa - Gatineau, CMA (shaded in green), Ontario

Map of Ottawa - Gatineau

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A: Ottawa - Gatineau, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Ottawa - Gatineau, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank
···
Nat. rank
4

In 2011, the population of Ottawa - Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) was 1,236,324, representing a percentage change of 9.1% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CMAs of 7.4%.

In Ottawa - Gatineau, the land area is 6,287.03 square kilometres with a population density of 196.6 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the national land area of 8,965,121.42 square kilometres with a population density of 3.7 persons per square kilometre. The land area of all CMAs is 92,648.98 square kilometres with 249.58 persons per square kilometre.

In total, there were 498,636 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Ottawa - Gatineau in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 10.7%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Population and dwelling counts

Census subdivisions in the Ottawa - Gatineau CMA

Table 1 Ottawa - Gatineau CMA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name Type Population
2011 2006 % change
Ottawa CV 883,391 812,129 8.8
Gatineau V 265,349 242,124 9.6
Clarence-Rockland CY 23,185 20,790 11.5
Russell TP 15,247 13,883 9.8
Val-des-Monts MÉ 10,420 9,539 9.2
Cantley MÉ 9,888 7,926 24.8
La Pêche MÉ 7,619 7,477 1.9
Chelsea MÉ 6,977 6,703 4.1
Pontiac MÉ 5,681 5,238 8.5
L'Ange-Gardien MÉ 5,051 4,348 16.2
Val-des-Bois MÉ 938 873 7.4
Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette MÉ 757 774 -2.2
Bowman MÉ 677 676 0.1
Denholm MÉ 572 604 -5.3
Mayo MÉ 572 549 4.2

Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs) in Ontario

Table 2 Ontario – Metropolitan areas, population rank and population change, 2006 to 2011
CMA or CA name Type Population Rank
2011 2006 % change Nat. Prov.
Toronto CMA 5,583,064 5,113,149 9.2 1 1
Ottawa - Gatineau CMA 1,236,324 1,133,633 A 9.1 4 ···
Ottawa - Gatineau (partie du Québec / Quebec part)   314,501 286,831 A 9.6 ··· 3
Ottawa - Gatineau (Ontario part / partie de l'Ontario)   921,823 846,802 8.9 ··· 2
Hamilton CMA 721,053 692,911 4.1 9 3
Kitchener - Cambridge - Waterloo CMA 477,160 451,235 5.7 10 4
London CMA 474,786 457,720 3.7 11 5
St. Catharines - Niagara CMA 392,184 390,317 0.5 12 6
Oshawa CMA 356,177 330,594 7.7 14 7
Windsor CMA 319,246 323,342 -1.3 16 8
Barrie CMA 187,013 177,061 5.6 21 9
Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury CMA 160,770 158,258 1.6 24 10
Kingston CMA 159,561 152,358 4.7 25 11
Guelph CMA 141,097 133,698 A 5.5 28 12
Brantford CMA 135,501 124,607 8.7 30 13
Thunder Bay CMA 121,596 122,907 -1.1 32 14
Peterborough CMA 118,975 116,570 2.1 33 15
Chatham-Kent CA 104,075 108,589 -4.2 35 16
Belleville CA 92,540 91,518 1.1 40 17
Sarnia CA 89,555 88,793 0.9 44 18
Sault Ste. Marie † CA 79,800 80,098 -0.4 47 19
Kawartha Lakes CA 73,214 74,561 -1.8 49 20
North Bay CA 64,043 63,424 1.0 53 21
Norfolk CA 63,175 62,563 1.0 54 22
Cornwall CA 58,957 58,485 0.8 55 23
Leamington CA 49,765 49,741 0.0 63 24
Timmins CA 43,165 42,997 0.4 69 25
Orillia CA 40,731 40,532 0.5 73 26
Brockville CA 39,024 39,668 -1.6 75 27
Woodstock CA 37,754 35,822 A 5.4 76 28
Midland CA 35,419 35,432 A 0.0 79 29
Owen Sound CA 32,092 32,259 -0.5 85 30
Stratford CA 30,886 30,516 A 1.2 86 31
Centre Wellington CA 26,693 26,049 2.5 95 32
Pembroke CA 24,017 23,195 3.5 102 33
Collingwood CA 19,241 17,290 11.3 106 34
Cobourg CA 18,519 18,210 1.7 109 35
Port Hope CA 16,214 16,390 -1.1 121 36
Petawawa CA 15,988 14,651 9.1 123 37
Kenora CA 15,348 15,177 1.1 125 38
Tillsonburg CA 15,301 14,822 3.2 126 39
Temiskaming Shores CA 13,566 13,654 A -0.6 129 40
Ingersoll CA 12,146 11,760 3.3 142 41
Hawkesbury CA 12,128 12,267 -1.1 143 ···
Hawkesbury (partie du Québec / Quebec part)   1,577 1,398 12.8 ··· 31
Hawkesbury (Ontario part / partie de l'Ontario)   10,551 10,869 -2.9 ··· 43
Elliot Lake CA 11,348 11,549 -1.7 146 42

Age and sex

Ottawa - Gatineau – Age distribution

Chart C: Ottawa - Gatineau - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Ottawa - Gatineau - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 Ottawa - Gatineau – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
0 to 14 17.1% 17.8% 16.4%
15 to 64 70.2% 70.8% 69.7%
65 and over 12.7% 11.4% 13.9%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Ottawa - Gatineau was 12.7%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 70.2% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 17.1%. In comparison, the national percentages were 68.5% for the population aged 15 to 64 and 16.7% for the population aged 0 to 14.

Ottawa - Gatineau – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Ottawa - Gatineau – Population by broad age groups and sex, and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex Population
2011 2006 change % change
Both sexes
Total 1,236,320 1,133,635 102,685 9.1
0 to 14 211,430 202,980 8,450 4.2
15 to 64 868,010 797,770 70,240 8.8
65 and over 156,880 132,885 23,995 18.1
Males
Total 601,265 550,220 51,045 9.3
0 to 14 107,305 103,265 4,040 3.9
15 to 64 425,615 390,775 34,840 8.9
65 and over 68,350 56,180 12,170 21.7
Females
Total 635,055 583,410 51,645 8.9
0 to 14 104,125 99,720 4,405 4.4
15 to 64 442,400 406,995 35,405 8.7
65 and over 88,530 76,705 11,825 15.4

Ottawa - Gatineau – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D: Ottawa - Gatineau - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Ottawa - Gatineau - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 5 Ottawa - Gatineau – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
Total - Age groups 1,236,320 601,265 635,055
0 to 4 years 71,245 36,250 34,995
5 to 9 years 68,720 34,900 33,820
10 to 14 years 71,470 36,155 35,310
15 to 19 years 82,615 42,030 40,590
20 to 24 years 88,795 44,505 44,290
25 to 29 years 83,955 41,305 42,650
30 to 34 years 82,070 39,520 42,550
35 to 39 years 84,990 40,870 44,120
40 to 44 years 90,215 43,895 46,320
45 to 49 years 103,875 51,050 52,830
50 to 54 years 98,840 48,090 50,750
55 to 59 years 82,290 40,085 42,205
60 to 64 years 70,360 34,270 36,090
65 to 69 years 50,100 23,890 26,210
70 to 74 years 36,450 16,850 19,595
75 to 79 years 28,375 12,690 15,680
80 to 84 years 21,475 8,545 12,935
85 to 89 years 13,465 4,595 8,870
90 to 94 years 5,510 1,490 4,020
95 to 99 years 1,325 265 1,055
100 years and over 190 20 165
Median age 39.1 38.2 39.9

Ottawa - Gatineau – Median age2 of the population

Chart E: Canada, Ontario and Ottawa - Gatineau - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, Ontario and Ottawa - Gatineau - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

The median age in Ottawa - Gatineau was 39.1 years. In comparison, the median age of Ontario was 40.4 years.

Table 6 Canada, Ontario and Ottawa - Gatineau – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
  Median age
2006 2011
Canada 39.5 40.6
Ontario 39.0 40.4
Ottawa - Gatineau 38.4 39.1

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families3 in Ottawa - Gatineau was 340,515, which represents a change of 8.0% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.


In Ottawa - Gatineau, 66.1% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 17.4% were common-law-couples and 16.6% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Ottawa - Gatineau - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Ottawa - Gatineau - Census families by family structure

Ottawa - Gatineau – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, Ontario, Ottawa - Gatineau – Distribution of census families by family structure, 2011 Census
Geographic name Total families Married-couple families Common-law-couple families Lone-parent families % change, census families, 2006 to 2011
number % number % number %
Canada † 9,389,695 6,293,950 67.0 1,567,905 16.7 1,527,840 16.3 5.5
Ontario † 3,612,205 2,612,890 72.3 394,670 10.9 604,645 16.7 5.5
Ottawa - Gatineau 340,515 224,940 66.1 59,205 17.4 56,370 16.6 8.0

Ottawa - Gatineau – Presence of children within couple families

Chart G: Ottawa - Gatineau - Presence of children within couple families
Married couples Common-law-couples
with children without children with children without children
116,320 (40.9%) 108,620 (38.2%) 24,025 ( 8.5%) 35,185 (12.4%)

Chart G description: Ottawa - Gatineau - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census metropolitan area of Ottawa - Gatineau, 49.4% were couples with children aged 24 and under at home. In comparison, as a whole, 46.9% of couples in Canada had children aged 24 and under at home.

Among couples with children aged 24 and under at home in the census metropolitan area of Ottawa - Gatineau, 87.6% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 12.4% were stepfamilies, in which there was at least one child was the biological or adopted child of only one married spouse or common-law partner. For Canada as a whole in 2011, 12.6% of couples with children aged 24 and under were stepfamilies.

Ottawa - Gatineau – Marital status

Chart H: Ottawa - Gatineau - Marital status

Chart H description: Ottawa - Gatineau - Marital status

In Ottawa - Gatineau, 56.6% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (45.0%) or living with a common-law partner (11.6%).

The remaining 43.4% were not married and not living with a common-law partner, including those who were single (never-married), separated, divorced or widowed.

Note: Percentages may not total 100 percent due to random rounding.

Table 8 Canada, Ontario, Ottawa - Gatineau – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status Ottawa - Gatineau Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Population 15 years and over 1,024,890 100.0 10,671,050 100.0 27,869,345 100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner 579,735 56.6 6,158,605 57.7 16,084,490 57.7
Married (and not separated) 461,205 45.0 5,367,400 50.3 12,941,965 46.4
Living common-law 118,535 11.6 791,210 7.4 3,142,525 11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner 445,155 43.4 4,512,440 42.3 11,784,855 42.3
Single (never legally married) 306,365 29.9 2,985,020 28.0 7,816,045 28.0
Separated 26,820 2.6 319,805 3.0 698,245 2.5
Divorced 62,115 6.1 593,730 5.6 1,686,035 6.0
Widowed 49,855 4.9 613,880 5.8 1,584,525 5.7

Ottawa - Gatineau – Types of private households

There were 498,635 private households4 in Ottawa - Gatineau in 2011, a change of 10.7% from 2006. Of these, 27.5% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of 3.5% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, Ontario, Ottawa - Gatineau – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type5 Ottawa - Gatineau Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Private households 498,635 100.0 4,887,505 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Couple-family households with children
aged 24 and under at home6		 136,970 27.5 1,402,420 28.7 3,524,915 26.5
Couple-family households without children
aged 24 and under at home7		 137,750 27.6 1,408,120 28.8 3,935,540 29.5
Lone-parent family households8 52,610 10.6 535,825 11.0 1,375,450 10.3
One-person households 140,720 28.2 1,230,980 25.2 3,673,310 27.6
Multiple-family households9 6,495 1.3 128,660 2.6 268,060 2.0
Other households10 24,090 4.8 181,500 3.7 543,340 4.1

Ottawa - Gatineau – Structural type of dwelling

In Ottawa - Gatineau, 45.4% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 14.5% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 10 Canada, Ontario, Ottawa - Gatineau – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling Ottawa - Gatineau Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Structural type of dwelling 498,640 100.0 4,887,510 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Single-detached house 226,185 45.4 2,718,880 55.6 7,329,150 55.0
Semi-detached house 35,590 7.1 279,470 5.7 646,240 4.9
Row house 79,725 16.0 415,230 8.5 791,600 5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys 72,150 14.5 789,975 16.2 1,234,770 9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys 68,490 13.7 498,160 10.2 2,397,555 18.0
Apartment, duplex 14,715 3.0 160,460 3.3 704,485 5.3
Other single-attached house11 665 0.1 9,535 0.2 33,310 0.3
Movable dwelling12 1,120 0.2 15,795 0.3 183,510 1.4

Language

Ottawa - Gatineau – Mother tongue

Chart J: Ottawa - Gatineau - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Chart J description: Ottawa - Gatineau - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Note: Counts for mother tongue as well as those for language spoken most often at home include single responses only.

In Ottawa - Gatineau, 49.0% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 31.4% reported French only, and 16.7% reported only a non-official language, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 68.2% for English only, 3.9% for French only and 25.7% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 58.8% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 28.3% spoke only French and 8.6% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 79.0% for English only, 2.2% for French only and 14.4% for only a non-official language.

Table 11 Ottawa - Gatineau – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages Mother tongue Language spoken most often at home
number % number %
Total 1,222,760 100.0 1,222,755 100.0
English 599,300 49.0 718,430 58.8
French 384,160 31.4 345,630 28.3
Non-official language 204,225 16.7 105,505 8.6
Multiple responses 35,070 2.9 53,195 4.4
Table 12 Ottawa - Gatineau – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Mother-tongue retention13
(in percentage)
Total retention; language spoken at home at least on a regular basis Complete retention; language spoken most often at home Partial retention; language spoken at home on a regular basis
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
English 99.0 97.5 1.5
French 93.3 84.9 8.4
Non-official language 81.2 57.6 23.6

Ottawa - Gatineau – Non-official languages

In Ottawa - Gatineau, the three most common mother tongues were Arabic (3.1%), Spanish (1.3%) and Chinese, n.o.s. (1.1%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were Italian (2.1%), Chinese, n.o.s. (1.6%) and Cantonese (1.5%).

Table 13 Ottawa - Gatineau – The most common non-official-language mother tongues, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Number Percentage of non-official language mother-tongue population Percentage of total population
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
Arabic 38,080 17.1 3.1
Spanish 16,260 7.3 1.3
Chinese, n.o.s. 14,055 6.3 1.1
Italian 10,910 4.9 0.9
Mandarin 7,515 3.4 0.6
German 7,140 3.2 0.6
Portuguese 7,030 3.2 0.6
Cantonese 6,960 3.1 0.6
Somali 6,885 3.1 0.6
Persian (Farsi) 6,855 3.1 0.6

Ottawa - Gatineau – Bilingualism

Table 14 Ottawa - Gatineau – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups Mother tongue
Total English French Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total 44.2 30.4 74.7 27.1
0 to 19 36.6 31.9 46.5 32.8
20 to 44 50.1 36.0 86.4 30.3
45 to 64 46.4 27.3 83.3 25.0
65 and over 36.4 17.4 74.2 14.6
Table 15 Ottawa - Gatineau – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages Number Percentage
Total 1,222,760 100.0
English only 556,405 45.5
French only 105,280 8.6
English and French 547,625 44.8
Neither English nor French 13,450 1.1

Symbols:

···
not applicable
†
excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves or Indian settlements. For further information, refer to Notes.
incompletely enumerated Indian reserve or Indian settlement. For further information, refer to Notes.
A
adjusted figure due to boundary change. For further information, refer to Content considerations.
E
use with caution. For further information, refer to Cautionary note.


Source:

Statistics Canada. 2012. Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-310-XWE2011004. Ottawa, Ontario. Analytical products, 2011 Census. Last updated October 24, 2012.
 

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