Population Growth and Density of Ottawa-Gatineau

[misterg]

Originally Posted by sgera

1. Stats Canada publishes estimated CMA population by month for workforce (ages 15+, excludes folks younger than that) here: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/...026&referencePeriods=20250201%2C20260601

2. based on july 1 CMA estimate of 1.7M listed here: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710014801

3. i took months post July 1 CMA estimate and extrapolated forward to account for population <15 yrs of age matching growth rates from #1 (working population estimates).

Thanks for the insight! Curious if Calgary's growth will slow down, I see they have leap frogged Ottawa again now since the 2021 census.

[ponyboycurtis]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

We are a federation so yes there are lots of barriers to services but Gatineau still benefits from having Ottawa there. CHEO is a great resource for example that somewhere like Rivere-Du-Loup doesn't have. From my place in Ottawa I can be in Gatineau park in 20 minutes. Sure part of this is because of this barrier making population unbalanced but it's still a great benefit for access to wilderness or cottage country that wouldn't exist elsewhere.

I was most referring to the lack of unification of services and even the fact that I can't go work on the Quebec side but they can come here etc.

Personally I think it's cool to cross over and everything has a different feel to it. The lack of a proper regional transit system is a bugger though. We can't even get another bridge sorted.

[Norman Bates]

My understanding is that part of the 1970s rationale to close the old general hospital - and build the new one - was because of demand from the Outaouais.

[Johnny Kit Kat]

Interesting fact. Montreal's CMA population 50 years ago was roughly 5 times that of Ottawa-Gatineau. Today it is only 2.5 times bigger. Also, Ottawa-Gatineau continues to catch up to Montreal's metro population year after year, percentage wise, and particularly in the past 5 years that gap is closing faster than ever.

[lrt's friend]

Interesting fact. Metropolitan Toronto population was 1.8 M in 1966. Ottawa-Gatineau is 1.5 M in 2026. Toronto opened its second full fledged subway in 1966.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Interesting fact. Metropolitan Toronto population was 1.8 M in 1966. Ottawa-Gatineau is 1.5 M in 2026. Toronto opened its second full fledged subway in 1966.

Ottawa-Gatineau is 1.7 M even. See above.

I wonder if 2 M is a threshold where Ottawa really starts to feel like a big city? That is a big city population number. Urban transit is definitely part of that.

[skyscraperaccount]

Originally Posted by phil235

Ottawa-Gatineau is 1.7 M even. See above.

I wonder if 2 M is a threshold where Ottawa really starts to feel like a big city? That is a big city population number. Urban transit is definitely part of that.

What was the population density of Toronto in 1966 compared to 2026 Ottawa....what what the line lenght/number of stops on the subway vs LRT?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by skyscraperaccount

What was the population density of Toronto in 1966 compared to 2026 Ottawa....what what the line lenght/number of stops on the subway vs LRT?

Comparing old Ottawa (roughly 400k people over 110 sqkm) to old Toronto (664.5k people over 97 sqkm). So that's 3636 people per sqkm in Ottawa vs 6850 people per sqkm in Toronto.

We could play around with Ottawa's numbers by removing parts that are less dense in exchange for Vanier and/or Hull, but numbers won't change drastically.

O-Train today is 35.5km over 25 stations while Toronto had 37 km and 43 stations. The TTC subway though served more dense areas while Ottawa's O-Train has goes through a whole lot of farm fields and parking lots.