Ottawa, City of

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110 Laurier Ave W
Ottawa, ON K2P 2H9
The City of Ottawa provides municipal government services to residents and businesses in the nation's capital.

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Ottawa, City of
An employee at City of Ottawa   (Photo credit: Chris Bricker)

Recognized as one of National Capital Region's Top Employers (2025):

By Richard Yerema and Kristina Leung, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Mar 3, 2025)

Here are some of the reasons why Ottawa, City of was selected as one of National Capital Region's Top Employers (2025):

  • City of Ottawa manages an extensive program to celebrate exceptional performance in a variety of areas, including innovation, creativity, collaboration and leadership -- the city also honours long service and retirement, and enables employees to nominate peers for going above and beyond in performing their duties, improving the workplace or contributing to a better community
  • City of Ottawa created department-specific wellness action plans as part of its overarching wellness strategy, and conducts quarterly mental health training to better equip its people leaders -- the city also offers coverage for mental health care as part of its benefits plan, as well as discounted rates to fitness facilities at city locations (with instructor-led classes such as pilates, kickboxing, and strength training)
  • City of Ottawa supports employees through various stages of life, from maternity leave top-up payments for mothers-to-be and flexible work options to help balance personal and family commitments to retirement planning assistance for those in the later stages of their careers
A recreational, cultural and facility services employee at City of Ottawa   (Photo credit: Phil Renaud)

Highlights

Industry Municipal governments
Established in Canada 1855
Major Canadian locations Ottawa ON
Full-time employees in Canada 13,258
Part-time employees in Canada 6,532
Average age of employees in Canada 40 years
Longest serving employee 52 years
Benefits note City of Ottawa has multiple employee groups, the following programs and policies may vary by position
Flexible work options hybrid work option, flexible work hours, 35-hour work week (with full pay), compressed work week, shortened work week (fewer hours with less pay), telecommuting, reduced summer hours, earned days off program
Long-term savings defined-benefit (DB) pension
Health plan premium as part of the health plan, the employer pays up to 100% of the premiums
Maternity top-up (mothers) up to 93% of salary for 16 weeks
Parental top-up (mothers) up to 93% of salary for 14 weeks
Parental top-up (fathers) up to 93% of salary for 14 weeks
Adoption top-up up to 93% of salary for 14 weeks
Vacation allowance new employees receive 3 weeks of paid vacation after their first year on the job
Outside survey period outside consultant surveys are held every 24 months
In-house training initiatives apprenticeship/skilled trades programs, in-house training, online training, mentoring, leadership development programs, paid internships
Related tuition subsidies employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year
Employee charitable involvement employees are involved in selection of charities

Recognized as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2025):

By Kristina Leung, Chantel Watkins, and Cypress Weston, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Feb 24, 2025)

Here are some of the reasons why Ottawa, City of was selected as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2025):

  • City of Ottawa established an Anti-Racism Secretariat to implement the city's Anti-Racism Strategy, a five-year plan to proactively identify and remove systemic barriers from city policies, programs and services to help realize racial equity -- the strategy was developed through extensive community engagement sessions
  • As of 2022, all of the 14 actions in the City of Ottawa's 2018 Reconciliation Action Plan were completed or ongoing -- the Indigenous Relations branch was also established to provide Indigenous leadership, guidance and strategic direction to Indigenous relations, including Indigenous-led frameworks for governance and engagement, and a long-term vision for land use developed with the Anishinabe Algonquin Host Nation, as well as the voices of the local urban Indigenous community
  • City of Ottawa has taken measures to increase representation in recruitment and minimize bias with the LEAD IT strategic hiring process, which promotes transparency and equity through the use of a comparative assessment model and by identifying employment equity designated positions (positions held exclusively for applicants who self-identify as a member of one or more employment equity designated groups)
City of Ottawa Latin American employee network team members organize an event for Latin American Heritage Month  

Highlights

Industry Municipal governments
Major Canadian locations Ottawa ON
Full-time employees in Canada 13,258
Management of diversity and inclusion initiatives corporate diversity and inclusion plan, Gender and Race Equity, Inclusion, Indigenous Relations, and Social Development (GREIIRSD) Services leads city-wide implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, as well as implementing UNDRIP, TRC Calls to Action and Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Performance management and accountability goal to increase overall representation of the employment equity designated groups to match the 2018 market availability rates by 2024, Count ME In! self-identification questionnaire
Employee resource groups 11 affinity groups include Asian Heritage, Francophone Staff, City Employees from India, Muslim Connect Affinity Group, African, Caribbean, Black Heritage Affinity Group, Employees with Disabilities, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Employees, Latin American Employee Network, Diverse Employees Network, Rainbow Employee Network and Women.net
Noteworthy diversity strategies and policies Reconciliation Action Plan with 14 actionable initiatives (to build reconciliation in areas of culture, employment, children’s services and education and awareness), Indigenous Relations branch leads work to support reconciliation, created a women and gender equity strategy to ensure that the city's services, policies, and plans integrate a women and gender lens and promote women and gender equity, created an Anti-Racism Secretariat responsible for the developing and implementing the city’s first corporate anti-racism strategy, maintains an Older Adult Plan to support older persons and their quality of life in the city, accessibility working group
Recruitment initiatives developed a strategic hiring process (LEAD IT) to increase workforce representation (includes data collection on the participation of women, non-binary and trans people through each application stage), dedicated outreach and engagement specialist who works with departments to identify and develop targeted outreach and recruitment strategies, Indigenous relations specialist for Indigenous candidates, inclusive hiring training for hiring managers, participates in the Youth Futures program (6-week paid summer placements to help youth who face marginalization and other barriers gain work experience), uses a comparative assessment model to apply an equity lens to all stages of the hiring process
Training and awareness initiatives mandatory Equity and Inclusion Lens training (to help employees consider equity and to build inclusive practices into their day-to-day work), equity and inclusion lens handbook to promote inclusive interactions between city staff as well as residents, bias awareness training, Pathways to Indigenous Learning program (provides foundational context, including the history of Indigenous and colonial relations)
Diversity highlights performed an environmental scan of 50 municipalities and community partners to inform Indigenous targeted recruitment strategy, developed inclusive communication guide available in English and French (includes groups beyond the designated groups, hosted lunch and learns to support use of the guide and gather feedback as part of its intention to be a living document with periodic updates), engages community groups to review the job application process to identify barriers and recommend improvements, city manager's award of distinction includes a diversity and inclusion award that recognizes an individual or team who promotes inclusion in the workplace

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