Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) is raising concerns about new data showing that more families with children are moving out of the City of Ottawa and into surrounding municipalities, as affordability and housing mix continue to shape regional population shifts.
The association said intra-provincial migration trends indicate Ottawa is increasingly losing households seeking ground-oriented, family-friendly housing, even as the broader region continues to attract new residents from elsewhere in Ontario.
“Over the past year, the City of Ottawa has made meaningful progress to streamline and improve its development approvals process, with the goal of becoming the most housing-friendly city in the country,” said GOHBA executive director Jason Burggraaf. “While the market has been stuck in a very long period of low activity, it is critical that the City remain committed to these reforms.”
Burggraaf said the improvements to approvals processes will be essential when housing demand rebounds, allowing construction activity to scale more quickly.
New analysis from the Missing Middle Initiative suggests Ottawa has been losing families with children to surrounding communities over the past decade, despite continued regional population growth.
“While the region as a whole continues to gain people from elsewhere in Ontario, a growing share are choosing communities outside Ottawa’s municipal boundaries in search of more suitable and affordable housing,” said Mike Moffatt, founding director of the Missing Middle Initiative.
The data also points to diverging demographic trends within the region.
“The City of Ottawa itself is losing kids and mid-to-late career professionals, while gaining large numbers of college-age adults and, to a lesser extent, early career professionals,” Moffatt said. “Communities surrounding Ottawa are attracting more kids and late-career professionals, while also gaining residents across all age groups.”
The concerns come as multiple levels of government advance housing policy measures aimed at increasing supply and reducing development costs.
Recent initiatives include Ontario’s Bill 98, which focuses on accelerating home construction, and the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, which aims to reduce development charges. The province has also approved Official Plan Amendment 46 for Ottawa and urged the city to address gaps between municipal and provincial growth projections.
A joint meeting of Ottawa’s Finance and Corporate Services Committee and Planning and Housing Committee is scheduled for May 5, 2026, to review progress on the city’s Housing Acceleration Plan.
GOHBA is urging the City of Ottawa to maintain its focus on housing affordability and continue working with provincial and federal partners to lower the cost of new housing supply.
The association said increasing the availability of family-oriented housing within city boundaries will be key to reversing outward migration trends.
“More and more growing families are moving outside the City to find the type of housing they want,” Burggraaf said. “They are telling us with their actions that Ottawa needs to meet that market demand for ground-oriented, family-friendly homes, or we’ll continue to lose young families.”
