Ottawa: the knowledge city and a labyrinth of obstacles

This research provides a comparative examination of Ottawa as an archetype of a knowledge city. Among Canada’s four largest cities, Ottawa is unique in terms of the characteristics of its labor force, the nature of its employment mix, and its infrastructure. Since the high-tech downturn of 2001, some of Ottawa’s options as a knowledge city seem to be contracting, despite some simultaneously encouraging signs (like recovering employment levels in the high-tech sector). This raises a question about Ottawa’s potential longevity as a knowledge center. The challenge is to understand the inventory of obstacles faced by the city, and address the sort of alchemy required to maintain and improve its competitiveness as a knowledge city.