Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) is expressing worries about new statistics that reveal more families with kids are leaving the City of Ottawa for nearby municipalities, as housing costs and options continue to influence regional population changes.
The association noted that migration trends within the province show Ottawa is losing households looking for family-friendly, ground-oriented housing, even while the wider region attracts newcomers from other parts of 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 mentioned that enhancements to approval processes will be vital when housing demand picks up again, enabling construction efforts to ramp up more quickly.
Recent analysis from the Missing Middle Initiative suggests that over the last decade, Ottawa has been losing families with children to surrounding areas despite ongoing population growth in the region.
“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 highlights differing demographic trends within the area.
“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 arise as various levels of government push forward housing policy measures aimed at increasing supply and cutting development costs.
Recent initiatives include Ontario’s Bill 98, which focuses on speeding up home construction, and the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, which aims to lower development charges. The province has also approved Official Plan Amendment 46 for Ottawa and urged the city to close 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 urges the City of Ottawa to keep prioritizing housing affordability and continue collaborating with provincial and federal partners to reduce new housing supply costs.
The association believes boosting family-oriented housing availability within city limits will be essential for 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.”
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