by Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa
Ottawa is often labelled as a “government town.” As the Nation’s Capital, we house much of the federal bureaucracy, important provincial government offices and of course the offices of the City of Ottawa.The three levels of government are key employers in our city, but Ottawa is much more than a “government town” and the new Invest Ottawa is a concerted effort to showcase and improve upon this reality.
On February 21 I joined co-chair Jeff Westeinde along with many local entrepreneurs to officially launch Invest Ottawa as the flagship of the City’s $5.5 million annual economic development strategy. A real buzz of excitement, along with a couple hundred people, filled the new Invest Ottawa headquarters at80 Aberdeen Street that morning.
The new Invest Ottawa will assist development and expansion in our city of knowledge-based sectors such as high-tech, green energy, defence and security, photonics, digital media, film and television, and life sciences.
Ottawa boasts a talented workforce, outstanding amenities, and a high quality of life making it an attractive location for any potential investor. We as residents of this City know this to be a fact and Invest Ottawa will communicate this to investors across North America and around the world.
The need for Invest Ottawa is greater now than ever before. The recent headlines surrounding public service job losses suggest that we face challenging times. We need to prepare for that and work to make Ottawa’s future as prosperous as our past. Invest Ottawa will support our existing business community, allowing them to be confident in hiring new employees, and will be an incubator for entrepreneurs as well. Our City is full of innovators and pioneers and Invest Ottawa will help to ensure that they will have the resources and information they need to be successful.
For more information on Invest Ottawa please visit www.investottawa.ca or drop by their new office at 80 Aberdeen Street off of Preston Street in Little Italy.
To contact me, telephone: 613-580-2496; email: Jim.Watson@Ottawa.ca; Website: www.jimwatsonottawa.com