City of Ottawa named one of the National Capital Region’s Top Employers

City of Ottawa is recognized as one of the National Capital Region’s Top Employer and Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for 2026.

Today, Canada's Top 100 Employers named the City of Ottawa one of 2026’s National Capital Region’s Top Employer for the 14th year.

This repeat honour reflects the City’s commitment to supporting employees with their personal and career growth and creating a fulfilling work environment where staff can make a difference in their community. 

In honour of this achievement, we spoke to two long-serving employees about their experiences working for the City of Ottawa and the impact of their work.  

  Rahima Karimzada

As a program manager at Peter D. Clark Long Term Care Home, Rahima feels a deep responsibility to create a workplace where staff feel valued and supported. “By mentoring staff and creating a culture of empathy and professionalism, I make sure that I create an environment where staff are engaged and empowered to provide excellent care for our residents,” she says.

Working in a positive and supportive environment is just one of the reasons why Rahima is passionate about her work at the City of Ottawa. Her passion also comes from knowing that her work coordinating care for residents, based on the person-centered care approach, contributes to their well‑being and improves their quality of life. “I love working with people, especially older adults,” she says. “And it gives me joy to know that I’m in a position to help make our residents’ lives meaningful.”

That dedication is reflected in her strong belief in person‑centred care. When discussing this care approach, she emphasizes the importance of enriching residents’ lives and empowering them by allowing them to make their own decisions. “For example, anytime they want to wake up in the morning or have breakfast, that’s their choice,” she explains. By honouring each resident’s choices, preferences and faith, Rahima and her team ensure that the care they provide feels personal and meaningful.

Her commitment to both the home’s residents and her team is clear as she speaks. One of Rahima’s favourite parts of the day is walking through the different neighbourhoods within the home, greeting and connecting with residents, their families and staff as she believes strongly in the importance of forming personal connections with those around her. 

It’s this blend of meaningful care and a supportive team environment that continues to drive Rahima in her work.

 

Carlos Ramos

In his role as a program manager of community recreation programming, Carlos and his team work directly with communities to support equitable access to recreation and sport programming. By responding to community needs, their work helps create meaningful opportunities that have a real impact. 

One of the projects Carlos is most proud of is his team’s partnership with the City’s Children’s Services group to make summer camps available to children who may face barriers to participation. Programs like these leave a lasting impact on both the participants and the staff. As he explains, “seeing a child that was afraid to step into the water on the first day, and then jumping in by week two—and knowing that these are survival skills, not just recreational skills—brings joy and makes all the staff feel that we’re making a difference.”

Carlos aims to make a positive impact not only on the community his team serves, but also on the staff he works with. “I've always felt welcome from the start of my career,” he says. “I've always felt encouraged, empowered by my management team and I strive to do the same for my own team."

Carlos highlights this supportive environment as one of the reasons the City is a great place to pursue a career. “I’ve seen part-time staff who started while studying—thinking they might move on—then discovering the opportunities the City offers,” he says. “Many of them end up applying for full-time roles and building careers here.”

Like Rahima, Carlos finds purpose in this combination of meaningful community impact and a workplace culture that supports employees as they grow, learn and build their futures. It’s why he is proud to work for the City.

Watch this outreach and recruitment video to learn more about how work done by City employees makes a difference in our community:

Transcript for the "Promoting Working at the City of Ottawa" video Choosing to work in municipal government is choosing to make a difference in your community. Every day, we have the privilege and responsibility of serving the people of our community and improving their quality of life. My name is Rahima Karimzada and I’m a program manager of resident care at Peter D Clark centre which is one of our Long-term care centres in the City of Ottawa, and I’ve worked in the City for the past 17 years. Our long term care home is built on the values of equity, respect, choice, dignity and trust Staff are encouraged to get to know the residents, know their likes and dislikes, know their previous accomplishments in life and what’s important to them. Hi my name is Carlos Ramos. I am the program manager with recreation culture and facility services, overseeing the east end recreation community team, centralized allocations, citywide sports and park permits. When you think of recreation, sometimes you just think of play, but we go so beyond recreation. And we invest in the relationships with children, youth, offering critical hour care programs. Somethings just as simple as sharing a pizza with some youth, and creating a safe space of trust, an environment where they feel welcome and what they refer to many times as the third place, First home, second school and we’re that other place. The work we do also impacts the staff, and for the staff to see how we’re able to remove barriers for access to recreation and culture that is what motivates us at the end and that’s what keeps us going and wanting to do more. By mentoring staff and creating a culture of empathy and professionalism, I help to create an environment where staff are engaged, and they are empowered to provide an excellent care that our residents deserve I know the decisions I make will be impacting services for real families just like my own. No matter what type of job you are doing, whether you're in the front lines or behind the scenes, your work matters.

If you are interested in learning more about building your career with the City of Ottawa, visit our Careers website.

 

City recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers

In addition to being recognized as one of the National Capital Region’s Top Employers, the City of Ottawa was also named one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers last week. This award highlights the City’s strong commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, reflected in our support for initiatives such as AccessAbility Day, the antiracism workshop series and other employee led initiatives, as well as our ongoing partnerships with community agencies and leaders such as the collaboration with Black History Ottawa to commemorate Black History Month.   

“I am honoured that our City has been recognized with this award,” says City Manager Wendy Stephanson. “This recognition reflects the contributions of employees who are dedicated to building a city for everyone. The equity work across the organization is truly inspiring and exemplifies our commitment to attract and retain talented individuals with diverse lived experiences who reflect the community we serve.”

The City continues to lead municipal equity work with dedicated strategies that support women, gender‑diverse individuals, racialized communities and the broader workforce.