Photo: D. Gordon E. Robertson · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Cantley have higher incomes than those in 98% of Canadian towns
920 people have their usual place of work in Cantley, against 3,125 residents who travel to a job. Home was the workplace for 35% of its workers in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. 80% of people aged 15 to 64 in Cantley had a job at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
The short version on work in Cantley
More people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 80% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 70% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
5.5% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 6.3% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $130,400 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 29.4 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 4.8% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Many work from home
On census day, 35% of those in work were working at home; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. Getting to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Cantley grades A− for jobs and income
Better than 82% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #94 of 507 in Quebec.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, trip times.
Graded against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more; less unemployment and a shorter commute count in its favour.
How the grade works
Census 2021 measures, weighed equally against every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 people or more: the share of residents aged 15 to 64 in work, median household income (2020), the unemployment rate and the average commute. Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
How many in Cantley were working in 2021
Of the 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 74% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. In October 2026, 59% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: people in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64, and the census unemployment rate (15 and over); the 25-to-54 rate is Statistics Canada’s own (98-10-0485). The Labour Force Survey and business counts are context, not grade inputs.
What households earned in Cantley: $130,400 in 2020
One of the 5 other places of 2,500+ in the Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais census division has a higher median. Cantley’s median is 76% above the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100). Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
29.4 minutes from Cantley to work, over the middle of Canadian towns
Only 16% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. An hour or more: 4.8% of commuters, close to the middle of Quebec’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 26.1 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
5.5% of commuters from Cantley go without a car
Transit takes 2.6% of commuters, close to the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
A commuter town: Cantley sends out more workers than it takes in
Each person commuting in is matched by about 6 residents going out. 16% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
84% of Cantley’s residents in work leave it to work; Gatineau takes the most
- Gatineau290
- Val-des-Monts60
- Ottawa25
- La Pêche20
- Pontiac10
- Gatineau1,750
- Ottawa710
- La Pêche65
- Chelsea30
- Val-des-Monts20
- Laval15
- Montréal10
- Eeyou Istchee Baie-James10
In the other direction the biggest source is Gatineau, with 290.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
48% more people are on EI in the Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais census division than in 2019
In January 2021 it reached 2,130, the most in the series and 3.4 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 2.6 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 2%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais census division, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Cantley grades C+ for walkability
Better than 44% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #399 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
100th of 618: where Cantley ranks among Canadian towns of 8,600 to 16,600
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge Saskatchewan | 9,325 | 80% | 6.7% | $127K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Boischatel Quebec | 9,250 | 85% | 4.8% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | L'Aéroport Quebec | 13,630 | 84% | 5.2% | $90K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 98 | Dakota Crossing Manitoba | 13,048 | 77% | 7.6% | $105K | A− |
| 99 | Peguis Manitoba | 11,177 | 80% | 8.3% | $95K | A− |
| 100 | Cantley Quebec | 12,291 | 80% | 5.5% | $130K | A− |
| 101 | Plympton-Wyoming Ontario | 9,548 | 75% | 7.5% | $109K | A− |
| 102 | Otterburn Park Quebec | 9,460 | 85% | 4.6% | $104K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 618 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Cantley, and others among Quebec’s towns.
How the places next to Cantley compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cantley | 80% | 5.5% | $130K | 29.4 min | A− | C+ |
| Chelsea 5.2 km | 80% | 6.1% | $146K | 25.7 min | A | B− |
| Les Rapides 6.9 km | 75% | 7.6% | $134K | 24.1 min | A− | A− |
| Hautes-Plaines 8.7 km | 79% | 5.9% | $99K | 21.1 min | A | A− |
| La Cité 9.1 km | 73% | 10% | $79K | 22.6 min | B− | A+ |
| Des Vallées 10.2 km | 79% | 6.5% | $137K | 26.6 min | A | C+ |
| Rivière-Gatineau 10.4 km | 65% | 13% | $63K | 22.7 min | C− | A+ |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Cantley, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- Where people commute. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in Cantley
How long is the commute from Cantley?
The average commute is 29.4 minutes; 16% of trips take under 15 minutes and 4.8% an hour or more.
Where do people in Cantley work?
Only 16% work in Cantley itself; the rest go first to Gatineau (1,750) and Ottawa (710).
How many jobs are there in Cantley?
The 2021 census found about 920 people with their usual workplace in Cantley, or 0.3 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 278 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Cantley?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Ottawa-Gatineau, Quebec part metro area at 6.3%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 5.5%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Cantley?
Before tax, half the households in Cantley had more than $130,400 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Cantley get to work?
93% of commuters drive, 2.6% take public transit, 2.5% walk and 0.4% cycle; 35% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0323 (EI beneficiaries) · Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459, 14-10-0462) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts (33-10-1176) · grades: TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).