Ottawa here. Not everyone in town works for the federal government. We have a large tech workforce. Don't forget Shopify was founded in Ottawa. I am a business owner and most of my clients are private sector. I have several clients who have relocated from GTA, some for jobs some for cheaper housing, better quality of life (if you love the outdoors). Met a young couple at Chelsea Pub who were born and raised in downtown Toronto and specifically moved to Ottawa because of the cost of housing and better quality of life in general (less traffic, quicker access to nature, skiing etc..) They even said they prefer Ottawa winters over Toronto's lol
I know quite a few ex-Montrealers who have relocated here. A few young restaurant entrepreneurs from MTL opened up a new resto in the market that was ranked top 10 best new restaurants in Canada recently.
Having said this, i also know lots of people from Ottawa who moved to Toronto or MTL for a more exciting urban experience. Nightlife, concerts, better shops etc.. Some hated Ottawa's snowy winters, although it's not that much colder than Toronto when averaged out over the year. Ottawa is not the best city for shopping
- would be nice to have better furniture stores, CB2, Crate and Barrel for starters. Calgary shopping is far better and more high end (been there a few times)
At the end of the day, i made Ottawa home after living in Toronto, Montreal and Waterloo specifically for access to skiing, cottage areas and it's big enough and has enough wealth that my business does well here. I don't mind the winter because i ski and the summers here are absolutely gorgeous, long hot summer nights are the best!!!
To comment on the coming change in Government, I recall the layoffs from the Harper years and recall a slow down locally for about a year. A lot of the job cuts were older workers who were close to retiring. Ottawa has a stable and diversified enough economy to handle this from time to time IMO