Thank you for the opportunity to present today.
Thank you very much for asking us to be here today.
The Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation was established 26 years ago to facilitate commercialization between federal labs, universities, and our emerging technology industry. We've grown since then—we're now at approximately 700 members, representing 120,000 employees in the Ottawa region.
The Ottawa region has made a commitment to cluster-based economic development as a means to ensure that its economy remains sustainable, innovative, and diversified. OCRI works closely with all levels of government, our exporting communities, our colleges and universities, and our local support infrastructure to make the region a model for success in the knowledge-based economy.
Today my good friend Samer Forzley is here to talk a little bit about the industry. Far be it from me to talk about the industry when I have an industry expert with me. Samer is a former executive at eBillme, a company that has just been sold. Market Drum is a consulting company that he works for right now, and he's going to give a little bit of insight into that.
Before I go on, I'd like to say that Canadians have spent about $6.5 billion on online billing since 2010 and are expected to shell out about $30.9 billion in 2015. Half of all Canadians made a purchase online last year, according to Forrester Research. The average value of order for Canadian consumers is higher than that of U.S. consumers, but this is probably offset by the lack of online competitors in Canada, in comparison with the U.S. Large multinational brands and specialty retailers make up the majority of online retailers in Canada. But again, far be it from me to tell you what we need to do in our city, in our country, to improve on this.
I'd like to turn it over to Samer, so that he can tell you a little bit more.