Article content

Ottawa may be throwing its hat into the race to become home to Amazon’s second North American campus.

The world’s largest online retailer plans to open a second North American campus — dubbed HQ2 — that Amazon says could be just as big as the existing site in Seattle.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Ottawa mayor expresses interest in Amazon campus Back to video

The company is asking local and state governments, including ones in Canada, to submit proposals for a development that will likely cost more than $5 billion US over the next 15 to 17 years and give the winning city or town an enormous economic boost. Amazon is already one of the biggest employers in Seattle and expects the new headquarters to house as many as 50,000 workers, many of them new hires.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, replying to several people flagging the announcement to him, tweeted Thursday: “I’ve asked staff to review the application process with a view to being part of the competition.”

Cities have until next month to apply through a special website, and the company said it will make a final decision next year.