The cost of living is fairly high in Ottawa as with most places in Canada but the wages often (hopefully) match up!
Ottawa has lots of governmental and charity based jobs due to being the capital city- but it is heavily advantageous to be Bilingual in both official languages here- whereas in Western Canada this is still an asset but less of a requirement. There is plenty of work to be had without this of course, and I have not had too much trouble finding work (I only speak English).
Ottawa is in a valley so the climate can be quite extreme- 4 or 5 months of snow and extreme cold (up to around -40C for several weeks) to very warm summers (approaching 40C at it's peak), but there is the advantage of a beautiful fall (Autumn) season also.
There are not many unsafe areas in Ottawa and anyway along the central strip of Bank Street is fairly hospitable (but rents vary street to street).
I've not been out west but I do prefer Ottawa to either Toronto or Montreal as a place to live- it's smaller and feels less city like. I don't have children (yet) but Ottawa has an exceptional amount of green-space and feels more of an outdoors place to me.