‘PERFECT STORM’:

Is Ottawa the cheatingest city in the world?

Here are five reasons why the numbers just might make sense, according to Ottawa sex therapist Sue McGarvie. “It’s a bit of a perfect storm here.”

1. Canada is the epicentre of dating websites.

Three of the world’s top dating sites are Canadian: Vancouver’s Plenty of Fish, Toronto’s Lavalife and Ashley Madison, also Toronto-based.

2. Dating-site users tend to be educated and comfortable with technology. Ottawa has no lack of techsavvy residents and early adopters. (Coincidentally, studies have shown that those most likely to cheat are educated, with higher incomes.)

3. Ashley Madison isn’t for cheapskates. Although signing up is free for women, men have to pay to buy “credits” if they want to initiate a conversation, and it adds up quickly, says Ottawa sex therapist Sue McGarvie McGarvie. Ottawa is one of the most affluent cities in Canada.

4. Ottawa has a transient population of diplomats and contract workers. These people are more likely to be searching for a no-strings relationship, McGarvie suggests.

5. Many of Ashley Madison’s accounts are dormant, and some users have multiple accounts.

McGarvie has three Ashley Madison profiles of her own — as a sex therapist, she says she has to research the options for clients — and she has never deleted them because it costs money.

Many people may have set up an account, or multiple accounts, but have never used them.

“I think the numbers are skewed because people don’t delete their profiles,” she says.

McGarvie believes that almost a third of people on Ashley Madison are not married people looking to have an affair, but single or newly single people who are hesitant to get into a serious relationship through a more conventional dating site.

“People who are going through a painful divorce are not looking for a relationship.”