A not-so-brief history of the tightest mayor's race in years
Ottawa residents go to the polls Monday to elect new mayor
With Ottawa choosing its first new mayor Monday in more than a decade, it's no surprise interest in the municipal election has hit levels not seen in some time.
According to Elections Ottawa, roughly 85,000 ballots have already been cast. That's a higher advance voting turnout than in either 2018 or 2014, when outgoing Mayor Jim Watson was elected with overwhelming majorities.
But last winter, Watson decided not to run for a fourth straight term.
There are 14 candidates vying to replace him, three of whom — two-term councillor Catherine McKenney, former mayor Bob Chiarelli and longtime broadcaster and entrepreneur Mark Sutcliffe — are widely considered to be front-runners.
So with interest in the race peaking, and election day fast approaching, here's a look back at the past two months on the campaign trail.
The first few weeks
Municipal elections in Ottawa don't usually heat up so early, but only one week after the deadline to register passed, Sutcliffe and McKenney sparred over the possibility of fare-free transit.
At a debate arranged by the group Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability, McKenney denied they'd make free transit part of their platform — leading Sutcliffe to issue two news releases linking to an article McKenney wrote where they'd argued for that very thing.
Sutcliffe accused McKenney of "flip-flopping." McKenney said Sutcliffe was "fear-mongering" and reiterated free transit for everyone wasn't an immediate priority.
That became clear when they released their transit priorities a few days later, priorities that included freezing fares and expanding free rides for youth but not eliminating fares outright.
Sutcliffe also took on Horizon Ottawa, a registered third-party advertiser that was advocating for a slate of candidates that included McKenney.
After Horizon Ottawa drew attention to a $1,200-a-ticket fundraiser held for Sutcliffe, he called for an investigation into whether the advocacy group had accepted donations above the legislated $1,200 donation limit.
Here were some other newsworthy moments in the race's early days:
- McKenney pledged to more than double the amount the city spends on housing and homelessness in 2023, while vowing to end chronic homelessness within four years.
- Sutcliffe also released his housing platform, promising to build 100,000 homes in the next decade, including an annual 1,000 community housing units.
- Chiarelli wrote to Ontario's minister of municipal affairs, asking that the "unserviced" lands for the future Tewin suburb be removed from Ottawa's official plan.
- Candidates also unveiled their plans to tackle climate change — it's the first municipal election since council declared a climate emergency in 2019 — and their priorities for the city's transportation network.
- Sutcliffe laid out a "safety" plan that includes hiring 25 more police staff — an as-yet-undefined combination of sworn officers and civilians — in each of the next four years and opening a "neighbourhood storefront" in the ByWard Market that would include police, social and public health services.
A flood of announcements
The next few weeks saw the pledges come fast and furious.
Sutcliffe promised to cap annual tax increases at 2.5 per cent over the next two years — lower than the three per cent hikes that existed during Watson's final term in office — while finding $35 million to $60 million in savings, partly by eliminating 200 municipal staff positions.
McKenney, meanwhile, said they'd hold the line at three per cent. They scoffed at Sutcliffe's proposal to save money by cutting city jobs, saying if those efficiencies existed, Watson would have found them.
Sutcliffe shot back, describing McKenney's plan — which would use debt, reserve funds and federal money to fund campaign promises such as a rapid expansion of the city's cycling network — as "extremely risky."
As for Chiarelli, he pledged to freeze property taxes during his first year in office, while also promising to hold the line on any new spending for one year.
- ANALYSIS | Rose-coloured assumptions tint mayoral candidates' fiscal plans
- ANALYSIS | Housing affordability more complicated than just advocating for more supply
In other announcements:
- Sutcliffe vowed to build more dog parks and create a "family doctor recruitment strategy" for Ottawa.
- He also added a one-year fare freeze to his original transit platform.
- McKenney pledged to open all of the city's library branches on Sundays, while also expanding access to beaches in the summer.
- Chiarelli finally released his own housing platform, saying he'd build 16,000 new homes a year and save "single-family neighbourhoods" if he's elected.
- Nour Kadri said, if elected, he'd take a seat on the Ottawa Police Services Board — something Watson did not do during his most recent two terms.
McKenney also released a list of campaign donors who'd given their campaign more than $100, while Sutcliffe said he wouldn't do so any sooner than legislation required.
Getting to know the candidates
Amidst all the policy announcements and rollouts, CBC sat down with the top mayoral candidates to find out what drives and defines them.
Chiarelli talked about how his childhood home in Little Italy was bulldozed for the sake of "urban renewal," and how being 81 shouldn't disqualify him from the city's top job.
Sutcliffe spoke about overcoming shyness as a young radio journalist and becoming obsessed with long-distance running. McKenney described their experiences coming out — first as gay, later as transgender — and what it was like representing the downtown during the convoy protests.
Read those profiles here:
- Catherine McKenney is trying not to think about making history
- Mark Sutcliffe is running a different kind of race
- Bob is back: A familiar name with a 'depth of life experience'
Debates, endorsements, and the new police chief
The final week saw candidates draw attention to their big-name endorsements: some new, others already locked in.
Sutcliffe touted his list of "cross-partisan leaders," one that included folks like Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod, Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi, former Conservative MP John Baird and a handful of former Ottawa mayors.
McKenney scored a big endorsement from former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, who lauded their economic platform, as well as one from former Liberal MP and federal environment minister Catherine McKenna.
The last week was also packed with debates, with Kadri, Sutcliffe, McKenney and Chiarelli all jousting on CBC Ottawa News at 6 over topics like transportation, city services and campaign donations.
Then on Friday, Chiarelli, McKenney, Sutcliffe and Brandon Bay took their electoral pitches to the Ottawa Morning airwaves — less than 24 hours after news emerged that Ottawa's new police chief would be revealed that very afternoon.
The vacant chief position had already been a contentious issue, with both Chiarelli and McKenney raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving Sutcliffe's campaign.
The pair had sent a joint letter to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission over concerns that police board chair Coun. Eli El-Chantiry also serves as one of Sutcliffe's 24 honorary campaign co-chairs. Sutcliffe is the only major candidate who wanted the new chief hired before the launch of the next council term.
The situation drew ire at the debate from Chiarelli, who said it was "pushed through with unseemly haste" and that "something stinks" about the timing.
McKenney was more circumspect, saying the convoy protests had eroded trust in institutions like the Ottawa Police Service and it was "critical" to build back that trust.
For his part, Sutcliffe reiterated comments he'd made earlier: that he'd never talked to El-Chantiry about the hiring process, and he had no advance knowledge about the identity of the new chief, who turned out to be assistant RCMP commissioner Eric Stubbs.
Now what?
With the debates wrapped up, the candidates will likely spend the campaign's final weekend shoring up their support and making their final pitches to voters.
If you're reading this, you're likely one of those voters. So here's everything you need to know about casting your ballot Monday.
CBC Ottawa will have full coverage of the races for mayor, council and school boards on election night — including live specials on CBC TV, CBC Gem and CBC Radio One — once the polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
Here's how to watch the results of what's certain to be Ottawa's most competitive election in more than a decade.
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