Endorsements expose party lines a week before election day

Ottawa's city election campaign is shaping up to be among the most exciting in the province, and some experts believe it will buck the trend of voter apathy.

With election day exactly one week away, the top two candidates to become the next mayor are locked in a duel of high-profile endorsements that are crossing traditional party lines.

Before the weekend, Mark Sutcliffe already boasted a long list of well-known backers, including former provincial and federal cabinet members.

But Catherine McKenney closed the gap this weekend, most notably by scoring an endorsement from former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.

Early in the campaign, Mark Sutcliffe released a long list of "honorary co-chairs" that included several former mayors — Claudette Cain, Brian Coburn, Jim Durrell, and Jackie Holzman — plus a few members of the business community and local politicians.

Police services board chair Eli El-Chantiry was an early supporter, as were a number of local Liberal MPs and MPPs. So were a few former federal Conservative cabinet ministers like Marjorie LeBreton and John Baird.

"I'm proud to be supported by a growing coalition of people who want less politics and more results, who want a fresh perspective at city hall," Sutcliffe wrote in a statement back in August.

But for someone who has described himself as a city hall outsider, Sutcliffe is being backed by a wide swath of this city's political establishment.

On Sunday, his team released a list of "cross-partisan leaders" who support him, including two former planning chairs — Jan Harder and Peter Hume — and other departed councillors like Katherine Hobbs, Michael Qaqish and Rainer Bloess.

Sutcliffe and his team noted that their support draws from all political parties, including Zaff Ansari and Lyse-Pascale Inamuco, who have both run for the NDP in Ottawa.

In the past few months, he's been endorsed by Lisa MacLeod, the Progressive Conservative MPP for Nepean — who also hosted a "meet-and-greet" for him earlier this month — and Ottawa Centre Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi. 

McKenney drawing across party lines, too

McKenney's list of public endorsements is shorter and includes some usual suspects, such as council colleagues Jeff Leiper, Theresa Kavanagh and Shawn Menard.

Considering McKenney's roots in the New Democratic Party — they worked for former NDP leader Ed Broadbent when he was MP for Ottawa Centre in the mid-2000s — it's no surprise that Ottawa Centre NDP MPP Joel Harden has come out in favour of the downtown councillor in a big way.

Broadbent is also expected to formally endorse McKenney later this week.

What perhaps wasn't expected was how McKenney has attracted some progressive federal Liberals to their tent. One of their campaign co-chairs is Tyler Meredith, a significant economic policy adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a couple of finance ministers. 

On Saturday, former Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna — Naqvi's predecessor and political ally — endorsed McKenney.

McKenna served in two cabinet positions, first as minister of environment and climate change and later as minister of infrastructure and communities, before deciding not to run again last year. She's currently the chair of a United Nations expert group helping non-government organizations achieve net-zero emissions. 

Then on Sunday, economist Mark Carney released his endorsement, complete with a video.

The former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England praised McKenney for their costed platform, transparency in releasing their donor list — which shows his wife Diana Carney contributed $500 to McKenney's campaign — and their climate action plan. 

A little later on Sunday afternoon, another high-profile Liberal endorsed McKenney. Gerry Butts, Trudeau's former principal secretary and longtime friend, tweeted that McKenney has his vote for mayor. 

Butts said he supported McKenney due to their leadership during the convoy occupation, where they showed "toughness, care and leadership for people when we really needed it."

Effects of endorsements unclear

While elected officials are allowed to endorse candidates in municipal elections, it's not clear how effective that support is at the polls. For some voters, endorsements can be a shortcut for deciding who to vote for — if someone you supported in the past likes a certain candidate, then maybe you will too.

And some endorsements may be more helpful than others.

After a televised debate on CTV, controversial former mayor Larry O'Brien tweeted his support for Bob Chiarelli. "Nobody can run city hall without experience," O'Brien wrote. "Bob has the courage and speaks the truth."

Chiarelli, who's also been endorsed by former police leaders Brian Ford and Larry Hill and former city councillor Richard Cannings, didn't ask for O'Brien's endorsement or his support on Twitter but did say he was "appreciative."

As well, Nour Kadri has been endorsed by NDP MP and deputy leader Alexandre Boulerice, who has stated his support for the candidate's climate plan.

A big week ahead

There are signs that voter engagement is high, with almost 12 per cent of eligible voters already having cast their ballots now that advance voting days are done.

Elections Ottawa is already expecting lineups on election day Oct. 24.

• Nearly 85K Ottawans have already voted in the city's election
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If you haven't voted yet, there are plenty of opportunities to catch up with the leading candidates in three debates this week.

Chiarelli, Kadri, McKenney and Sutcliffe will participate in a debate at the Horticulture Building on Monday evening, followed by one Tuesday evening on CBC Ottawa TV News at 6.

And on Friday morning, candidate Brandon Bay will join Chiarelli, McKenney and Sutcliffe on CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning starting at 7 a.m.

You can also learn more about all the candidates running in this year's municipal election on our website.