Ottawa·CITY ELECTIONS 2022

Meet your candidates for mayor

For the first time in more than a decade, Ottawa will have a new mayor come voting day on Oct. 24. To help voters understand who the mayoral candidates are and what they stand for, we asked all 14 to complete a questionnaire. You can read their answers here.

There are 14 people running to be mayor of the nation's capital

CBC News · Posted: Sep 06, 2022 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 21, 2022

ottawa city council — For the first time in more than a decade, there won't be an incumbent running for mayor in Ottawa. (City of Ottawa)

End chronic homelessness. Reduce poverty and the number of people without food security. Do more to improve everybody's quality of life. Make Ottawa a destination capital. Make it a vibrant city with complete communities.

These are some of the goals of the 14 people vying to be Ottawa's next mayor.

For the first time in more than a decade, Ottawa will have a new mayor come voting day on Oct. 24. It's the first time since 2010 that Mayor Jim Watson's name won't be on the ballot, leaving the door wide open for city council's top job.

To help voters understand who the mayoral candidates are and what they stand for, we asked all 14 to complete a questionnaire, and all of them responded.

While most support Stage 3 of the LRT and think policing in the city is falling short of Ottawa's needs, they were split on issues like the latest revisions to the Lansdowne Park plan and the use of strong mayor powers granted by the province.

You can learn more about the candidates and what they had to say by reading their questionnaire responses below. You can also skip directly to the candidate you want to hear from by following these links:

Brandon Bay
Zed Chebib
Bob Chiarelli
Bernard Couchman
Celine Debassige
Gregory Guevara
Nour Kadri
Graham MacDonald
Mike Maguire
Catherine McKenney
Ade Olumide
Param Singh
Jacob Solomon
Mark Sutcliffe

The election comes as the province is pushing to increase the authority of the mayors of big cities, including Ottawa. Under a bill that passed second reading, a mayor could wield greater powers over the budget, hiring and committees and veto bylaws in certain circumstances.

Ottawa's current council has written the province in opposition of the bill and asking for direct consultation.

Election day is Monday, Oct. 24. For more information about where and how to vote, visit the city's election page.

Candidates

CBC Ottawa sent a detailed questionnaire to candidates for mayor, and all 14 responded. Candidates were also asked to submit photos of themselves. Where candidates have web sites, those links can be accessed by clicking on the candidate's name.