Securing support for transit, migrants among mayor's New Year's resolutions

Ottawa's mayor hopes months of federal and provincial lobbying will pay off with some major funding announcements in the new year, provided a pair of early elections don't send his plans off the rails.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe wants millions in transit funding, and a new welcoming centre for asylum seekers and migrants. 

His first priority is getting deals signed. But if that doesn't happen before provincial or federal parliaments dissolve, Sutcliffe hopes to turn lemons into lemonade.

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"I think it's a huge opportunity for us to advance our priorities and to talk to the candidates who are running in Ottawa and to the candidates who are running to be the next premier or the next prime minister about what Ottawa is going through," he told CBC in a wide-ranging end-of-year interview. 

That could lead to even more funding commitments, he suggested hopefully. 

More lobbying on the horizon

Sutcliffe laid out the issues facing Ottawans as a series of emergencies: the homelessness and mental health crisis, the affordability crisis, the opioid crisis and "the growing demands on our public transit system, community and social services."

The only way to face these seems to be with a hand out. Cities across Ontario have been calling for a new deal for funding, saying the pressures on municipal budgets have grown but the funding they rely upon has not. 

The most pressing item for Ottawa is transit operations, since this year's budget relies on a $36-million placeholder.

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Even if Parliament Hill and Queen's Park come through with that cash, the mayor said he can't stop his months-long Fairness for Ottawa campaign.

"We've been distracted by the immediate budget pressure that we're facing for 2025, the $36 million. And that has shifted the focus away from the $8-billion hole we have in the long-range financial plan for transit," he explained. "That's where we need the solution." 

Tax pressures

Other cities have partly addressed the issue by hiking taxes. 

In 2024, Hamilton's property taxes went up 5.8 per cent. Toronto's jumped 9.5 per cent. Both cities also recently secured more capital transit funding, though Sutcliffe doesn't believe there's any relation. 

"I've spoken to representatives of the provincial government, MPs, cabinet ministers, the finance minister, the premier. I met with the prime minister," he said.

"Not once in any of those conversations did anybody ever say to me, 'I want you to increase taxes more than you're increasing taxes.' Nobody's ever made that request."

Looking ahead to 2026, Sutcliffe said Ottawa homeowners can expect one of the lowest tax increases in the country.

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Boosting housing starts

Housing and supporting Ottawa's most vulnerable residents continues to be a pressing concern, with the city once again failing to meet the province's aggressive housing goals. 

Planning staff have spent much of the last two years focusing on ways to adapt to changes in provincial policies and secure funding, crafting a plan that netted the city $176 million through the federal housing accelerator fund. 

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But the mayor expressed few concerns about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's pledge to scrap the program. 

"I'm prepared to work with whoever is in government in 2025," Sutcliffe said. "We need to partner with developers, and with the community, and with other levels of government. We need to streamline and accelerate our processes and we've got to get more shovels in the ground and build more housing units."

He said he hopes lower interest rates will spur developers to "take more action," while suggesting there's no one to blame for the industry's crippling slowdown.

Supporting newcomers to Ottawa

The lack of housing, combined with a shortage of shelter beds and an influx of asylum seekers, is still forcing the closure of two communities centres. 

But Sutcliffe hopes the opening of more transition housing units, and a controversial plan to build a large tent-like structure to house and support newcomers, will ease that burden. 

Poilievre has likened the proposed centre to a "refugee camp," similar to what's seen in a "Third-World country" — a description the mayor said is far from accurate. 

Those reassurances have done little to quell protests by suburbanites who are frustrated that they weren't more involved in the city's planning. 

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Sutcliffe suggested those fears rely on falsehoods. 

"We shouldn't be politicizing this issue and spreading misinformation and demonizing new arrivals," he said, declining to note any specific falsehoods or comment on why they might be circulating.

But if a new government wants to renegotiate the city's proposal, Sutcliffe said "the plan's not finalized yet." 

He also acknowledged the need to "get the communications right" moving forward.

Sutcliffe mulls future beyond 2026

Despite the upcoming challenges and "steep learning curve," Sutcliffe said he's enjoying his first term. 

"We've made a lot of progress. and one of the things I'm most proud of is that we've really been working together at city hall," he said. 

"There's been a lot more collaboration and consensus, a lot less conflict on city council than in the previous term."

Sutcliffe said everyone on council has the same priorities and is ready to "turn a corner" on the post-pandemic capital.

While he sees a second term on the horizon, Sutcliffe doesn't want to get ahead of himself.

"Right now my focus is on 2025, not 2026, and on accomplishing what I think the residents of Ottawa expect us to accomplish at city hall, which is making the city better for everyone," he said.