100 days until Ottawa’s municipal election. Here’s what you need to know

The sign outside City Hall in Ottawa (CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa residents will head to the polls in 100 days to elect a new mayor, councillor and school board trustee.

The municipal election in Ottawa and in municipalities across Ontario will be held on Monday, Oct. 26.

There are currently 67 candidates registered to run for mayor and councillor in the 24 wards. Twenty-one councillors and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe have registered to run for re-election, while Coun. Jeff Leiper has registered to run as a candidate for Mayor.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what you need to know about the election campaign.

Key dates

• Aug. 21: The final day for candidates to file their nomination papers or withdraw from the campaign. The deadline is 2 p.m.
• Sept. 11: First day that candidates can place signs on public and private property
• Oct. 1, 2, 3 and 4: Special advance voting days
• Oct. 16: Advance voting day
• Oct. 26: Voting day

Candidates for Mayor

As of Friday, there were six candidates on the ballot running for mayor of Ottawa.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is seeking a second term in office after winning the 2022 municipal election. Sutcliffe is a longtime broadcaster and entrepreneur who first entered politics in 2022.

Three-term Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper is running for mayor in October’s municipal election. Leiper was first elected to council in 2014 and has served as chair of the planning and housing committee this term.

Alex Lawson is also running for mayor in his first foray into municipal politics. Lawson owns a home framing company in Ottawa and was previously the director of the Kanata-Carleton Conservative Association.

Economist and community organizer Neil Saravanamuttoo is running for the city’s top political job. He worked on the 2022 mayoral campaign of former Ottawa Coun. Catherine McKenney and founded the nonprofit organization CityShapes.

The two other candidates running for mayor are Zed Chebib and Peter Westaway.

Westaway ran for councillor in Ward 9 in 2022, while Chebib ran for mayor in the last election.

There were 14 candidates for mayor on the ballot in the 2022 municipal election.

Mayoral campaign promises

The candidates for mayor have already made some campaign promises.

Sutcliffe has pledged to keep taxes low if re-elected. “I’m going to make a commitment in this campaign to keep tax increases as low as possible in the same range as what I promised four years ago, the promise that I kept,” Sutcliffe told CTV News Ottawa on May 25.

Leiper says his campaign is centred on “reliable transit, affordable housing, and city services that people can count on.” He has pledged to reverse recent transit service cuts, restore frequent bus routes, advance Baseline Bus Rapid Transit and build 1,500 non-profit homes each year.

Alex Lawson has made several announcements during the campaign, including cutting building fees for one year, addressing safety in Ottawa’s shelter operations as part of a top-to-bottom review, and creating a four-year “firewall barring campaign insiders from lobbying officials they helped elect.” Lawson has also released a plan for OC Transpo, which includes bringing back rush-hour bus rapid transit, resetting run times, moving school transportation back to yellow school buses, and restoring fare enforcement.

Saravanamuttoo says his priorities are accountable leadership, transparent decisions, effective transit and lower costs. Saravanamuttoo has pledged to open the city’s books within 100 days of the election and identify savings so “every dollar works harder.” He has also pledged “Buck a Ride” on OC Transpo across the city, and “accountability” on the Lansdowne Park redevelopment.

Councillors seeking re-election

As of Friday, 21 councillors had registered to run for re-election in their wards in October’s municipal election.

Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stephanie Plante has not yet registered.

Coun. Glen Gower has announced he is not seeking re-election in Stittsville Ward in this election.

Candidates in each ward

• Ward 1 - Orléans East-Cumberland: Incumbent Matt Luloff, Barbara Daniela Gandolfo, Sherif Rizk, Bob Bell, Tammie Trellert, Mazhar Choudhry, Yvette Ashiri
• Ward 2 - Orléans West-Innes: Incumbent Laura Dudas
• Ward 3 – Barrhaven West: Incumbent David Hill, Donna Blackburn
• Ward 4 – Kanata North: Incumbent Cathy Curry
• Ward 5 – West Carleton: Incumbent Clarke Kelly, Christine Harrison
• Ward 6 – Stittsville: Chelsea Walton, Mani Sharma, Sheetal Narwal, Tanya Hein, Theresa Qadri, Kevin Hua, Marie-Ange Yindaki Ahinful
• Ward 7 – Bay: Incumbent Theresa Kavanagh, Spencer Radford
• Ward 8 – College: Incumbent Laine Johnson
• Ward 9 – Knoxdale-Merivale: Incumbent Sean Devine, Cole Fraser Jones, Brandon Ly, Anna Ielo-Tal
• Ward 10 – Gloucester-Southgate: Incumbent Jessica Bradley, Donna Dickson, John Redins
• Ward 11 – Beacon Hill-Cyrville: Incumbent Tim Tierney, Cathryne Milburn
• Ward 12 – Rideau-Vanier: Lyra Evans
• Ward 13 – Rideau-Rockcliffe: Incumbent Rawlson King, Peter J. Karwacki
• Ward 14 – Somerset: Incumbent Ariel Troster, Dillon Anderson, Robert Dekker, Michael Tay
• Ward 15 – Kitchissippi: Joanne Chianello, Michelle Groulx, Brian Innes, Subhir Uppal
• Ward 16 – River: Incumbent Riley Brockington
• Ward 17 – Capital: Incumbent Shawn Menard, Farah Gulzar
• Ward 18 – Alta Vista: Incumbent Marty Carr, Tressy El-Hawi, Derek McSweeney
• Ward 19 - Orléans South-Navan: Incumbent Catherine Kitts, Jason Wing
• Ward 20 – Osgoode: Incumbent Isabelle Skalski
• Ward 21 – Rideau-Jock: Incumbent David Brown
• Ward 22 – Riverside South-Findlay Creek: Incumbent Steve Desroches, Muyiwa Ojo
• Ward 23 – Kanata South: Incumbent Allan Hubley, Erin Coffin
• Ward 24 – Barrhaven East: Incumbent Wilson Lo, Zahy A. Adam, Yoosaf Melparamba, Jules Ruhinda

School board trustees

There are 16 candidates registered to run for Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustees, with 12 spots available.

There are 12 candidates running for trustee with the Ottawa-Catholic School Board, with 10 trustees elected.

Four Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustees are running for election as a councillor in Ottawa:

• Donna Blackburn in Barrhaven West
• Donna Dickson in Gloucester-Southgate
• Lyra Evans in Rideau-Vanier
• Catherine Milburn in Beacon Hill-Cyrville

When can I vote?

Ottawa residents will have six days to cast their vote in the municipal election.

• On Oct. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the city will host special advance voting days, with polling stations open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The city will offer “anywhere voting” allowing people to vote at any polling place across Ottawa.
• On Oct. 16, an Advance Voting Day will be held, with voting locations open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• October 26 is election day, with voting places open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Who can vote?

To cast a ballot in Ottawa’s municipal election, you must be the following on election day:

• Be a resident of the City of Ottawa, or an owner or tenant of land in the City, or the spouse of such an owner or tenant.
• Be a Canadian citizen.
• Be at least 18 years old.
• Not prohibited from voting by law.

What is the cost of the election?

Ottawa taxpayers will pay $9.2 million to cover the cost of the municipal election.

Staff say the price tag includes the cost of implementing special mail-in ballot processes.

The $9.2 million cost includes $2.983 million for staffing, $3.48 million for voting events, including election worker costs, supplies and vote tabulators, and $2.15 million for printing ballots and voter notification cards.

2022 municipal election

Here is a look at the 2022 municipal election statistics:

• Voter turnout: 43.79 per cent
• Votes cast for mayor: 316,254
• Eligible electors: 722,227
• Candidates for mayor: 14
• Ward with the highest number of candidates: Rideau-Vanier (14)