Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says he is pleased with what he saw in the 2026 federal budget on Thursday. Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron on Friday, Sutcliffe said he was encouraged to see measures like funding for museums and the defence sector, as well as commitments toward ending homelessness. “There’s a lot that aligns with our priorities,” Sutcliffe said. The budget outlines $783.1 million over five years to help repair and renew aging facilities, protect national collections and “sustain the exhibitions, performances, and services that connect Canadians to our history and culture,” at national museums, the National Arts Centre, and the National Gallery, among other sites. It also renews the Canada Strong Pass for next summer and proposes permanent free admission for Canadians under 25 at an undefined date. Sutcliffe says this would be a boon for tourism in the capital. “It means that more people are going to be coming to Ottawa as visitors, as tourists. We’re working hard to attract tourists to the city,” he said. “The easier it is for people to attend our national cultural institutions and museums and galleries, the more people are going to come to Ottawa. So, this is a huge opportunity for our city. We have more of these institutions than any other city in Canada because we’re the capital, so it’s great for the local tourism industry.” Sutcliffe said he is also buoyed by federal spending to alleviate and end homelessness. The budget includes $11.2 billion to tackle homelessness over four years, starting next year, and $17.8 billion over 10 years. The money will help build new supportive and transitional housing across the country and commits to expanding non-market housing and building 200,000 new homes across Canada in the next decade. One of Sutcliffe’s pledges as mayor has been to end youth homelessness in Ottawa by 2030. He said on Friday that it presents a good opportunity for the city to work with the federal government toward that goal. “I made a promise during the election campaign that we’re going to double the rate at which we’re building supportive housing in Ottawa, which is one of the key solutions to ending homelessness in our city. Period,’ he said. “We need more supportive housing for vulnerable people who are experiencing the toxic drug crisis or mental health challenges. And I saw language in the federal budget about supportive and transitional housing.” Not phased by lack of transit funding Sutcliffe said he was not concerned that there was no funding for public transit in the federal budget. Recent OC Transpo budgets have been balanced by line items listing tens of millions of dollars in unconfirmed funding from senior levels of government. While that desired funding has yet to materialize, the mayor says budget day isn’t the only time the two sides can make deals. “We work with the federal government every day of the year, not just on budget day. And I think the federal government knows that we have a priority of building more transit in our city, and that we intend to move forward as quickly as possible on Stage 3. Decisions like that can be made outside budget day,” he said. Stage 3 of LRT would expand the system to Kanata and Barrhaven, but few details, including funding, have been confirmed. The city is still in the process of building, testing, and completing Stage 2, which includes the eastern and western extensions of O-Train Line 1 to Orléans and Algonquin College, and the opening of O-Train Line 3 to Moodie. “These things take time. You know, you don’t you don’t build a new phase of LRT in in the course of six months. You’ve got to do it properly, and so we’ll be we’ll be ready to work with our federal partners on that. There’s no specific timetable in mind,” Sutcliffe said. OC Transpo has also been struggling to regain the ridership it had prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the disastrous launch of Line 1, which caused significant damage to public trust in the system. “I think sometimes we get a little too hung up on thinking that the only time to get the federal government’s attention and to get a commitment from the federal government is the day of the budget,” Sutcliffe said. “I work with the prime minister; I work with members of his cabinet; I work with the local MPs who represent Ottawa every single day of the year to deliver on Ottawa’s priorities. So, we’ll have lots of opportunity to discuss public transit and other priorities that weren’t reflected in the budget.” There was no specific mention of funding for municipal infrastructure, another pressure point raised during the election campaign. Sutcliffe said the funding for his promised $10 billion infrastructure plan would come from “a combination of sources,” including other levels of government. He stressed that conversations are ongoing. “We’re working on those issues all the time with the other levels of government, and we will continue to bring forward our $10 billion infrastructure plan for Ottawa,” he said. “And I know that the federal and provincial governments intend to fund infrastructure. They know that if we’re going to build more homes in Ottawa, which they both want to do, and build more homes across the country, we need the infrastructure to support those homes. And in the future, there will be federal and provincial infrastructure money to go to cities like Ottawa, and we’ll be fighting for our fair share of that money.”
