Carol Anne Meehan, former Ottawa councillor, news anchor announces bid for federal Conservative candidacy

Carol Anne Meehan announces her bid to become the Conservative candidate in the federal riding of Ottawa West-Nepean. (Carol Anne Meehan/X)

Former Ottawa city councillor and media personality Carol Anne Meehan has announced she is seeking to become a Conservative candidate in the next federal election.

Meehan made her announcement official on X, formerly Twitter, Monday afternoon.

"Today, I am watching the news and, like so many of you, I am worried about how Liberal government policies are hurting Canadians," she said in a video.

Meehan co-anchored the evening news on CTV Ottawa from 1989 to 2015 and hosted a radio talk show on 1310 News in Ottawa from 2016 to 2017. She then served one term as the city councillor for the former Gloucester-South Nepean ward between 2018 and 2022, choosing not to seek re-election for the current term of council.

"I want to work with a strong team to improve the lives of people I know and care about," Meehan wrote in a Google document she shared with members of the media on Monday afternoon.

"It was the opportunity to enhance my career as a journalist/news anchor that brought me to Ottawa from Calgary almost four decades ago. CJOH was a community station and that meant spending time in neighborhoods, at fundraisers and other events with people who wanted to build the best Ottawa possible. It was impossible not to fall in love with the city. I married and built my family here."

The west Ottawa riding is currently held by Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld, who was first elected in 2015. Vandenbeld was re-elected in 2019 and 2021. Former cabinet minister John Baird held the riding for the Conservatives from 2006 to 2015.

Parliament Hill staffer Ashti Waissi, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustee Jennifer Jennekens, and Ryan Telford, a long-time public servant and former Hill staffer, are also seeking the nomination to become the next Conservative candidate in Ottawa West-Nepean alongside Meehan. Jennekens ran as the Conservative candidate in the riding in 2021, coming in second behind Vandenbeld.

CTV News Ottawa has reached out to the Conservative Party of Canada and the Ottawa West-Nepean Conservative riding association for more details on when a candidate will be announced.

The next federal election must be held on Oct. 20, 2025, but the actual latest it can be is Sep.20, 2026.