CTV News Ottawa’s top stories online in 2025

A long-time Ottawa MP loses his seat, questions about the police investigation into an attack on a girl in eastern Ontario, a protest disrupts the Capital Pride Parade and Senators fans boo the U.S. national anthem.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top stories online in 2025.

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre loses Ottawa-area seat

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre lost his seat in Carleton during April’s federal election, ending his nearly two-decade tenure as a Member of Parliament in the Ottawa area.

Liberal Party candidate Bruce Fanjoy received 43,846 votes, compared to 39,333 votes for Poilievre.

The Liberal Party won all nine ridings in Ottawa, with Prime Minister Mark Carney winning in the riding of Nepean.

In August, Poilievre won a byelection in the Alberta rural riding of Battle River-Crowfoot to return to Parliament.

Ottawa couple told to rip out $40K in landscaping over bylaw violation

A Kanata couple’s new landscaping project meant to beautify their property and make it more accessible turned into a massive headache during the summer of 2025.

After a complaint from a neighbour, the city said most of the landscaping project had to go.

“Just about everybody else in the neighbourhood loves it,” said homeowner Dean Kline. “They just come by and they go for walks and they say ‘wow, what a beautiful job you’ve done.’ So, it’s disappointing, we put a lot of money into this.”

Kline and his wife Pam spent nearly $40,000 to re-do their front lawn, which now includes interlock, river rock, stepping stones and gardens.

The issues arose because the landscaping was done on the City of Ottawa’s right of way. The couple was issued a “notice of violation” that stated they had until Sept. 30 to rip it out or the city would do it for them and send a bill.

“The bylaw prohibits hardscape on the city’s right of way, as it interferes with drainage, snow removal and can impact other city services,” Roger Chapman, the director of Bylaw and Regulatory Services, said in a statement.

“Keeping the right of way clear of obstruction helps ensure city services can be delivered to residents, and that staff can work safely and effectively.”

In the fall, the city approved a plan to require landscapers who do hardscaping work to get an annual licence.

OPP explains why investigators initially suspected an animal attack in Quadeville, Ont.

Ontario Provincial Police were forced to explain their investigation into an attack on a child in Quadeville, Ont., after initially saying evidence suggested it was a possible animal attack.

A 17-year-old male was charged in July with attempted murder and sexual assault with a weapon on a person under 16 years old.

An eight-year-old girl was reported missing on Monday, June 23 in Quadeville, approximately 75 kilometres southwest of Renfrew. The OPP Canine Unit located the girl just before 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 24 with life-threatening injuries along Quadeville Road.

On June 25, police said investigators suspected the girl was injured in an animal attack, but added, “further testing and analysis is required.”

“We brought in the experts who looked at these injuries and many of them too thought that the nature of these injuries looked like they would have been consistent with something caused by some type of wild animal,” OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson said.

“While we went with that premise and we were following that line of thought, we also kept the investigation going on other fronts because, of course, you can’t get tunnel vision on an investigation where someone has been seriously hurt.”

In a media release, the OPP later said samples taken from the victim’s wounds “revealed no traces of animal DNA.”

Federal government to cut another 28,000 public service jobs by 2029

The federal government announced in November it would cut another 28,000 positions from the federal public service as part of the plan to find $60 billion in savings over the next five years.

The Canada Strong Budget 2025 outlines the plan to reduce the size of the federal public service by 40,000 jobs through job cuts, attrition, and early retirements from its peak of 367,772 employees in March 2024, to 330,000 by 2028-29. There were 357,965 federal employees as of March 31, 2025.

• Federal departments will begin notifying public servants of possible job cuts in January
• Federal department monitoring on-site attendance for public servants
• Federal government dialing back on cellphones for public servants

As part of the Comprehensive Expenditure Review, the government will reduce 16,000 full-time equivalent positions, including 650 executive positions, while another 12,000 positions, including 350 executive positions, will be eliminated through attrition and early retirement packages.

The government said attrition will “continue to be a driver” for the job cuts. A voluntary Early Retirement Incentive program will also be launched to offer early departures for public servants.

In July, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said the government’s plan to find billions of dollars in operating efficiencies would require a 24 per cent cut in public service spending and “devastate the federal government.”

Ottawa’s mayor says he will not apologize to Pride parade protesters

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe refused to apologize to Queers for Palestine – Ottawa in August, after the group blocked the Capital Pride Parade.

Ottawa’s annual Pride parade was cancelled shortly after it began on August 24, when protesters blocked the route on Wellington Street outside Parliament Hill.

The group issued a list of demands, including an apology from elected officials who boycotted the Capital Pride Parade in 2024 and demanded Capital Pride be “transparent to the community about the commitments they have made about their pro-Palestine values.”

Sutcliffe called the protest “inappropriate.”

“I don’t think we want to have a situation where anybody can just block a parade, especially Capital Pride, put a bunch of demands on the table, and the parade doesn’t move forward unless people give in to those demands. I don’t think that’s acceptable,” Sutcliffe said.

“I don’t think that’s a proper way to advocate or discuss the issues that are important to those people, I certainly was not in a position to say, yes, I’ll do whatever they ask.”

Hockey fans boo U.S. national anthem at Ottawa Senators game after Trump imposes tariffs

Ottawa Senators fans voiced their displeasure with the United States on a Saturday night in February, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his plan to impose tariffs on Canadian goods.

During the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner before the Senators took on the Minnesota Wild, a large faction of the stadium was heard loudly booing. Video posted to social media also showed other fans clapping and cheering.

It came only hours after Trump signed an executive order slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports, marking a major shift in Canada-U.S. relations.

Canadian denied entry to U.S. ahead of wedding to American

A Canadian man said he was denied entry into the United States just days before he was supposed to marry his American fiancée in a small ceremony in upstate New York.

Devin Hayden, a Canadian citizen who lives near Brockville, Ont., said he and his partner, Bridget Ellis, have been in a long-distance relationship for four years, regularly crossing the border to visit one another.

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“It’s not a long drive,” says Hayden. “It’s about an hour and a half, including the border.”

The couple had planned a June 14 wedding at a park in Kent, N.Y., with a handful of family and friends. But when Hayden attempted to enter the U.S. on June 2, ahead of the ceremony, he was stopped and questioned by border officials and ultimately turned away.

“They asked me to go to the office to pick up a form, and I thought I was just picking up a form,” he says. “It turns out I had what they called an overstay, and I had to exit the country immediately.”

Hayden said officers reviewed his travel history dating back to November and flagged him for spending too many days in the U.S. as a visitor. He disputes that claim, saying his time south of the border totalled just 154 days. Typically, a visitor to the U.S. can only stay a maximum of 180 days per year in total.

Canada Post no longer raising mailbox flags in rural areas

For decades, residents living in rural areas around eastern Ontario could tell they had mail delivered if the flag on their mailbox was up.

In August, they were told Canada Post delivery agents will no longer raise the flag because that was never what the indicator was meant for in the first place.

“Whether it’s to save time or money, I’m not sure, but it’s not doing the workers nor the corporation any good,” said David Carriere.

Carriere received a letter from Canada Post indicating delivery agents would no longer raise the signal device on the mailboxes when mail is delivered.

Canada Post told CTV News Ottawa the purpose of the red flag on mailboxes is for “customers to inform the delivery agents there is outgoing mail to be picked up from the mailbox.”

“The red flag is not meant for delivery agents to inform customers that mail has been put in the mailbox,” the Crown corporation said.

“We recognize that some delivery agents use it for that purpose, but it is out of courtesy. It is not a national delivery process.”

‘It’s very stressful:‘ Ottawa passengers stuck in Cuba after Sunwing delays flights

A beautiful trip to Cuba became a nightmare for an Ottawa resident after her Sunwing flight in February was delayed more than eight times, leaving her and her friends stranded in Varadero.

Liliane Hajjar says escaping the Ottawa winter with her friend and her friend’s parents was a wonderful week away until a snowstorm in Ottawa cancelled her flight and left her stranded.

“We absolutely understood, right? What was going on in Ottawa. And then we started getting delayed and delayed. And now we’re on our eighth delay,” she said.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, Sunwing said it experienced disruptions because of weather in Ottawa, but a “mechanical problem” was found on an earlier flight that caused further disruptions.

Hwy 417: Driver with suspended licence ‘thought he could drive home’

A driver received a significant fine for allegedly driving while suspended on Highway 417, hours after receiving the suspension.

In July, Ontario Provincial Police said an automated licence plate reader (ALPR) notified officers of a suspended driver on the Queensway near Parkdale.

It turned out that the driver had received a court-ordered suspension that morning.

Other top stories on CTVNewsOttawa.ca in 2025

• Red paint discovered on Canada’s National Holocaust Monument
• Parliament Hill East Block lockdown ends after police arrest barricaded man
• Truck driver stopped for slow driving, given 18 tickets
• Downtown Ottawa parkade closed after top floor collapses
• OCDSB principal apologizes for “unapproved comments” during Bell High School graduation
• Pilot killed in small plane crash in Ottawa
• Dump truck damages several vehicles near Barrhaven homes
• Nordik Spa: More than 80 people allege sexual assault at Quebec spa
• Prime Minister Carney to live at Rideau Cottage: Privy Council Office
• 996 work culture: The trend of working 9 to 9, 6 days a week