Residents in Kanata North have three candidates to vote for in the 2026 municipal election. Incumbent Cathy Curry is seeking a third term as councillor in Kanata North after being appointed councillor in 2021 and winning the 2022 election with 76 per cent of the vote. The two other candidates on the ballot in Kanata North are businessman Rob Millan and James Murchison. Kanata North The ward of Kanata North covers an area from north of Highway 417, including Kanata Lakes, South March, Marchwood, Morgan’s Grant and Beaverbrook. Meet the candidates CTV News Ottawa invited all registered candidates to answer a questionnaire and submit a video introducing themselves to voters. Cathy Curry Age: 58 Political experience: City Councillor - Ward 4 - Kanata North - 5 years. OCDSB Trustee - Kanata - 6 years Professional experience: Teacher - OCT Registered Psychotherapist – CRPO. Member of the CHEO Board. Member of the Hydro Ottawa Board. Member of the Ottawa Police Services Board. Member of Invest Ottawa. Member of many city committees. Member on other community and organizations’ boards How long have you lived in Ottawa? 33 years Favourite Ottawa location/landmark: Trillium Woods What was the last book you read? How the World Really Works - by Vaclav Smil What is the top song in your playlist? Harvest Moon by Neil Young How often do you use OC Transpo? Once a year for Bluesfest. I drive an electric car. Would you work to increase or decrease transit fares as part of a plan to improve OC Transpo? This question is too simplistic. The upload of the LRT will help us determine the next changes for OC Transpo’s financial sustainability. Ad revenue will also have an impact. RTO and increased demand due to more routes vs costs will have to be assessed. Would you support increasing the police budget? Yes. We need more officers to ensure the Community Policing Model is fully staffed. Police need upgraded technology. Police need more staff in units where there are significant back logs or an inability to provide helpful and supportive responses to victims of crime. However, as a member on the OPSB, I look forward to the outcome of the current efficiencies review as I believe it will help keep the increase as low as possible. Do you support an infrastructure levy to improve road and sewer infrastructure? No. Provincial reps and municipal reps have advocated through FCM and AMO to ensure federal and provincial governments help with infrastructure costs that have risen beyond the abilities of municipalities to fund via property taxes. There have been promises made by other levels of government to help municipalities with their major infrastructure upgrades. This is how to fund infrastructure, not by adding a levy to the municipal taxpayer. Describe in 250 words or less what the biggest issues are in your ward in this election: The biggest issues in Kanata North are greenspace protection, transit and infrastructure keeping pace with growth, and housing that’s paired with livable community design rather than density for its own sake. Greenspace tops residents’ concerns. The fight over the former Kanata Lakes golf course lands is the clearest example. That same instinct to protect what we have extends to Trillium Woods, South March Highlands, the Morgan’s Grant Hydro Corridor, and our trail network as the ward continues to densify. Close behind is the gap between development and infrastructure. With over 20,000 housing units slated for Kanata North, residents want Stage 3 LRT, the March Road Bus Rapid Transit corridor, and restored local bus routes delivered on a much faster timeline than currently planned, not years after the housing is already built. I’ve been coordinating data collection with the Kanata North Business Association and community associations to push OC Transpo on exactly this. Housing affordability is a real concern, but residents are skeptical that adding units alone solves it. There’s strong support for growth paired with amenities and genuinely livable design. Rounding out the list: missing active-transportation links between neighbourhoods, the future of the Hydro Corridor as a shared eco-district space, keeping property taxes manageable for residents on fixed incomes, and ensuring the City follows through on the Bloomberg Associates report’s recommendations so that our Tech Park--Canada’s largest, with over 800 companies--is governed and supported on par with leading tech parks around the world. Rob Millan Age: 29 Political experience: First-time candidate for elected office. Professional experience: I have a Master of Financial Risk Management from UofT’s Rotman School of Management and worked at Scotiabank in Treasury and Capital Markets (Global Equity Derivatives). Today I run two small businesses: Senatus Group, an international trade advisory firm, and SeatLogic, a technology company. How long have you lived in Ottawa? Most of my life. I was born in Ottawa and my family moved to Kanata North when I was eight. I attended St. Isidore, All Saints, and uOttawa. I spent several years in Toronto for graduate school and work before coming back home. Favourite Ottawa location/landmark: Canada Aviation and Space Museum What was the last book you read? The Price of Time by Edward Chancellor What is the top song in your playlist? I’m Your Boogie Man by KC and the Sunshine Band How often do you use OC Transpo? A few times a year. I used OC Transpo every day while attending uOttawa, but I now primarily drive. Would you work to increase or decrease transit fares as part of a plan to improve OC Transpo? I won’t support fare increases while service remains unreliable. My priority is improving reliability and travel times so ridership can recover. Fare decisions should then reflect affordability, ridership, and the system’s funded operating plan rather than treating riders as the automatic source of additional revenue. Would you support increasing the police budget? Yes. I’ll support increases that keep police capacity aligned with population growth, response standards, and community policing, and I’ll tie every increase to demonstrated needs and measurable outcomes, with continued scrutiny of spending and service delivery. Do you support an infrastructure levy to improve road and sewer infrastructure? No. Residents shouldn’t be the first place the City looks for new money. I’ll push to cut low-value spending, secure provincial and federal funding, and keep property-tax increases at or below inflation. Describe in 250 words or less what the biggest issues are in your ward in this election: Kanata North is growing quickly. Infrastructure keeps falling behind, and residents are tired of the City catching up only after problems appear. The July 1 flooding made that impossible to ignore. I will push for the City’s review to identify where systems failed, publish findings neighbourhood by neighbourhood, and fund a prioritized plan for the highest-value fixes. On transportation, we need better bus reliability now, real progress on the March Road rapid-transit corridor, and a funded path to Stage 3 LRT to Kanata. Roads, sewers, transit, and parks should be built alongside new housing rather than years after residents move in. Kanata North’s Tech Park is one of Ottawa’s greatest economic assets. I want it to attract more investment and jobs, add housing and amenities in the right places, and strengthen the commercial tax base so residents aren’t asked to carry more of the burden every year. I support the land swap as the best path to protecting the former golf-course lands, and I will work to protect the parks, pathways, and mature trees that make Kanata North home. My focus is execution: build the capacity growth requires, protect taxpayers, and measure whether City Hall delivers. James Murchison No response from candidate
