There are two candidates running for councillor in the west Ottawa ward of College in the 2026 municipal election. Incumbent Laine Johnson is seeking a second term as councillor after winning the 2022 election with 52.6 per cent of the vote. The other candidate on the ballot is academic Abakar Malloum. College College ward includes Bells Corners, Algonquin College, the Queensway-Carleton Hospital, and Ben Franklin Place. Meet the candidates CTV News Ottawa invited all registered candidates to answer a questionnaire and submit a video introducing themselves to voters. Abakar Malloum No response from candidate Laine Johnson Age: Political experience: I have been the councillor for College Ward since 2022. I am a member of the Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committee; the Planning and Housing Committee; and the Transportation Committee. I was a Board member for both Build Ottawa as well the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Professional experience: I have held Executive leadership positions with Synapcity, a local non-profit devoted to public participation with the City of Ottawa, as well as Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC), a non-profit housing corporation. I am a co-founder of the Ottawa Community Land Trust. I worked with the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre, the Public Policy Forum, and the Great Canadian Theatre Company. As a volunteer, I worked with Ottawa Victim Services and the Ottawa Art Gallery. I was a board member with Just Change. How long have you lived in Ottawa? I moved to Nepean when I was seven and have lived in Ottawa since. I’m raising my family in College ward. Favourite Ottawa location/landmark: Ben Franklin Place skating rink in the winter What was the last book you read? Shadow Play by Peggy Blair What is the top song in your playlist? Right now and forever it will be until my daughter says it’s not so, Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen How often do you use OC Transpo? Not often, it is easier to get around by bike. This is why I continue to demand we do better Would you work to increase or decrease transit fares as part of a plan to improve OC Transpo? I believe that reliability and consistency are the first priorities for public transit. That said, fares cannot continue to rise. Would you support increasing the police budget? I believe the police service has sufficient resources to support College ward neighbourhoods, and given the additional funds for downtown and the Parliamentary Precinct made available from other levels of government in this term, as well as the city’s own increases, there is no reason we shouldn’t see better dedicated resources to Nepean. Do you support an infrastructure levy to improve road and sewer infrastructure? I would rather have the City of Ottawa invest in storm sewer infrastructure than in projects like Lansdowne Park. We have choices within our existing budgets, but the scale of the infrastructure deficit requires additional resources from other levels of government. Describe in 250 words or less what the biggest issues are in your ward in this election: Improving our stormwater capacity to respond to the ravages of climate change is a top priority. I’d also like to see improvements to transit services, increased road safety, and maintaining our cherished infrastructure like pools and community centres.
