Ottawa city councillors could receive a $17,000 pay raise during the next term of council. The 2026-30 Council Governance Review says the 2027 draft budget will adjust salaries to “align with the current average of single-tier comparator municipalities.” Under the plan, the salary for a councillor will rise from $119,692 to $137,000. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe’s salary will increase from $213,921 to $228,000. In September 2025, Council directed staff to adjust remuneration for Ottawa City Council to align with the “average remuneration for comparator municipalities” in the 2026-30 governance review report. Coun. Shawn Menard told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa at Work with Kristy Cameron that the pay for elected officials should be at the average rate for Ontarian municipalities. “Some might say it should be less because, you know, that’s not the primary objective of being a political person and I agree, it’s to serve the public,” Menard said. “Some people say it should be more because you want to attract good people to those jobs and we’re seeing people run uncontested. At the end of the day, there’s no great way to do this, but I think the way they’re going about it, on the staff side, to look at the data and come out with the average makes a lot of sense.” A review of councillor salaries by independent third party, MNP Business Consulting and Advisory Services LLP, as part of the mid-term governance review, did not provide a recommendation on councillor salaries in 2024, but did suggest, “to support ongoing market-aligned remuneration, consider implementing an automatic formal market review process at the end of year two or year three of the Elected Officials’ term, with any approved adjustments taking effect at the start of the new Elected Officials’ term.” The Governance Review says council has the authority to establish salaries and adjustments for the mayor and councillors. Staff say salaries for elected officials in Ottawa have been established and adjusted through third-party reviews. In 2024, councillors received a pay increase as part of a new collective agreement awarded to City of Ottawa employees, which included a retroactive pay increase for 2023. The base pay for councillors in 2024 was $116,735. The newly elected council will be sworn in on Monday, with the first council meeting set for November 25.
