Ottawa mayor clue stumps Jeopardy! contestant in question about capital city mayors

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe speaks to CTV News Ottawa. Aug. 12, 2025.

Who is Ottawa’s mayor?

Unfortunately, defending champion Will Riley didn’t know Mark Sutcliffe is the mayor of Canada’s capital during Thursday’s ‘Jeopardy!’ show.

One of the categories during Double Jeopardy was “Capital City Mayors.” Riley selected the $1,600 clue, which was about Ottawa’s mayor.

The clue was, “Mark Sutcliffe, who studied political science at Carleton University there.”

Riley guessed, “What is Chicago?”

Host Ken Jennings, said, “Sorry, no. It’s the national capital – Ottawa in this case.”

Sutcliffe posted a clip of the ‘Jeopardy!’ question on his Instagram stories page, with a shrug emoji.

This is not the first time Ottawa has been a question on the popular TV show.

In 2021, two ‘Jeopardy!’ contestants were stumped by a clue about Ottawa. The final ‘Jeopardy!’ questioned asked, “An annual event called Winterlude includes skating on the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in this city.”

The two remaining contestants were stumped, with one guessing Paris and the other saying Amsterdam.

The correct response, of course, was Ottawa.

Ottawa Tourism invited the two contestants to Ottawa to spend three nights in Ottawa to experience Winterlude, with round-trip transportation, hotel accommodation and spending money.