Mark Sutcliffe is promising to hire 350 new police officers, paramedics and firefighters, double the investment in alternative response programs, such as ANCHOR, and appoint a Downtown Safety Czar to coordinate the City of Ottawa’s response to the toxic drug and mental health crisis if re-elected mayor this fall. The incumbent mayor will unveil his public safety plan today, titled “Making Ottawa safer, together,” with 32 commitments to boost frontline emergency services, improve neighbourhood safety and address the drug and mental health crisis in the capital. “Public safety is a critical part of Ottawa’s quality of life,” Sutcliffe’s campaign said in a media release. “As our city grows, like many cities across Canada, we are facing increasingly complex challenges. That includes the issues arising from the toxic drug supply, mental illness, increased petty crime, car thefts, speeding and aggressive driving, and increased hate crimes.” Sutcliffe says if re-elected, he will work to hire 200 more police officers, 100 more paramedics and 50 additional firefighters to “increase service and reduce response times.” Under the section “Making all of Ottawa safer,” Sutcliffe says his plan includes expanding community policing, allocating police resources to “priority areas,” introducing special constables at hospitals so frontline police officers can return to the community quicker, and creating a “public safety dashboard” to report on key performance indicators. The Ottawa Police Service reported an eight per cent increase in crimes in Ottawa between Jan. 1 and Aug. 17, compared to the same period last year, while violent crimes in Ottawa are up four per cent. In 2025, total crime in Ottawa was up one per cent compared to the same period in 2024. “Treating the crisis as an emergency” Sutcliffe’s public safety platform pledges to treat the toxic drug and mental health crisis in the City of Ottawa “as an emergency.” The incumbent mayor is promising to activate the city’s Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC) for four to six months to coordinate the city’s response, and he will appoint a Downtown Safety Czar to lead and coordinate all of the solutions “delivered by a wide range of providers, and to sustain the Downtown Safety Plan.” “Through the ECC, the City of Ottawa will have a coordinated, all encompassing and 24/7 dedicated effort toward cleaning up our streets and keeping our communities safe,” Sutcliffe’s campaign said. “The ECC will be tasked with executing the aspects of the public safety plan that pertain to the toxic drug and mental health crisis.” Sutcliffe is committing to double the investment in the city’s alternative response teams, such as ANCHOR and the Mobile Crisis Response Team, by 2030, expanding it to more communities. ANCHOR, the Alterative Neighbourhood Crisis Response, provides mental health and/or substance use crisis support and dispatches crisis response workers. Sutcliffe’s platform says he will work to make changes to business licencing rules to revoke licences of “pill mills” that are “handing out drugs in communities like Chinatown, Centretown and Lowertown.” “Making Neighbourhoods Safer” Sutcliffe’s public safety platform also includes pledges to “make communities safer,” with promises of: Saravanamuttoo released public safety plan on Wednesday Mayoral candidate Neil Saravanamuttoo released his plan to address homelessness, improve public safety and strength communities on Wednesday. The plan includes expanding ANCHOR city-wide, providing same-day access to detox and recovery beds, investing in Neighbourhood Watch programs, reviewing fire and paramedic coverage in rural areas and creating a Community Emergency Response Report Card to provide information on emergency response times, ambulance availability and hospital offload delays. The candidate says his plan to protect businesses includes a Main Street Safety Partnership with Business Improvement Areas, community organizations, residents and police to identify problems and coordinate neighbourhood solutions. “My goal isn’t only to improve Ottawa’s crime statistics. It’s to restore people’s confidence that their city is safe, well-managed and looking out for them,” he said. Saravanamuttoo also pledges to pilot automated noise cameras to enforce Ottawa’s Noise Bylaw on city streets. Candidate Jeff Leiper has unveiled a “Safety that Works” priority on his website, which pledges to expand the ANCHOR crisis response program city-wide and tie future growth in increases in the police budget to “ensure the right response is available for every call.” Leiper is also promising to focus police resources and strengthen Bylaw enforcement to improve response times. Candidates Alex Lawson has not released public safety platforms so far during the campaign. There are 14 candidates running for mayor of Ottawa in the 2026 municipal election. Ottawa voters head to the polls on Oct. 26.
