The CTV News Ottawa mayoral debate is Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 10 a.m. Watch on CTVNewsOttawa.ca, listen on Newstalk 580 CFRA and watch on the Newstalk 580 CFRA YouTube Channel. Voters want the City of Ottawa to focus on affordability and infrastructure when making decisions on housing, according to new polling exclusively for CTV News Ottawa. Nanos Research surveyed 762 randomly selected Ottawa residents between Oct. 4 and Oct. 8. Respondents were asked what the City of Ottawa’s top priority should be when making housing decisions. Thirty-nine per cent of respondents said the city should focus on improving infrastructure to support growth, while 35 per cent said the city’s priority should be on keeping homes affordable. The survey shows 10 per cent of respondents said protecting existing neighbourhoods should be the top priority, followed by eight per cent wanting the city to prioritize building more homes and one per cent wanting the city to focus on more affordable/public housing. One per cent of respondents said the city’s top priority for housing should be better planning. In July, council voted to cut development charges by 54 per cent over the next three years to take advantage of millions of dollars in federal-Ontario infrastructure funding. Staff estimate the plan would lead to nearly 12,000 new homes being built each year. Development charges are one-time fees levied by municipalities on new residential and non-residential properties to help pay for a portion of the growth-related capital infrastructure requirements. Urban/suburban divide The top priority for Ottawa’s housing in the future varies on neighbourhoods across the city. Respondents to the Nanos Research survey in the east, west and rural areas of Ottawa ranked improving infrastructure to support growth as their top priority, while downtown respondents ranked keeping homes affordable as their top priority for housing decisions by council. Thirty-eight per cent of respondents in Ottawa’s west end ranked improving infrastructure to support growth as their top priority for housing, while 37 per cent of respondents wanted the city to prioritize keeping homes affordable. Thousands of homes experienced flooding on Canada Day after record-breaking rainfall hit the capital. Forty-two per cent of respondents in the east end ranked improving infrastructure to support growth as their top priority, while 43 per cent of rural respondents want the city to focus on improving infrastructure for housing. In the downtown area, 35 per cent of respondents ranked keeping homes affordable as the top priority for the city, with 34 per cent selecting improving infrastructure as the top priority for housing decisions. Improving infrastructure to support growth was the top housing priority for respondents in the 18 to 34 age group (42 per cent) and respondents aged 35 to 54 (47 per cent). The top priority for respondents in the 55 plus age group was keeping homes affordable (38 per cent). The survey shows 11 per cent of respondents in the 18 to 34 age group want the city to focus on building more homes. The Ottawa Home Builders Association reported an increase in new home sales over the summer after the Ontario and federal governments expanded the HST rebate to all buyers for a one-year period. A total of 3,557 new homes have been sold in Ottawa so far this year, up from 2,365 new homes sold in the January to August period last year. Methodology The Nanos Research survey was conducted exclusively for CTV News Ottawa between Oct. 4 and Oct. 8. The survey included 762 Ottawa randomly selected residents with interviews completed by telephone and online. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
