Candidates begin registering for Ottawa’s municipal election

Three mayoral candidates registered on Friday as Ottawa’s municipal election campaign began. CTV’s Natalie van Rooy reports on the kickoff to the campaign.

The nomination period for the 2026 municipal election in Ottawa has opened, with a veteran city councillor among the first in line.

Kitchissippi Ward Coun. Jeff Leiper submitted his nomination papers to run for mayor first thing Friday morning.

“This is the fourth time that I’ve signed a nomination form in this city, and this is just as exciting as the first time,” he said.

• Ottawa’s municipal election campaign begins on May 1: Here’s what you need to know

Leiper was first elected to city council in 2014 and was re-elected twice in Kitchissippi Ward. This year, he’s taking aim at the mayor’s chair.

“There are a lot of problems with this city. There are solutions to those problems and it’s worth implementing those solutions,” he told CTV News Ottawa. “We are going to build a city that works and today is the first step in that process.”

Leiper says improving transit is a main part of his platform.

“There are going to be as many as half a million people moving to Ottawa over the next 20 years. We need a transit system that is reliable. In my platform, we are going to make that guarantee to the residents of Ottawa,” he said.

Community organizer Neil Saravanamuttoo also submitted his nomination papers on Friday to run for mayor. He worked on the 2022 mayoral campaign of former Ottawa city councillor Catherine McKenney and later founded the nonprofit organization CitySHAPES, which focuses on housing and homelessness, sustainable transportation, climate action and municipal governance and finance.

“I’m running for mayor because I love Ottawa and I expect better than what we are getting. And like many of us, I’m prepared to do something about it so that something is launching our campaign for change,” Saravanamuttoo told CTV News Ottawa.

His platform is focused on improving transparency at city hall, he says.

“I am an economist by training. I spent many years in the department of finance, I was the chief economist for the G20 global infrastructure hub but I’ve also been a community organizer and I’ve been a public advocate at city hall for a number of years now... So, someone that has been deeply involved in the community for some time and just wanted to take it to the next level.”

Homebuilder Alex Lawson also arrived on Friday to register for a run for mayor.

Lawson says he is focused on several issues, including the cost of living and housing.

“The biggest issues in the city definitely are going to be affordability, rent, traffic, and crime,” he told CTV News Ottawa.

“I own a new home construction company, so we are not the builders but we are a framing company. We are the guys that put the sticks together. Affordability and housing are a huge piece of the platform and I’m excited to share ideas on that a little later.”

A spokesperson for Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he would not be able to register on Friday, but he intends to run for re-election and will submit his nomination papers in due course.

Sutcliffe won the 2022 election with 51 per cent of the vote. There were 14 candidates for mayor that year. McKenney came in second behind Sutcliffe with just under 38 per cent of the vote. McKenney is now the MPP for Ottawa Centre at Queen’s Park.

Voter turnout in the 2022 election was 43.79 per cent.

At least two wards will have new councillors. In addition to Leiper’s ward of Kitchissippi, Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower has said he will not seek re-election after two terms.

The nomination period is open to run for mayor, city councillor, or school board trustee until 2 p.m. Aug 21. Election Day is on Oct. 26.

A list of registered candidates is available on Elections Ottawa’s website.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Natalie van Rooy.

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