Mayoral candidate Jeff Leiper is promising to add a one per cent levy to property tax bills if he is elected mayor of Ottawa in October, saying it would help address “crumbling infrastructure.” Leiper, who is running for mayor after serving as the councillor for Kitchissippi Ward since 2014, also pledged to keep property tax increases, “affordable, reasonable and predictable,” if elected mayor, though his pledge did not include a specific target. “No one likes to pay for tax increases, including me,” said Leiper in a news release on Tuesday. “But Mark Sutcliffe has been recklessly letting infrastructure crack and crumble. We all know that maintaining what we own is cheaper than replacing it later, and Sutcliffe and previous mayors have put us in the unfortunate position of having to play catch up now.” Sutcliffe capped property tax increases at 2.5 per cent in 2023 and 2024 and raised them by 3.9 per cent in 2025 and 3.75 per cent in 2026. He pledged to keep tax increases, “as low as possible” and “in the same range” as what he promised four years ago, if re-elected. Leiper voted against the 2024, 2025, and 2026 budgets. Leiper says his one per cent infrastructure levy would cost the average Ottawa homeowner an extra $28 per year and would generate an estimated $25.5 million per year. He compared the amount to budgeted items such as the 2026 water pipe rehabilitation budget ($24.5 million), the city’s annual sidewalk and pathway renewal and repair investment ($13.5 million) and the transportation bridges and structures renewal budget ($41.3 million). “Sutcliffe approved a whopping $418 million for Lansdowne 2.0 but failed to maintain and update the infrastructure we already own. Ottawa deserves better. We could end the basement flooding when it rains. We can fix the roads and bridges. And we can make Ottawa a city that’s safe, and one we’re proud to show off,” Leiper said. Leiper was one of 10 councillors who voted against the Lansdowne 2.0 plan in November 2025. In addition to his tax pledge, Leiper promised on Tuesday to start the budget process earlier, assess the need before choosing the tax target, “not the other way around,” and vowed to never budget money that hasn’t been approved by other levels of government, while fighting for Ottawa’s “fair share.” Leiper says, if elected mayor, he would focus spending on reliability and stability of core programs and infrastructure including transit, housing programs, roads and bridges, and community assets like community centres. Leiper is one of 14 candidates running for mayor of Ottawa this year. The others, in alphabetical order are: Queen Divine Priya Amber Bakshi, Zed Chebib, Bernard Couchman, Suraj Harish, Alex Lawson, Geoff Nicholas, Josh Rachlis, Neil Saravanamuttoo, Ali Shayvard, Jacob Solomon, Mark Sutcliffe (incumbent), Amjad Ali Syed, and Peter Westaway. Election day is Oct. 26.
