Neil Saravanamuttoo is not committing to a property tax hike target if he is elected mayor of Ottawa this fall, saying he will conduct a “comprehensive spending review” at City Hall and eliminate city programs that no longer serve residents. The mayoral candidate unveiled his plan to “cut waste and keep taxes low while addressing our infrastructure deficit” on Tuesday morning outside of Ottawa City Hall. “My commitment is to keep it as low as possible. And there are savings that we can realize that we have not looked at seriously,” Saravanamuttoo told reporters. “When I talk to residents across the city, they ask me, ‘Why can we not have a tax decrease?’ People say that every year taxes go up 2, 3, 4 per cent – whatever it is, and it’s just an automatic escalator. What’s happened is that departments within the city their budgets have just taken last year’s budget and increased it by that amount. There’s been no real effort to try to prune what we’re spending.” Saravanamuttoo said he believes there are “significant opportunities” for savings at Ottawa City Hall. “I’m a taxpayer; I don’t like paying taxes any more than any of you do. I don’t feel I get good value for the taxes that I currently pay,” Saravanamuttoo said. “My commitment is to leave no stone unturned so we can get the best tax rate possible. But, we simply don’t have enough information today to say what that number is.” During the 2026 City of Ottawa budget debate, City Manager Wendy Stephanson said efficiency measures and a “commitment to continuous improvement” had realized more than $252 million savings during this term of council. Saravanamuttoo, a former economist at the Department of Finance, said he would apply six “key insights” to overhaul spending at Ottawa City Hall and “keep taxes as low as possible.” The plan includes: Saravanamuttoo has vowed to open the City of Ottawa’s books within the first 100 days. “My commitment is simple: I will account for every dollar, end City Hall secrecy and apply rigorous public finance expertise to keep property taxes as low as possible,” he said. “As Mayor, I will work every day to earn your trust by managing your money with care.” On Tuesday, mayoral candidate Jeff Leiper promised to implement a one per cent infrastructure levy on property tax bills if elected, saying it would help address “crumbling infrastructure.” “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.” Mayor Mark 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. Sutcliffe is holding his campaign kick off on Wednesday night, with his campaign saying he will unveil his plan to “Make Ottawa more affordable and build a stronger city.” Ottawa voters head to the polls to elect a mayor and council on Oct. 26. With files from CTV News Ottawa’s William Eltherington
