Mark Sutcliffe wins mayoral election

Good morning!

Well, it’s done. The election is over, and Mark Sutcliffe will be the new mayor.

It was a hell of a race. In the end, not as close as the polls made it seem. But two clear and credible visions for the city were presented, and the city’s voters made their choice.

While we don’t normally send a newsletter on Tuesday, we wanted to get you a quick election recap, including my report from McKenney campaign headquarters.

We’ll have plenty more coverage in the coming days to help you make sense of what this all means.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, Lookout managing editor

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ELECTION

Sutcliffe wins with a (likely) majority

What happened: Mark Sutcliffe was declared the winner for a mayoral race that was, in the end, not that close. With all the votes counted, he had 51.4 percent of the vote.

• Catherine McKenney had 37.9 percent. The Bob Chiarelli vote evaporated, as the former mayor finished a distant third place with 5.1 percent of the vote.

Turnout saw a dismal 43.8 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot, a bit more than one percentage point above 2018's 42.6 percent.

In his speech Sutcliffe said, "I am feeling a lot of emotions right now: humility, excitement, joy, a lot of relief, but most of all I'm feeling incredible gratitude. I’m so thankful for the experience that Ginny, my family and I have had through this campaign, and I'm especially grateful for the tens of thousands of people who support our vision for the future of Ottawa.”.

"Tonight, the people of Ottawa made a clear decision; you voted for positive change. You voted for compassion and fiscal responsibility. You voted for a safer, more reliable, more affordable city. You voted for an approach that works for all of Ottawa.”

Sutcliffe on McKenney: The incoming mayor had kind words for his opponent. "I have always admired and respected Catherine, and every day during this campaign I gained even more respect for them. Catherine is a trailblazer, Catherine is an incredibly passionate advocate for the most vulnerable, and Catherine has an unequalled ambition for what our city can be.”

What comes next: Sutcliffe may face a difficult path. As former councillor Alex Munter pointed out in a message to CTV’s Graham Richardson, the council is more left wing than the one it replaces. Sutcliffe’s message of bringing people together clearly resonated with the majority of voters. Now comes the tough work of pulling it off.

• Sutcliffe extended a hand to those that didn’t vote for him, “I want you to know that I have listened to your concerns and expectations throughout this campaign. I believe there is common ground for us and I promise to continue to listen,” Sutcliffe said.

Polls missed the mark: The final poll of the campaign by Mainstreet Research had McKenney leading by about four percentage points. In the end, they lost by more than 10 points. What’s likely is the number of undecided voters — which the poll had at 15 percent — made their choice at the ballot box, and went heavily for Sutcliffe.

The night at McKenney HQ

The Lookout headed to the headquarters of the one-time frontrunner held their party at All Saints in Sandy Hill, a former Anglican church that was repurposed by the community into an event space after the congregation left.

The mood: After an initial wave of boos when the race was called for Sutcliffe, the air quickly left the room. ELO’s It’s a Livin’ Thing — “It’s a terrible thing to lose” — played over the PA as the air left the room.

• There was a brief moment of jubilation when progressive candidates Ariel Troster, Shawn Menard, Laine Johnson, Shawn Devine, Rawlson King, and Jeff Leiper were declared the winners of their respective wards. But it was no real consolation for those who were gathered.

McKenney called Stucliffe a little before 9 pm to congratulate him for becoming the next mayor of Ottawa. When their speech began, they came out to Fleetwood Mac, “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow…”

The speech: McKenney was obviously disappointed by the result, but their speech was not a dour one.

“Thousands of voters who put their faith in our campaign tonight. So, tonight, I'm going to share some drinks, stories, maybe a few tears. But tomorrow, tomorrow we'll get back up and keep working to create the city that we deserve,” they said. “One night and one loss is not going to keep us down for long.”

“I want to congratulate our new mayor Mark Sutcliffe,” they said. “Mark, I know you entered this race because like me you believe in this city and its potential. You want to make this city better in this city and a full time job. And I have a lot of respect for that — I sincerely wish you every success.”

What’s next: Speaking to reporters after their speech, McKenney said their time in municipal politics was over. “And it's an honour, very few people get to [represent citizens on city council]. So I'm moving on from that to moving on from city politics. And I'm not sure what's next.”

For the first time post-amalgamation, Ottawa had no incumbent mayor running. McKenney didn't see this as the last opportunity for a progressive victory. “Whenever you have a city that is looking for change, we've just been through a rather traumatizing period in the city. Like other cities, obviously, [there was] COVID, but then the illegal occupation,” McKenney said. “I think it's a good time to go out and present your vision, what you want to accomplish and let voters decide. And that's what's happened.”

PODCAST

What do the election results mean?

In the coming weeks we’ll be sitting down with local experts to break down exactly what these election results mean for you.

Don’t miss out — subscribe to our podcast Lookout Ottawa Pod on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

ELECTION

Here’s who won in each ward

• Ward 1 Orléans East-Cumberland: Matthew Luloff (re-elected)

• Ward 2 Orléans West-Innes: Laura Dudas (re-elected)

• Ward 3 Barrhaven West: David Hill

• Ward 4 Kanata North: Cathy Curry (re-elected)

• Ward 5 West Carleton-March: Clarke Kelly

• Ward 6 Stittsville: Glen Gower (re-elected)

• Ward 7 Bay: Theresa Kavanagh (re-elected)

• Ward 8 College: Laine Johnson

• Ward 9 Knoxdale-Merivale: Sean Devine

• Ward 10 Gloucester-Southgate: Jessica Bradley

• Ward 11 Beacon Hill-Cyrville: Tim Tierney (re-elected)

• Ward 12 Rideau-Vanier: Stéphanie Plante

• Ward 13 Rideau-Rockcliffe: Rawlson King (re-elected)

• Ward 14 Somerset: Ariel Troster

• Ward 15 Kitchissippi: Jeff Leiper (re-elected)

• Ward 16 River: Riley Brockington (re-elected)

• Ward 17 Capital: Shawn Menard (re-elected)

• Ward 18 Alta Vista: Marty Carr

• Ward 19 Orléans South-Navan: Catherine Kitts (re-elected)

• Ward 20 Osgoode: George Darouze

• Ward 21 Rideau-Jock: David Brown

• Ward 22 Riverside South-Findlay Creek: Steve Desroches (former councillor)

• Ward 23 Kanata South: Allan Hubley (re-elected)

• Ward 24 Barrhaven East: Wilson Lo

The most up-to-date election results can be found on the Ottawa City website.

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