Ottawa City Council has approved its 2026 municipal budget, setting a $5.2 billion operating plan and a $1.92 billion capital budget, which will result in a 3.75 per cent property tax increase.
The budget passed after a nine-hour-long meeting with a vote of 21-4. Councillors Jeff Leiper (Kitchissippi), Ariel Troster (Somerset), Sean Devine (Knoxdale-Merivale), and Matthew Luloff (Orléans East-Cumberland) were opposed.
Urban homeowners will see their property taxes rise by about $166 on average, while rural homeowners will see an average increase of $108. Commercial property owners will face an approximate $354 increase in annual taxes.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said the budget was designed to “protect affordability while investing in key resident priorities like public safety, transit and roads.”
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper, who intends to run for the mayor's seat during next year’s municipal election, said the budget does not address Ottawa residents’ problems. He questions Sutcliffe’s affordability rhetoric, saying "fees and rates keep climbing, and those regressive costs hit those who can least afford them.”
Meanwhile, Orléans East-Cumberland Coun. Matt Luloff also voted against the budget, noting he was opposed because taxpayers could not shoulder more expenses — especially when proposed projects have not materialized.
More funding for transit
One of the defining features of the 2026 budget is its emphasis on public transit.
OC Transpo’s budget increased by 11.4 per cent in 2025; in the last two years, it’s increased by a total of 22.2 per cent.
The cost of fares will go up 2.5 per cent, with an eight per cent increase to the transit levy.
That hike caused some debate, especially since transit frequency and service has been reduced over the last year. Couns. Laine Johnson (College), Sean Devine (Knoxdale-Merivale) , Riley Brockington (River) and Luloff voted against the transit budget. Meanwhile, Theresa Kavanagh (Bay), Stéphanie Plante (Rideau-Vanier), Ariel Troster (Somerset), Jessica Bradley (Gloucester-Southgate) and Rawson King (Rideau-Rockcliffe) voiced their dissent to the fare hike.
More than $1.4 million of these savings is earmarked for a suite of transit upgrades.
Beginning in April, trains on the light rail Confederation Line will arrive every six minutes on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., and every 7.5 minutes from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weeknights. It reverses a decision council made last year that reduced the frequency at Line 1 stations to every 10 minutes.
A motion was also brought forward to allocate $510,000 to expand fare-free options, including complimentary weekend and holiday travel for riders aged 18 and under. The changes will take effect on July 1, but city staff are exploring whether the free travel could be offered every evening after 5:00 p.m.
Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard — who has advocated for more free and affordable transit offerings — called it a “big win” for the city, and said it will provide better flexibility for youth getting to after-school jobs, sporting events, and other leisure activities.
To help riders avoid paying twice, the afternoon transfer period will be extended from 90 to 105 minutes between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. It also instructs staff to investigate whether free travel for those 18 and under could be offered every evening after 5 p.m., beginning July 1.
Para Transpo riders will also qualify for four free monthly rides for qualifying seniors 65 and older.
The new investments are possible due to a drop in the city’s projected diesel costs since the 2026 draft budget was released in November.
Staff had originally estimated the price of diesel at $1.16 per litre for 2026—already lower than the $1.40 per litre forecast for 2025—which would have yielded slightly over $9 million in savings for OC Transpo. However, at Wednesday’s meeting, staff advised council that the anticipated fuel price should be reduced even further to $1.10 per litre, increasing the amount available to redirect within the transit budget.
OC Transpo interim general manager Troy Charter said he understood why some councillors were opposed to the budget’s transit increases and assured council that reliability was his biggest priority.
“I think everyone struggled a little bit this year with the amount of construction and road closures, especially with the highway, that have impacted us,” he said. “But this budget does provide significant investment, both operating and capital, to allow us to continue to make incremental improvements to the bus service.”
Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower, who is also chair of the transit commission, asked for “patience.” Those comments did not bode well with Brockington, who said transit riders are done with patience. He said commuters have been routinely told that reliability would improve when light rail opened or New Ways to Bus was launched in April, but to no avail.
Controversy over police budget
The Ottawa Police Service budget was approved with a five-per-cent increase, adding an estimated 25 new officers to the force — part of one of the largest boosts to police funding in recent years. The increase will cost taxpayers an extra $46 per year.
Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs has said that even at five per cent, it won't be enough to keep up with the force's growing needs and costs.
Higher salaries from collective agreements have been eating up most of the budget increases in the past, he said, noting that officers' pay went up 6.85 per cent in 2025.
Alta Vista Ward Coun. Marty Carr, vice-chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board, told the Lookout in an interview that the higher increase will be essential as the city grows.
“We know that Ottawa's population is estimated to grow by about 400,000 in the next 10 years. And the ratio of police officers to residents is an important indicator of service capacity. We currently sit on the lower side of that ratio in comparable jurisdictions,” she said.
Carr noted the police budget was done in consultation with local wards and their councillors. Through that process, she said they heard about growing concern over slow response times and rising crime rates.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe, and this budget provides what is needed for adequate and effective policing, for crime prevention, law enforcement, victim assistance, emergency response, and public order management,” said Carr.
Before the vote, there was huge debate among councillors on social media and through opinion pieces. Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney — who previously spoke to the Lookout about his support of the budget — criticized urban councillors in the core who oppose police budget increases despite seeing spiking crime in their wards. He called out Troster and Leiper as examples.
“This familiar small bloc of councillors wed to a certain ideology has long opposed what they call ‘traditional’ policing budgets, so it’s no surprise they’re taking the same position again,” Tierney wrote in the Ottawa Citizen. “What is surprising is their unwillingness to prioritize community safety.”
Troster responded in the CBC by stating it was “beyond the pale” for Tierney to criticize urban councillors. She said many of her residents still have a distrust with police after the so-called “Freedom” convoy polarized downtown streets during winter 2022.
The Somerset Ward representative also said crime is always higher in urban areas because they are at the “epicentre” for addiction, homelessness, and mental health issues.
Leiper, for his part, supported the police budget, noting the “significant financial pressures” the force is facing.
Ottawa as a whole has seen a roughly one per cent increase in crime, said Carr, but a 3.3 per cent increase in violent crime. In some wards, the data is even higher.
Gloucester-Southgate, for example, saw a 12.9 per cent increase in crime and a 22.1 per cent increase in violent crime. Somerset Ward saw a 5.5 per cent uptick in crime and a 15.4 per cent increase in violent crime.
“We had delegations from the Chinatown BIA. We definitely are hearing from businesses, residents, families in core areas of town and all over the city now,” said Carr. “We hear from residents all the time about the need for more traffic enforcement, fear over some of these new kinds of crimes that are emerging, such as the smash-and-grabs happening at jewellery stores and unfettered shoplifting.”
Other investments
Additional investment in the budget was also earmarked for paramedic services to hire 23 more paramedics, aiming to improve emergency response times.
Significant planned investments include money for road resurfacing, sidewalk rehabilitation, rural ditching works and maintaining parks and community centres, with hundreds of millions set aside as part of ongoing infrastructure renewal.
Much of that funding came as a last-minute surprise due to new funds from a larger tax base. In total, there will be $1.2 million in additional funds that will service $20 million in more debt. Orléans West-Innes Coun. Laura Dudas called it a “Christmas gift” that will go a long way to helping communities.
Staff identified an additional $24 million in a reserve funded by developer contributions for park development. The money had been tied up due to ongoing legal appeals, but according to the city’s legal counsel, they are now confident that those funds can be unlocked.
The budget includes expanded funding for vulnerable residents, including support for affordable housing projects, food security programs and homelessness initiatives. More than $23 million is designated for building new affordable housing units, part of a broader effort to address Ottawa’s housing challenges.
