Election day finally arrives, mayoral race set for tight finish

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Good morning!

We finally made it, it’s election day. It’s been a fascinating few months, and one of the most interesting and consequential races in many years. Tomorrow we’ll have a special edition landing in your inbox with all the results (at least, all the results that are confirmed by tonight) so you know how things turned out.

We’d like to thank all the new members who signed up to support us through this campaign. We couldn’t have kept up with the race without your help. 

Let’s get to the newsletter.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Monday: 19 🌡️ 9 | 🌤

Tuesday: 21 🌡️ 15 | ☁️

Wednesday: 23 🌡️ 11 | 🌦

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

New housing rules: Tuesday, the day after the election, the provincial government will announce new housing rules. It’s expected that some zoning restrictions will be eliminated, allowing for the construction of duplexes and triplexes, as well as limiting public meetings and third-party appeals to new developments, according to a document obtained by the Toronto Star.

Convoy inquiry: The federal public commission looking into the use of the Emergencies Act continues this week, with former police chief Peter Sloly expected to testify. Several other police officials will also testify, including interim chief Steve Bell.

ELECTION

The day is here at last, voting ends at 8 pm

The big day: It’s been many years since the city has seen a truly competitive race for mayor, but here we are. Both frontrunners, Mark Sutcliffe and Catherine McKenney, spent the weekend criss-crossing the city, looking to shore up votes.

Close race: The final poll of the campaign it shows the race going right down to the wire. Mainstreet Research has McKenney leading Sutcliffe by 4.1 percentage points, iPolitics reported. The poll shows McKenney with 36.2 percent support compared to Sutcliffe’s 32.6 percent, with a margin of error of three percentage points.

• Undecided voters make up 14.5 percent of voters, the poll suggests.

How to vote: 

• Polls open at 10 am and close at 8 pm tonight.

• To find your polling place, use this City of Ottawa tool. Just input your address, and it will point you to your polling place.

• You’ll need to bring ID, even if you bring the voter card you received by mail. Acceptable ID includes a driver’s licence, health card, utility bill, bank statement, and more. See the full list here.

• Need accessibility assistance? Large-print ballots, magnifiers, braille ballot templates, and curbside voting are all options. Find out more about accessible voting here.

Live results: The city will post results after polls close at 8 pm. You’ll be able to find them at their website.

Five races to watch: Beyond the contest for mayor, there are a number of fascinating council races to keep an eye on tonight.

• Barrhaven East: The city’s new ward has seven newcomers vying for the seat, and neither of the incumbents from the neighbouring wards are running again. There’s no clear frontrunner, so anyone could win.

• Rideau-Vanier: The incumbent isn’t running for reelection, and there are 10 people vying for the seat. According to CTV, voter turnout in the ward was below the city-wide average.

• Osgoode: Incumbent Coun. George Darouze is facing his one-time mentor and the former councillor, Doug Thompson, according to the Ottawa Citizen. 

• Somerset: McKenney is running for mayor, and three candidates are running to take over their council seat. 

• College: Rick Chiarelli won’t run again after being suspended for sexual misconduct. There are five candidates, with two main challenges emerging: Laine Johnson and Pat McGarry. Johnson has plenty of progressive endorsement, while McGarry was endorsed by three former mayors, the Citizen reported.

Look back: A not-so-brief history of the tightest mayoral race in years [CBC]

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OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

💰 2: The number of new millionaires in Nepean, as two winning Maxmillion tickets were sold in the area. [CTV]

🚓 533: Police laid this many charges during the convoy occupation, the inquiry heard. [Ottawa Citizen]

POLICE

New chief named days before election

What happened: The Ottawa Police Services Board, led by outgoing Coun. Eli El-Chantiry, appointed Eric Stubbs as the new police chief.  Stubbs was an RCMP assistant commissioner posted to BC in charge of criminal operations. Stubbs has been with the Mounties since 1993, according to the board.

His last job: At the RCMP, Stubbs was in charge during the force’s violent suppression of the Wet'suwet'en protests against the Coastal Gas Link pipeline. When two journalists were arrested, he publicly said they hadn’t identified themselves as media. This was despite emails revealing Mounties knew the two were journalists, and were tracking them for some time, The Narwhal reported.

The issue: The appointment comes at a controversial time, made on the last business day before today’s election. Both mayoral candidates Catherine McKenney and Bob Chiarelli had asked the board to wait, to allow a new council to appoint a permanent chief. 

• In a statement, McKenney congratulated Stubbs on his appointment, but said, “It is inappropriate how this process has unfolded days before an election, during a national inquiry into the convoy occupation.”

Coun. Diane Deans criticized the appointment as a “double standard,” the Ottawa Citizen reported. Deans was ousted as police board chair at the height of the convoy when she attempted to hire a temporary police chief from outside the Ottawa Police Service, who would have been replaced after the election.

• Dig Deeper: Police politicization detrimental to democracy [Ottawa Citizen] 

EVENTS

What to do this week

🥖 Breaking Bread Breaking Stigma, Oct. 25: An annual fundraiser for Hopewell. Local chefs compete to create the city’s best sandwich judged by participants and a panel of judges. Tickets are $150.

🌊 Zostere, until Oct. 30: A free bilingual exhibition at 352 Maclaren St. about the fascinating underwater ecosystem of eelgrass.

🚜 Bushels of Fun on the Farm, Oct. 26-27: Fall fun at the Log Farm, 670 Cedarview Rd., a corn maze, wagon rides, scarecrows and more fun for the whole family, $12.

👩‍💻 Kanata Job Fair, Oct. 25: A virtual job fair for jobs and career opportunities from 11 am to 2 pm with more than 40 companies participating. Registration is free.

JOBS AROUND TOWN

Check out the new open positions in Ottawa.

1. Project analyst, consulting at Deloitte

2. Digital communications coordinator at the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees

3. Social media coordinator at the U.S. Embassy

4. Federal government account manager, at Cisco Systems

5. Senior advisor, operations reporting and analysis, at Canadian Air Transport Security Authority

QUICK HITS

🦺 Vanier’s Montreal Road was officially reopened after a years-long redevelopment. One police officer celebrated by parking their cruiser in the middle of the new separated bike lane during the reopening ceremony, Dylan Trebels tweeted. [CTV]

🏗 An executive at Claridge Homes said “we were wrong” about the decision not to remove ice from the construction site of the Claridge Icon. Falling ice at the site killed Olivier Bruneau in 2016. [CBC]

🚔 A “Fake Homecoming” in Kingston got out of hand, as thousands of partiers filled the streets of the university town. One person was injured falling off a roof, and multiple arrests were made. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚨 An eight year old was killed in an ATV crash just north of Bellville. A 45-year-old driver has been charged with impaired driving and dangerous driving causing death. [CTV]

The people have spoken: This is the Best of Ottawa 2022

Thousands of votes have been tabulated and the results are in: these are the choices for Best Restaurants , Shops + Services, Culture, Media, and Community in 2022.

Spoiler alert: Best wine list:  Beckta Dining & Wine; Best Local Beer: Sunsplit IPA – Dominion City Brewing Co.; Best Community Hero: Zexi Li 

Click here to read the rest.

Listen to interviews with Ottawa mayoral candidates

Did you know we have a podcast? It’s our little foray into the world of spoken word.

Don’t miss out on our election analysis to understand what the results mean for you and your family. Subscribe on your favourite podcast network:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Three Athens Aeros are doing okay, after a single-car crash involving three players forced a weekend game to be postponed. [CTV]

• Check out some of the best Japanese food in the city, including Orchid Sushi, which offers exceptional takeout. Be sure to try the rice paper wrapped shrimp salad roll.

• Athlético Ottawa are going to the Canadian Premier League finals after tying Pacific FC 1-1. They won 3-1 on aggregate, after winning their first match 2-0. [CTV]

• Part of the parking garage will be closed for a month at the Ottawa General Hospital as it undergoes renovations. [CityNews]

• Want to win 100 Kettleman’s bagels? Sign up and refer a friend to enter for your chance to win.

• The Sens won another home game, defeating the Coyotes 6-2. [The Canadian Press]

• Dressing up a pet for Halloween can be fun, but the Humane Society is warning owners to be careful because costumes can be stressful and even dangerous. [CityNews]

• Fill out this form to have you event or announcement featured in community highlights.

TOP PHOTO

Shana Allen sends in this photo of her pug, Tyson, enjoying a bit of sunshine.

Do you have photos of a good dog enjoying the city? A lovely sunset over Ottawa? Share it with us! We love publishing reader photos.

NEWS QUIZ

Congrats to everyone who got last week's Ottawa Wordle! The answer was BOARD.

The fall foliage season is coming to an end, and there is nowhere else quite like Gatineau Park to see the colours change. What year did officially it become a park?

The first five people to write in with the correct answer will get their names mentioned in the next issue.

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