Kanata South could be one of Ottawa’s most interesting council races to watch

For nearly 16 years, Allan Hubley has been a familiar face around city hall. In fact, the Kanata South councillor—alongside Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney—is among the longest-serving representatives around the council table.

But this election, he could be fighting to keep his seat.

Hubley won the open race in 2010 with 48.8 per cent of the vote four years after coming in second place to one-term ward representative Peggy Feltmate. His popularity continued to soar, and he cruised to a second victory in 2014 with 84.7 per cent of the vote.

In subsequent elections, the numbers began falling; Hubley won re-election in 2018 with 45.5 per cent of the vote, defeating three challengers. By 2022, the incumbent secured victory with just 33.9 per cent of ballots cast. His closest challenger, Erin Coffin, received 3,611 votes, or 22.9 per cent. Rouba Fattal finished an incredibly close third, just five votes behind Coffin.

Four years later, Coffin is back for another attempt. She and Hubley are among four names on the ballot, alongside Sam Bhalesar and Megan Strazds-Esenbergs.

When the Lookout met with Hubley at a Kanata Tim Hortons in early October, he was feeling confident about his chances. Some residents stopped to talk with him while waiting in line. He knows many people through his community involvement, which stretches back decades before he entered politics. 

Hubley only ever planned to serve two terms, but encouragement from residents is what kept his name on the ballot. Whatever the outcome is next week, though, this is it for municipal politics. 

"I've got three young grandchildren… I want to have some time with them before they're gone off as teenagers," Hubley told the Lookout. "The way I looked at it was, if residents didn't want me to stay in the job, they wouldn't vote for me. But I keep getting re-elected."

Before stepping away from municipal politics, there are several files Hubley hopes to see through. One is the city's ongoing debate over waste incineration. 

With Ottawa facing difficult decisions about the future of its landfill capacity, Hubley believes that turning garbage into energy could provide a cleaner, more sustainable alternative to burying it.

He argues modern incineration technology could reduce environmental impacts while helping generate electricity, although the city has yet to settle on a long-term replacement for traditional landfilling.

Closer to home, Hubley believes his greatest accomplishment has been improving the infrastructure beneath residents' feet. 

Severe flooding in 2006 and 2009 left hundreds of homeowners dealing with damaged basements, destroyed belongings and uncertainty about whether their properties would flood again.

The July 2009 storm was especially devastating, affecting approximately 1,200 homes. It exposed serious shortcomings in stormwater infrastructure, particularly in the Glen Cairn neighbourhood.

Hubley said addressing those problems became one of his first priorities after being elected in 2010.

The city subsequently undertook an extensive flood mitigation program, completing more than 30 projects worth over $35 million by late 2016. The work included sewer upgrades and improvements designed to reduce the risk of flooding.

Hubley says investments have continued since then, putting the overall value of sewer and stormwater work in the ward at tens of millions of dollars more.

"When I first got elected, I had a lot of people that, if there was rain predicted overnight, they stayed up all night … to keep an eye on their basements," he said. "Well, now they don't do that anymore."

The investments were put to another test this summer when intense rainfall on July 1 caused widespread flooding across Ottawa.

An early city tally recorded thousands of flooding-related service requests, particularly in the west end. College Ward received approximately 2,500 reports, while neighbouring Bay Ward recorded more than 1,600. Kanata South, by comparison, recorded 76.

Hubley attributes that difference to the extensive infrastructure improvements completed over the past decade and a half. However, the number of service requests alone does not establish how much of the difference can be credited to those projects.

For the councillor, it is evidence that prioritizing less visible infrastructure can make a meaningful difference in residents' lives.

But challenger Coffin believes there is more to municipal leadership than pointing to past accomplishments.

A Bridlewood resident since 1990, Coffin said the four years since her first election campaign have strengthened her belief that Kanata South needs new representation.