Meet the candidates who are running against the party leaders from Ottawa

It’s almost certain that whoever the next Prime Minister of Canada is, they will hold a seat in Ottawa. 

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre is the longtime incumbent in the rural riding of Carleton and Liberal Party leader Mark Carney is running in the riding of Nepean.  

The last time a prime minister was from the Capital was Sir John A. MacDonald, who was the MP for Carleton between 1882 and 1887. 

Ottawa is a safe town for the Liberals. They currently hold seven seats here with the Conservatives having just one. 

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said having a Prime Minister who represents a riding here could be a game changer for getting things done: When re-election time rolls around, they would need to prove they’ve accomplished something for their constituents. But there are some pitfalls, too. 

“We are the place where all the members of Parliament gather on a regular basis. It was interesting with the previous prime minister, Justin Trudeau. When he would go to Vancouver for a visit, he could typically see the local mayor. But he worked and lived in Ottawa, so he was never visiting,” Sutcliffe told the Ottawa Business Journal. “It is an interesting dynamic, that we’re close, but (Ottawa is) never part of the same structured outreach by the federal government.”

Seat projections on 338 Canada indicate a safe win in Ottawa ridings for the two main party leaders. But candidates from other parties are also eyeing the seats and are showing the results could come closer than some thought. The Ottawa Lookout sat down with them to learn more about why voters should choose them instead. 

Barbara Bal hopes to turn Nepean blue 

It's hard work going up against an incumbent, but even harder going up against the Prime Minister of Canada. Even so, Nepean Conservative candidate Barbara Bal said she’s in this federal election race to win it. 

The riding of Nepean has deep Blue Conservative roots but went Liberal in 2015 when Chandra Arya won the seat. He was planning to run again, but was ousted just weeks ago over a 2019 trip to India. Carney, whose actual home is in Rockcliffe Park, lives far away from the suburban riding he wants to represent. 

 Bal moved to Barrhaven in 2001, started a family here, and has worked in law enforcement for 28 years. 

“I love Nepean because it's still a small community, but a very self-sufficient community,” Bal told the Ottawa Lookout. “I’ve got connections everywhere here because of my kids' sports teams. I've always volunteered in some kind of capacity, whether as a manager or a treasurer, or at my kids' school. I've been on the parent council at so many local schools. My daughter started at Barrhaven Public.”

While on a federal level this election has been about the threat of tariffs imposed by the U.S., Bal said the main issue at the doors has been safety. Barrhaven has been home to record-breaking car thefts. Just weeks ago, a Shoppers Drug Mart beauty department was robbed while the store was open. 

As a police officer Bal said she’s seen these issues first-hand. She was inspired to run after watching a video released by Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre in November 2022 where he said the system was broken. 

“The biggest thing for me was the drug crisis. It's all of society that's affected by these overdoses. I feel that this current government's response to that is, we're going to give you more free drugs. That makes no sense to me,” said Bal. “When Pierre came out with his platform saying, treatment or rehabilitation to bring our loved ones home drug free, that meant a lot to me.” 

Another concern impacting Nepean residents, says Bal, is inflation. 

“The cumulative effect is eight per cent. Pensions have gone down eight per cent. So everyone's actually making eight per cent less, but food is going up 30 per cent. Everyone is having to make do with less,” said Bal. “I was an 80s child; the ‘freedom 55’ from back then was your life was ahead of you and you could travel. People are no longer able to do this. Everyone's a little bit in crisis mode.”  

Bal referenced a senior citizen she met at the door whose husband had Alzheimer’s and had to be put in a home. They sold their house for $800,000, but will be without any money in seven years due to nursing home costs, rent, and other monthly expenses. 

On a local level, Bal would like to see improvements made to the future Barrhaven Downtown Civic Centre Complex proposal. While doorknocking, she’s heard the need for a job creation centre to be built in the community. 

“I hear a lot from both long-term residents of Nepean and new immigrants that are coming here, they find it very difficult to navigate the Canadian system on how to start a business,” said Bal. “I would love to have a place where if an entrepreneur has an idea for a business, they can go in and all the resources are there to set it up. It will save months of time trying to navigate the system and also get people to work sooner so that they're creating income, and able to provide for their family while also contributing to the Canadian economy. “

Bal said she would also like to add subsidized $10 a day daycare to the site. The Conservative Party candidate says only 67 Nepean families currently benefit from the program. 

Liberal candidate Carney has stopped in Nepean on various occasions. Without much fanfare, he opened his campaign office in late March and has posted some photos to social media door-knocking in the riding. He also attended a private Eid al-Fitr gathering at a home in Half Moon Bay, and took part in seva at the Ottawa Sikh Society. Over the weekend Carney also held his first Ottawa rally outside the Lusitania Portuguese Club Of Ottawa near Slack Rd. 

There are five names on the ballots this election for Nepean. Others include: NDP candidate Shyam Shukla who did not respond to our request for an interview, Green Party candidate Greg Hopkins, and People’s Party of Canada candidate Eric Fleury. 

The Liberals are giving a competitive race to Poilievre in Carleton 

It’s a known fact these days that the riding of Carleton almost always votes Conservative. 

Party leader Pierre Poilievre has held the traditionally blue territory since winning it in 2014 at the age of 25. But before then, Liberal David Pratt held the seat since 1997. 

Now, Bruce Fanjoy is hoping to paint the rural area of rich farmland red again. He knows it will be a difficult task; not only is he going up against a party leader, but someone who’s running in his eighth election. 

In two and a half years, Fanjoy has knocked on over 15,000 doors. And during that time he’s heard a variety of concerns from hopeful constituents. 

“Carleton has been under-represented for over 20 years by Pierre Poilievre. He's been absent; he’s accomplished nothing,” Fanjoy told the Lookout.  “We also have a lot of people who would be affected negatively by Mr. Poilievre gaining power. He's brought American-style politics to Canada. People are tired of that. My approach is much more active, much more positive, where he sees nothing but problems.”

On multiple occasions, Poilievre has said “Canada is broken.” Fanjoy said that’s not the case, but is concerned about the threat of U.S. tariffs.  

“Today I was visiting a business in Carleton. They are a company that has integrated North American operations, lots of parts for servicing heavy equipment that have come from the US. That’s a hair issue for them,” he said. 

“The Liberal government under Mark Carney is fighting back against these unjustified tariffs. We need to support our industries, businesses and jobs that provide for workers who support their families,” Fanjoy added. “Pierre Poilievre is a career politician who's never dealt with a crisis in his life. He's completely ill-equipped to deal with something of this scale. Whereas Mark Carney has been dealing with big complicated crises throughout his career.“

What’s also appalling to Carleton voters, says Fanjoy, was Poilievre’s support of the so-called “Freedom” trucker convoy, which took over downtown Ottawa streets. The Conservative Party leader was seen bringing them coffee and donuts. 

Even former Government Leader of the Senate Marjory LeBreton — a Carleton resident — condemned Poilievre’s support of the truckers and said she was “very worried” about the party’s future. Her advice was to run a kinder campaign. 

“The idea of accusing people of lying and crooks, this is not the debate we should be having,” LeBreton stated in a 2022 interview with the Manotick Messenger. “We should be having a debate about who we are, what we stand for, and what we would do if we were to form a government. Canadians are not adverse to voting for Conservatives. Eight of the 10 provinces have Conservative-leaning governments.”

Fanjoy said he’s heard from a number of typically Conservative voters who said they’d be voting Liberal this time around. One said it was strictly so the party would need to do a leadership review to rebuild. 

“They said that they didn't recognize their party anymore. The convoy occupation happened in Ottawa and then convoys around Canada happened. Within weeks, Trump incited the same nonsense in Washington. To see our MP encouraging that nonsense here in the National Capital of Canada was disgraceful. Jean Charest made the point that it should be disqualifying and I agree with him.” 

The Lookout asked Fanjoy for a Carleton-oriented platform but kept redirecting the question back to tariffs. He did say affordability continues to be a concern and that the Liberals would implement a tax cut, more free childcare, and the Canadian Dental Plan which is already set to be expanded. 

Carleton has a whopping 91 candidates running in the riding. As a result, the ballot had to be adapted and is 97.03 centimetres long. Eighty-five of the candidates are part of the “Longest Ballot Committee”, which is pushing for electoral reform. While a traditional ballot box can hold 1,000 ballots, it’s expected only 100 ballots will fit because of the large size.

While polls show Poilievre winning an eighth mandate in Carleton, projections are showing growing support for the Liberals. The incumbent Conservative is projected to get 50 per cent of the vote, with Fanjoy coming in second with 41 per cent. Before Carney was elected leader, Poilievre was closer to 58 per cent. 338 Canada projections have shifted from Poilievre with a 100 per cent chance of winning the riding to 91 per cent. 

The Lookout is still hoping to interview both Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney before the end of the election.