Ottawa renters are about to save money

Good morning! 

I spent a brief minute downtown on Sunday, and it was great to see so many people out and about enjoying the ByWard Market or taking a walk down Rideau Street. I’m sure most were Ottawa residents who wanted to take in the sunshine on the first weekend where it felt fully bearable to be outside. 

But while it was sunny weather, it was a dark weekend for tragic events in the Capital. Two people are dead after a homicide and a femicide both occurred in Nepean. That now brings the total number of killings in Ottawa this year to 10. I visited both scenes and reported on what we know so far. 

Ottawa renters could soon notice some monthly savings — in fact, it could lead to saving a few hundred dollars a year on rent. Read below to find out why. 

A big thank you to those of you who have reached out to me to share how the Ottawa Carleton District School Board elementary program changes will impact your kids. I’ll be reaching out this week. For anyone who hasn’t already, feel free to email me and share your experience. The lookout will be doing a deep dive in a future newsletter. 

Let’s get to this week’s headlines.

— Charlie Senack, Ottawa Lookout managing editor

[email protected]

X: @Charlie_Senack

If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign up for free.

WEATHER

Monday: 7 🌡️ -3 | 🌧️ 

Tuesday: -2 🌡️ -8 | ❄️ (It should hopefully just be flurries)

Wednesday: 1 🌡️ -7 | 🌤️

OTTAWA NUMBERS

💰 $450,000: The amount of money Ottawa’s city manager Wendy Stephenson made last year. She was the highest-paid municipal servant, receiving an 11 per cent increase from the year before and a 50 per cent increase from 2022. [Ottawa Citizen]

💡 80,000: The number of Hydro One customers still without power on Sunday. The utility says crews replaced 50 poles and rebuilt a section of the power system after an last week’s ice storm. [CTV]

⛽️ 3 cents: The amount of money drivers saved on gas per litre on Saturday. Some stations were selling gas for $1.269 cents a litre. [CTV]

CITY

Get ready to pay less for rent if you live in a building built before 2001

Savings incoming: If you live in an older apartment building in Ottawa, get ready to save on rent. The city is planning to lower the property tax rate for multi-residential buildings built before 2001.

The reduction will take place over four years and will lower the Multi-Residential tax ratio from 1.4 to 1.0. It’s important to note properties built after 2002 are already at a ratio of 1.0. Currently, the tax for an older multi-residential building is 1.4 times the rate of a residential property.

The change is welcome news to Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard who last year asked city staff to explore the possibility of a proactive ratio reduction for the multi-residential ratio. 

• “It's about fairness at the end of the day because you've currently got different property tax rates for multi-residential versus residential,” Menard told the Lookout. “We know that renters continue to struggle in a high rent environment in Ottawa and we talk a lot about supply to reduce the costs of housing. Well, this is actually the most direct way you can reduce people's housing costs because it must be passed along by the owners of those properties to renters.”

The changes mean landlords cannot legally can't pocket the savings. 

By the numbers: By lowering the Multi-Residential tax ratio to 1.3 in 2025, a multi-residential property would experience a 7.4 per cent decrease or a 4.5 per cent decrease after the approved 2025 budgetary increase, says city staff. 

That would equate to a 0.89 per cent forced rent reduction in 2026. A person paying $2,000 per month in rent would see about $16 taken off their monthly costs — totalling about $192 in savings next year. 

• By lowering the tax ratio by 0.1 per cent, it would reduce property tax revenue for the city by $8.8 million. That would be offset by a 0.4 per cent tax increase for all other property tax classes. The city notes a “residential property assessed at $415,000 would experience a tax increase of $19 per year.”

The reason why the reduction is being done over four years is because if the city did it all at once, it would result in an immediate 1.6 per cent tax increase.  For a residential property of the sale value, it would result in a tax increase of $69 per year. 

• So what more can be done? “Obviously, incentivizing the creation of more multi-residential is important. There's some development charge changes that I've advocated for to be made that would make it more palatable or incentivize things like multi-residential to be built around the city and more so within the Greenbelt,” said Menard. 

Another positive impact: Ottawa is building a lot of rental units, but vacancy rates could start to increase in recent years, says the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporations. That’s because of government initiatives and a drop-off in immigration, reported CityNews. Ottawa’s vacancy rate could be around 2.9 per cent this year. 

But it’s still expensive: In January the average rent in Ottawa rose by $49 a month, wrote CTV. The average cost of an apartment in Ottawa that month was $2,214, up from $2,165 in December and $2,171 in November. 

But it all depends on the number of rooms and square footage. January 2025 numbers showed it cost $1,638 to rent a bachelor, $2,553 a month for a two-bedroom apartment and $2,618 for a three-bedroom apartment. The highest rental rates were in the suburb of Kanata where the average apartment rental was $2,646 a month. 

SPONSORED BY DEPLOY SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Building Climate Resilience with Software and Data: A Participant-Led Event

Ottawa's Deploy Software Solutions specializes in climate change software R&D. We are facilitating a free participant-led event in Ottawa at Carleton University on Friday May 23: "Building Climate Resilience with Software and Data".

It focuses on community building, knowledge sharing, and collaboration using software tools and data for climate adaptation, mitigation, and resilience scenarios.

The exact agenda of this event will be determined by its participants - including you!

Join us: https://fight.climatechange.ca/unconference

THE AGENDA

🚎 The driver involved in the Westboro bus crash has not responded to a legal summons to testify at an inquest related to the incident which killed three. Inquest counsel Peter Napier said Friday that it was his understanding Aissatou Diallo was “currently outside the jurisdiction.” The wife of Bruce Thomlinson, who died in the crash, said she wanted to hear from Diallo at the inquest. “I understand how difficult it would be for her to testify, but this accident isn’t only about her. It’s about the three people who were killed, the many people that were severely injured, and all the others that this bus crash has affected,” said Elaine Thomlinson. [Ottawa Citizen]

🇨🇦 Parliament Hill was on lockdown for much of the afternoon and evening on Saturday after a man barricaded himself in the East Block. A memo went out to those in the building stating: “Seek shelter in the nearest room. Close and lock all doors and hide.” The 31-year-old was arrested without incident several hours after the events began to unfold. Police said the man did not have explosives, weapons, or hazardous materials. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏏 Ottawa sports teams are cancelling U.S. tournaments over safety fears. That includes the Ottawa Carleton Ultimate Association (OCUA), which says their decision was made in part because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to only recognize two genders — male and female. “Travelling down to somewhere where you're not able to be who you are, and be able to display your identity, and declare that without fear is not something that we felt was a safe place for [the athletes] to be," said Teri-Lynne Belanger. [CBC]

🍁 About 100 opponents of Donald Trump and Elon Musk gathered on a cold, rainy spring day in Ottawa Saturday as part of global protests against the U.S. president. “Canadians, we’re known to be polite and say sorry all the time, but if you start to push, it becomes pretty clear that Canadians aren’t going to take this sort of thing lying down,” said dual citizen Jay Baltz. [CTV]

👮‍♂️ Police have charged Gilles Martel, 83, with second-degree murder in connection to a death in Clarence-Rockland. The victim, whose identity has not yet been released, died just before 3 pm on Friday near Lalonde Street. [CBC]

🚔 The Ottawa Police Service’s dive team is conducting a search of the Ottawa River after receiving reports of a man in the water Saturday evening. Ottawa firefighters and police were called to the area of Sir George Etienne Cartier Parkway and Sandridge Road at approximately 9:15 p.m. To date no one has been found and police say they aren’t connecting the incident to any missing persons cases in the city. [CTV]

JOBS

1. Data entry clerk at Robert Half 

2. Housekeeping attendant at City of Ottawa

3. Carpenter at Ottawa Carleton District School Board 

4. Executive director at Nelson House of Ottawa Carleton 

5. Patient food service attendant/server at Ottawa Hospital 

Local jobs are selected by the Lookout team and are not paid ads, unless specifically noted.

NEWS

Ottawa Police respond to two homicides over the weekend, marking five in a week

It’s been a busy week for law enforcement who have responded to five homicides in Ottawa since March 30. 

In Nepean: The latest incident occurred on the 300 Block of Craig Henry Drive where police responded to shots fired shortly after 9:30 a.m. Two victims were located and taken to hospital: A 20-year-old man succumbed to their injuries and was pronounced deceased, and a 21-year-old man had serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Nearby residents the Lookout spoke to said they heard the sounds of loud pops. Evidence markers were located outside the two-storey townhome and around the back of the parking lot. Investigators were on the scene speaking with neighbours and collecting evidence. 

• At the time of publication no suspect had been taken into custody. 

In a social media post, Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine said he would be speaking with police, and asked them to meet with the landlord Minto to discuss improvements “to increase safety and deter further criminal activity.”

And in Barrhaven: The night before, 61-year-old Brenda Rus was killed inside her Barrhaven home in what has been labelled a "femicide.” In a statement, police said the term is used when there is ”intentional killing of women and girls, 2 Spirit, trans women and gender non-conforming individuals because of their gender, overwhelmingly committed by men.”

The suspect has been identified as 61-year-old Robert Rus, who neighbours say was the victim's husband. Nearby residents told the Lookout they heard of domestic abuse occurring in the home.   

Dixie Mosseau, who lives nearby, told CTV the victim was a “wonderful lady.”

• “If she liked you, you were one of her tops. She’d call me, text me, talk to me anytime she was out for a walk, I loved her,” said Mosseau. 

A rise in crime: This is the third homicide to rock the suburb of Barrhaven this year. Police say none of the incidents are believed to be related.

GoFundMe started for Barrhaven victim 

Hours after Rus’s Barrhaven murder, a GoFundMe page was started by her sister Kathleen Farmer to raise money for funeral expenses. 

• “Brenda was a loving mother to her two boys and a devoted companion to her little dog, Bear, who rarely left her side. She had a warm, generous soul and a deep passion for cooking—always trying new recipes and bringing joy to others through her food. She was the kind of person who made everyone feel welcome and loved,” the GoFundMe read. 

At the time of publication, $1,660 of the $14,000 goal had been raised. Anyone who would like to donate can do so here. 

Ottawa homicides not on the rise, say experts 

Residents across the city are unsurprisingly on edge after a week of violence in all corners of Ottawa, but Ottawa Police say there is no reason to fear public safety. The cases were also all unrelated. 

• “We share the community’s concerns about the level of violence in our city,” Ottawa police said in a statement Friday, according to CTV. “Our officers continue to work around the clock to ensure public safety, prevent further violence, and support those affected. We know that enforcement alone is not enough, which is why we are committed to working with community partners to address the root causes of violence and build long-term solutions.”

Last year was a record one for homicides in Ottawa. A total of 25 people were killed in 20 different incidents. 

A week of killings: Other incidents in the last week included 63-year-old Paul Scott Landymore, who was killed at his Primrose Avenue home near Chinatown on March 30. By that time last year, only two homicides in the city had occurred — though one was the mass killing in Barrhaven which resulted in six lives lost. 

Then on Tuesday, Renée Descary, 51, was killed in Lowertown. Her death was also considered a femicide. Police charged 24-year-old Oliver Denia with second-degree murder. Acting chief Steve Bell said they had no information to suggest the victim and accuser knew each other, reported CBC.

On Friday morning, 42-year-old Trevor Needham was killed with an edged weapon in the home he’d been staying at for a few days. Police later charged 38-year-old Jeremy Joseph Young with second-degree murder and attempted murder. 

• To date, 10 homicides have occurred in Ottawa this year. 

Anyone with information on any of the homicides are asked to call the Homicide Unit at 613-236-1222, extension 5493, or leave a tip anonymously at crimestoppers.ca.

EVENTS

Outaouais Film Festival | Various locations, Gatineau | Apr. 3-11 | Tickets various prices

Dueling Pianos | Various locations, Ottawa | Aug. 7 & 26 | Free

Taste of Little Italy Ottawa | Preston Event Centre, 523 St. Anthony Street | Apr. 8, 6:00 pm | Tickets $75

Meldville Wines Wine & Food Pairing Dinner | Petit Bill's Bistro, 1293 Wellington Street | Apr. 9, 6:00 pm | Tickets $120

Ottawa Rock N' Gem Show | EY Centre, 4899 Uplands Drive | Apr. 10-13 | Tickets $3

Boogát | National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin St | April 11 | Tickets are $20

Ottawa Cottage Life & Backyard Show | EY Centre, 4899 Uplands Dr | April 11-13 | Get tickets here

Ottawa Record Fair | Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper St, 10 am | April 12 | Tickets are $5-$10

Ugadi Cultural Festival | Earl Of March Secondary School, 4 The Parkway, Ottawa | Apr. 12, 3:30 pm | Tickets from $27

Eid Art Workshop: A Celebration of Colour & Creativity | Café Safi, 101 Champagne Avenue South | Apr. 13, 10:00 am | Tickets $87

Traditional Irish Music Workshops | Saint Brigid's Centre for the Arts, 310 Saint Patrick Street | Apr. 12, 10:00 am | Tickets $28

Lisa B. Band at LIVE! on Elgin | 220 Elgin St | April 13 | Tickets are $20

Want to see your event here? You can purchase them through our self-service portal here.

COMMENT CORNER

Every week we feature comments and insights from our community on stories from the previous week, and the occasional comment from our team here at the Lookout. Here’s what you all had to say:

GOOD NEWS MONDAY

It’s not every day — or any day, really — that the average person gets to deliver a baby, perform laparoscopic suturing and advanced airway intubation, and revive a stranger in cardiac arrest through a series of chest compressions. Yet, a group of emerging leaders found themselves in these very scenarios during a memorable evening Wednesday at the Skills and Simulation Centre, located on the grounds of The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus.

Caroline in the Capital has all the latest details.

OTTAWA QUIZ

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Grassroots Music Festival is coming to First Unitarian Church. [Kitchissippi Times]

• A group of friends walked from the future Senators arena site at LeBreton Flats to the current arena in Kanata to raise money for charity. [CTV]

• Atlético Ottawa kicked off their 2025 Canadian Premier League season on Saturday at TD Place. [CTV]

• The Salvation Army in Gananoque is closing after 100 years. [CTV]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.