The wins and losses of the Ottawa municipal election

When results from polls started rolling in shortly after 8:00 p.m. Monday, it became clear quickly that Mark Sutcliffe was on track for a second election victory. 

The numbers from advance voting, which were counted first, showed strong support for the incumbent. Those trends continued through the night, and in the end, it wasn’t a close race at all. 

Sutcliffe won with about 46.5 per cent of the vote, a small decrease from the 51 per cent he took back in 2022. Outgoing Kitchissippi Ward Coun. Jeff Leiper — who was always seen as his main challenger — took 33.9 per cent, or about 33,535 fewer votes. Economist Neil Saravanamuttoo earned 11 per cent of the votes, with homebuilder Alex Lawson getting 7.5 per cent. The results were similar to those suggested by recent polls. 

In many ways, the race was similar to 2022 when Catherine McKenney, the left-leaning candidate who was also a current city councillor from an urban ward, came in second place to Sutcliffe with 37.8 per cent of the vote. One difference this time, however, is that voter turnout was the lowest it’s been since 2003. 

The City of Ottawa says 36 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballot, totalling 314,393 people out of an eligible group of 868,248. In 2022, voter turnout was 43.7 per cent. 

At the Hometown Sports Bar and Grill on Bank Street in Alta Vista Ward, Sutcliffe slid into his victory with a packed room of supporters. There were cheers and chants of excitement as he entered the packed, standing-room-only crowd. 

“Across our city, residents came together and voted on the future of Ottawa and our message resonated with voters, our message to continue to build our city and to keep it moving forward,” said Sutcliffe. “Whether you live in urban Ottawa, our suburban communities, or our rural villages, you chose to support a plan to build an even better city for our children and grandchildren.” 

During Sutcliffe’s campaign, there were many commitments made, including ending youth homelessness by 2030, hiring more first responders, and capping tax increases between two and 2.25 per cent in the next few years. There is also a promise to lower monthly transit fares to $95 a month — a savings of over $100 a year for the average transit rider. It would eventually be paid for through the provincial light rail upload. Sutcliffe said he plans to implement the change before then, though it’s unclear how he plans to pay for it. 

The mood at Jeff Leiper’s Campaign Party, held at Beyond the Pale in Wellington on West, wasn't as vibrant. There was a feeling of sadness from a campaign that thought they could pull through with a more progressive win. 

Four years ago, Leiper announced he wasn’t planning to seek a fourth term as Kitchissippi Ward councillor and planned to have a life outside of municipal politics. But his thinking began to change about halfway through the last term, when public transit began to spiral downward. 

While a large part of Leiper’s mayoral platform, it wasn’t enough to win over voters. He also faced scrutiny for not providing a figure on how much he would have raised taxes, though he did commit to a one per cent yearly infrastructure levy. 

Speaking to a room of supporters on Monday, a defeated Leiper also remained optimistic for a better Ottawa. 

“This isn’t the outcome that we worked so hard for, but I wanted to start by saying thank you,” said Leiper. 

“The issues that brought us together have not gone away. I ran for mayor because I believe the city can do better. I believe there we do have a responsibility to stand up for people who are struggling, to ask more of our institutions, and to make sure city hall works for the people it serves.” 

In his speech, Leiper was quick to send his best wishes to Sutcliffe and Lawson, but notably missing was any mention of Saravanamuttoo — the other left-leaning candidate who perhaps took away some votes from Leiper's campaign. But even if the economist hadn’t run and all those votes instead had gone to the outgoing Kitchissippi councillor, it still wouldn’t have been enough to beat Sutcliffe.   

While there were no major surprises at the mayoral level, there was a major upset in Kanata South, where one of the city’s longest-serving councillors was voted out by residents.

Erin Coffin won the ward with 49.6 per cent of the vote, well ahead of the 33.1 per cent received by four-term incumbent Allan Hubley. Sam Bhalesar took 9.7 per cent, with another 7.4 per cent going to Megan Strazds-Esenbergs. 

In some ways, though, the results weren’t that surprising.

Coffin also ran in 2022, finishing second with 22.9 per cent of the vote. That year, Hubley won with 33.8 per cent. His support had been declining in each election since winning 84.6 per cent of the vote in 2014, dropping to 45.3 per cent in 2018.

At Gabriel Pizza on Stonehaven Drive in Kanata, excitement ran high as Coffin and her supporters celebrated the victory.

“I am overwhelmed, but really honoured,” Coffin said in an interview following the results.

“I don’t think I was surprised, but I am pleased, because it’s always, like, you can hope for the best, and you can say, like, all the numbers are in your favour, but until you actually have a result, you don’t know.”

Coffin said one of the biggest lessons she learned from her unsuccessful 2022 campaign was the importance of spending more time connecting directly with residents.

“We’ve reached 15,000 out of nearly 20,000 homes. In some cases, we got there twice. For the folks that I didn’t get to, I’m sorry, we’ll get there,” she said.

After 16 years of Hubley representing Kanata South, Coffin said she heard a growing desire for change while knocking on doors throughout the campaign.

“A lot of people appreciated Allan. They liked Allan. They’ve always voted for him, but they thought it was time,” she said. “And, you know, like, and that’s okay. I mean, time for change, it’s time for change, and it’s not a bad thing.”

Looking ahead, Coffin said she wants to build on that work while giving residents a greater role in shaping decisions that affect their neighbourhoods.

Infrastructure, transit, traffic and community safety were among the other issues Coffin said residents raised throughout the campaign. She acknowledged that addressing those concerns would be challenging, particularly as Ottawa faces growing infrastructure demands.

In Kitchissippi Ward, loud cheers echoed through the Newport Restaurant in Westboro as it was announced that Joanne Chianello would be heading to the city council. She replaces Jeff Leiper, who didn’t seek re-election to his council seat after three terms, instead deciding to run for mayor.

Chianello entered the race with considerable name recognition, having become a familiar voice in municipal politics through her years covering city hall for the Ottawa Citizen and CBC News.

Chianello won with 65.2 per cent of the vote, with Subhir Uppal finishing second at 16.4 per cent, Brian Innes third at 16.1 per cent, and Xavier Commerford fourth with 2.2 per cent.

Standing on a chair in the packed restaurant, where Moe’s famous Newport pizza was being served, Chianello thanked the crowd of supporters who had helped carry her to victory.

“Oh, my gosh. This is amazing. Thank you all so much,” she said. “I have to say that I am feeling a lot of things right now. Obviously, extremely excited, relieved. Also, it's just the weight of responsibility of this job.”

The campaign had been a long one for Chianello and her volunteers, who began knocking on doors in February, months before most residents were thinking about the municipal election.

Much of her victory speech was dedicated to thanking the volunteers, friends and family members who supported her throughout the campaign. She became emotional at times as she reflected on the relationships formed over the past several months.

Chianello also paid tribute to her parents, Mario and Rita, who travelled from Toronto for election night. She reflected on their decision to immigrate from Calabria, Italy, and the opportunities they created for their children.

“I can hardly imagine or believe the trust that the people of Kitchissippi put in me, and I take that so seriously,” she said. “I will strive every day to work to deserve it, to work with the people of our community, I hear them, I like them a lot, and I want to work with all of them, even the ones who didn’t vote for me.”

The third new face around the council table came in Stittsville Ward, where two-term incumbent Glen Gower decided to bow out of municipal politics, saying eight years was enough.

An open race attracted considerable interest, with nine candidates putting their names forward. In the end, victory went to Chelsea Walton, who had received an endorsement from the outgoing Gower.

Despite a crowded ballot, Walton secured 43.7 per cent of the vote. Her closest challenger was Theresa Qadri, wife of former Stittsville Coun. Shad Qadri, who finished second with 14.8 per cent. Kevin Hua, known in local NDP circles, came third with 13.7 per cent. The six other candidates received between 1.3 and 9.8 per cent of the vote.

At the Main Street Pub in the heart of Stittsville Village, Walton celebrated with supporters as the results came in, securing a decisive victory in her first municipal election campaign.

“I am overwhelmed with excitement. It’s been a pretty incredible night,” Walton told the Lookout. “We had all kinds of supporters out, and I’m shocked by the numbers, but ready to get to work.”

Walton, whose career began in social work — and also worked for College Ward Coun. Laine Johnson — said her decision to enter municipal politics came from a desire to make a difference in the community she calls home.

“Well, I love Stittsville. It’s an amazing community,” she said. “My career started in social work, and it’s always kind of challenged me to look at government policies and programs and what’s working and where we can do better.”

“I love local government. I always think there’s an opportunity to make meaningful change at that level, and I want to put my experience to work for Stittsville.”

Walton said she wants to advance key transportation projects, improve transit reliability and expand access to health care, recreation and social services. She pointed to the challenges residents face commuting to work, and students travelling to 

With the three new council members being women, it has tipped the political pendulum of who runs the city of Ottawa. Now, roughly 60 per cent of city councillors will be female. 

Elsewhere in Ottawa, there were no big surprises. Each incumbent, besides Hubley, was elected back to the city council, most with significant margins. 

The biggest vote of confidence came for Laine Johnson, who took a straight 92 per cent of the vote. She had only one other challenger, Malloum Abakar, who submitted his nomination papers on the final day before registration closed. 

Wards some assumed were close races weren’t close at all. Sean Devine in Knoxdale-Merivale, as an example, took 59.1 per cent of the vote. His main challenger, Anna Ielo-Tal, took 29.5 per cent.

In Orlèans-South Navan, where incumbent Matthew Luloff won a third term, he took it with 36.4 per cent of the vote. His main challenger, Bob Bell, gave a good run for his money, taking 24.7 per cent. Barbara Daniela Gandolfo took 14.8 per cent.

In West Carleton-March, where an opponent was being endorsed by a former city councillor and current MP, the incumbent Clarke Kelly was able to secure 60.2 per cent and Christine Harrison took 35.6 per cent.

And Tim Tierney, Ottawa’s longest serving city councillor with five elections under his belt, won with a comfortable 63.1 per cent of the vote. Former OCDSB Trustee Cathryne Milburn picked up an impressive 32.7 per cent of the vote

You can see a full list of the unofficial results here.