What it will take for the Lansdowne 2.0 vote to pass or fail

This fall city council is set to vote on one of the biggest files since light rail. After years of debate and opposition, a final vote will be made on whether or not to fund Lansdowne 2.0. 

At this point, there is no clear date, but it was originally expected to be sometime in October. Now insiders say the decision could be pushed to November because of its complexity and moving pieces. Regardless, a whole round of information will need to be released first, including updated costs, which almost certainly will be higher than the $419 million initially proposed. Last July, Ottawa’s Auditor General even said it could soar closer to half a billion dollars.  

The highly controversial project needs 12 votes to pass. In 2024, when it was last debated at council, there were 16 votes in favour. That means only four city councillors who voted yes last time need to change their vote for Lansdowne 2.0 to fail.

The Lookout has privately spoken with several councillors who said they are considering changing their votes to no, but their reasons for the reversal vary. Some said they only voted yes last time so they could learn more about the project, but that no compelling arguments have been made as to why this is a good idea. 

One city councillor has indicated they are considering a no vote because they are frustrated with the mayor's lack of support for their ward. Another councillor expressed similar concerns and said it all comes down to how their communities would benefit from the 2026 budget, which again needs to be stretched due to a lack of funds. One suburban councillor has indicated they plan to vote no because the money could be spent on better projects. 

Osgoode Ward Coun. Isabelle Skalski has also previously indicated she plans to vote no, whereas former councillor George Darouze was supportive before he was elected MPP. Though the way Skalski talks about Lansdowne has changed, she told the Lookout she was looking forward to a “wholesome briefing.”

One suburban councillor unlikely to change their yes vote is Kanata North Coun. Cathy Curry. She has an entire page on her website that “helps to give factual information of Lansdowne while busting “the many myths that we are hearing.”

Neil Saravanamuttoo, executive director of CitySHAPES and co-host of the Better Ottawa podcast with Joanne Chianello and Jon Willing, has released his own article where he debunks the debunk. He writes that while Curry paints Lansdowne’s financial numbers with great certainty, there is a lot we don't currently know about the costs and future profits. 

There was some speculation that the vote could be delayed if Mayor Mark Sutcliffe did not think he had the votes to secure the deal. While it’s unclear if he does, Sutcliffe recently shared in his newsletter what he considers the economic benefits to Lansdowne 2.0. 

• Sutcliffe recently spoke with the Lookout and shared his reasons for why a new arena and north-side stands are needed. 

The project could also fail if suburban representatives no longer believe in the project. When council last voted on the issue in November 2023, all councillors who voted against came from central wards in the city, with the yes votes primarily coming from communities like Barrhaven, Kanata, the east end, and rural neighborhoods. 

With only one year to go before the next municipal election, Sutcliffe is betting on Lansdowne 2.0 being passed. How this vote goes could also shift the election next fall. 

Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper, who has indicated he’s planning to run for mayor, has been one of the most vocal critics against the project. He has concerns over the funding model and the number of seats that would be lost in the hockey arena where the Ottawa Charge Women’s hockey team has recently seen sold out crowds. 

“I attend most PWHL games at the arena at TD Place. I see how packed that arena can get. And I see the potential that, as the PWHL gains traction, at some point we would regret reducing the size of that arena by a couple of thousand people,” he told the Kitchissippi Times.

“There is also the question of the financing for the deal. We were assured in Lansdowne 1.0 that the financing would work out a certain way, and that there would be dividends for the city, for its contribution of the facilities into that partnership. We’ve seen that those haven’t been borne out.”