Premier Doug Ford says he will still “support the people of Ottawa” after the Progressive Conservative Party won only one seat in Ottawa in the 44th general election but notes Canada’s capital will only have one voice at the caucus table.
Progressive Conservative candidate George Darouze won the riding of Carleton in last Thursday’s election, while Liberal Party candidate Tyler Watt flipped the riding of Nepean from the PC Party following the retirement of longtime MPP Lisa MacLeod.
In an interview on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll, Ford admitted the results in Ottawa were “not what we hoped for.”
“We’ve given more love to Ottawa, and I love the people there,” Ford said. “Every trip I go there, I have an incredible time. We gave more love than any jurisdiction in all of Ontario.”
Ottawa voters elected five Liberals, two New Democrats and one Progressive Conservative MPP in last Thursday’s election.
Ford says the results mean Ottawa residents only have one voice in the Progressive Conservative caucus for the next four years.
“The people decided to go with another party, that’s what happens,” Ford said Wednesday morning.
“I always say, you have 80 people jumping up and down for the area. You have one great guy; George Darouze, he’s fabulous. But you’re the second-largest city and when you don’t have a voice at the table, it’s unfortunate. I’m proud that we have done more for Ottawa than any other government, including Premier McGuinty that lived there. It is what it is, I’m still going to support the people of Ottawa - I love them.”
During the Ontario election campaign, Ford promised a re-elected Progressive Conservative government would upload Ottawa’s light-rail transit system to the province, with Metrolinx taking over the system. Under the proposed plan, OC Transpo would still operate the LRT system.
The new Ontario-Ottawa deal announced in March 2024 also included plans to upload Highway 174 to the province and Ontario building a new highway interchange on Highway 416 at Barnsdale Road.
Last April, the Ontario government opened a new “regional office” in Ottawa to “support greater engagement” between the city and the province. The office is located in Constitution Square on Albert Street in downtown Ottawa.
Last week, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe called the results of the Ontario election “good news” for the city.
“I think it’s good news for Ottawa in the sense that we have strong local representatives, and, in addition to that, Premier (Doug) Ford promised during the election campaign to upload our light rail system to the provincial government, which I think is a game changer for the City of Ottawa,” Sutcliffe told CTV Morning Live last Friday.
“It’s a huge opportunity for us to really make progress in public transit in this city. It will be a game changer financially, it will have a huge impact on our budget, and it will also mean that we’ll be able to deliver better and more reliable transit going forward.”
The City of Ottawa has not had a cabinet minister in the PC Government since the resignation of Carleton MPP Merrilee Fullerton in 2023.
