Ottawa voters have given Mark Sutcliffe another four-year term as mayor of Canada’s capital. CTV News Ottawa declared Sutcliffe re-elected as mayor of Ottawa at 8:58 p.m. As of 10:20 p.m., Sutcliffe had received 44.6 per cent of the vote. “It’s another beautiful night in Ottawa,” Sutcliffe told supporters. “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 keep it moving forward. Whether you live in urban Ottawa, in our suburban communities or our rural villages, you chose to support a plan to build an even better city for our children and grandchildren.” The 58-year-old Sutcliffe defeated 13 candidates to win re-election as mayor of Ottawa. Jeff Leiper finished second with 33.9 per cent of the vote. Prime Minister Mark Carney shared a congratulations message to Sutcliffe on X shortly after the results were announced. “We’ve accomplished a lot together and now we have the opportunity to build on it,” Carney said. “That means getting more affordable homes built across the city. Making our communities safer for families. Giving the people of Nepean, and all of Ottawa, the chance to build the future they want for themselves. I look forward to the work ahead and the progress we’ll make together.” Sutcliffe thanked Leiper, Alex Lawson and Neil Saravanamuttoo for “caring about our community.” “I want to recognize Jeff Leiper, in particular, for serving our community on City Council for the past 12 years,” Sutcliffe said. “During this past term of council, I’ve enjoyed working with Jeff. I just spoke with him on the phone, and I told him that. And I appreciate and respect the ideas and the efforts that he brought to this election campaign.” Sutcliffe told supporters that while Ottawa has “our challenges,” he added, “We have the best people. We are a kind and generous community. We are a welcoming place, and we are going to make sure that Ottawa continues to be special.” “I heard your concerns about public transit, about public safety, about affordable housing, about building a better city for everyone. And I promise you, I will work hard every day to live up to all of your expectations,” Sutcliffe said. “You can count on me to be a mayor for all of Ottawa. You can count on me to do everything I can to protect affordability for Ottawa residents. You can count on me to strengthen our local economy. You can count on me to invest in infrastructure and improve our quality of life. And you can count on me to fight for Ottawa’s fair share from other levels of government.” Sutcliffe campaigned on promises of “keeping life affordable,” improving transit and infrastructure and addressing public safety. His campaign called Sutcliffe’s 70-page platform a “comprehensive plan to build a stronger, more affordable future for Ottawa.” His promises included capping property taxes at 2 to 2.5 per cent in the first two years of the new mandate, freezing recreation fees for families and seniors and freezing new-housing costs imposed by the City of Ottawa to help keep the cost of building new homes under control. Sutcliffe’s platform included reducing the price of a monthly transit pass to $95 a month from $138.50 a month, using funding from the proposed upload of the O-Train to Metrolinx. The City of Ottawa and the Ontario government have not finalized an agreement to upload the O-Train to the province. During the campaign, Sutcliffe also outlined a $10 billion infrastructure plan to repair and expand roads, fill potholes and invest $500 million in flood prevention and climate-resilient infrastructure. Last Thursday, Sutcliffe unveiled his 10 key priorities for the first 30 days in office, including directing staff to draft the 2027 budget with a 2 and 2.5 per cent property tax hike and “hold the first meeting of the expanded program review process” to find $250 million in savings. The mayor says he will also activate the Emergency Coordination Centre to “strengthen coordination” among city departments and community partners to respond to addictions and mental health challenges facing Ottawa.
