Interior designer and neighbourhood watch coordinator, running for Councillor in Ward 1.
Barbara Daniela Gandolfo is on the City of Ottawa's list of certified candidates for Councillor in Ward 1 Orléans East-Cumberland, with a nomination dated May 1, 2026. CBC News describes her as an interior designer who worked in the education department at the Royal Ontario Museum. Her campaign says Ward 1 has received too little City investment and lists local buses, safer streets, climate resilience and open reporting on spending and votes as priorities. She is one of seven candidates, and the sitting Councillor, Matt Luloff, is another.
Researched by voche.me · Not a campaign-authored page
Barbara Daniela Gandolfo's campaign website says she was raised in Toronto, studied at OCAD University and taught in the education department of the Royal Ontario Museum for a decade. She moved to Ottawa in 2021 and lives in Fallingbrook. The site says she started an interior design consultancy, Design By BDG. CBC News describes her as an interior designer. The City's list shows her nomination dated May 1, 2026.
Her campaign website says she coordinates the Fallingbrook Neighbourhood Watch Program and serves on the East Ottawa Neighbourhood Watch Program Committee. The site also says that after she learned that a school her family is connected to had a long history of lead in its drinking water, she asked for and received carbon filters on the taps and more testing of water fountains through the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. That is the campaign's account, and voche.me has not found a board record of it. The campaign site says she received the Orléans Leading Women and Girls Recognition Award in 2024. The Ottawa Lookout reports the same award and an Orléans Volunteer of the Year title in 2024. voche.me has not checked either with the groups that give them.
Ontario municipal candidates have no party on the ballot. Gandolfo says she holds roles in Liberal Party associations. In the CTV News questionnaire she says she is Secretary of the Orléans Federal Liberal Association and a Director of the Orléans Provincial Liberal Association, was Policy Chair of the Orléans Federal Liberal Women's Club and President of the Orléans Provincial Liberal Women's Association, and was on the core campaign team for the 2025 federal and provincial Liberal re-election campaigns in Orléans. The Lookout reports that she says her motivation is local outcomes.
The Ottawa Citizen article of June 20, 2026, which her campaign republished on its site, reports that she spoke at a City meeting on June 2, 2026 about the future of R.J. Kennedy Community Centre and Arena in Cumberland Village. Her campaign site describes it as a delegation to the Finance and Corporate Services Committee. voche.me read the campaign's copy of the article and has not read the City's record of that meeting.
Gandolfo's campaign says she is running because Ward 1 has had too little investment during the eight years Matt Luloff has served on Council. The Orléans Star article, as copied on her campaign site, reports that she said so.
Summarized from the campaign’s published profile. These are stated positions, not an assessment of results or a complete platform.
Her campaign says the April 2025 bus network change took local bus lines out of Ward 1, and that she would work to restore short-distance, express and night routes.
She also says the east train extension is only one part of what Ward 1 needs.
In the CBC News questionnaire she chose a transit levy (a separate tax for transit) to cover OC Transpo deficits.
Her campaign calls for more police response and enforcement during the hours when speeding is highest, more neighbourhood watch programs and traffic calming.
Her page asks for permanent funding of the ANCHOR program (a City program for mental health and crisis calls) and for it to be offered across the city.
In the CBC News questionnaire she answered that the police budget should be increased.
Her campaign says Ward 1 gets a low return on the taxes it pays. She proposes more open reporting on large contracts and cost overruns, a Road Closure Coordination Committee to plan and announce road work, and an easy way for residents to see how each Councillor votes.
She says she would make her own voting record clear.
She gave CBC News no figure for a limit on the 2027 property tax increase and wrote that she would keep increases moderate.
Her campaign proposes more trees, with a goal of 40 percent tree cover by 2050, a plan to protect plants and animals, clear local rules for energy projects, and roads built for heat and heavy rain.
Barbara Daniela Gandolfo campaign · Climate ResilienceHer campaign proposes child care spaces in French and English in plans for new neighbourhoods, a freeze on OC Transpo fares, free transit for young people and more affordable recreation programs in both languages.
The page also lists a faster approval process for new local businesses, and snow plows with an extra arm that clears the end of driveways.
Evidence reviewed on October 6, 2026: the City's list of certified candidates for Ward 1, her campaign website, the CBC News and CTV News Ottawa candidate questionnaires, the Ottawa Lookout article of February 11, 2026, and campaign-site copies of an Orléans Star article and an Ottawa Citizen article.
Gaps. Her social media accounts could not be read. The City's record of her June 2, 2026 appearance was not read. The awards, the school water filters and her association roles are her own statements and were not checked with the bodies involved. The questionnaire has not been sent.
Her campaign website says she taught there for a decade before moving to Ottawa.
Barbara Daniela Gandolfo campaign · Meet BarbaraHer campaign website says she started Design By BDG after moving to Ottawa. CBC News describes her as an interior designer.
Barbara Daniela Gandolfo campaign · Meet BarbaraShe gave these roles in her CTV News questionnaire answers. The campaign site says she has served on both executive boards for the past three years.
CTV News Ottawa · Meet the candidates for councillor in Ward 1, Orléans East-Cumberland, September 14, 2026Her campaign website says she coordinates the program and serves on the East Ottawa Neighbourhood Watch Program Committee. The Ottawa Lookout reports the same.
Barbara Daniela Gandolfo campaign · Meet BarbaraProposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
No questions and answers have been supplied.
Ask Barbara Daniela Gandolfo directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
Facts voche.me can state about Barbara Daniela Gandolfo's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Barbara Daniela Gandolfo's own campaign.
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Barbara Daniela Gandolfo.
This profile lists 17 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Barbara Daniela Gandolfo in a future interview. They have not been sent yet, so the page says plainly that no answer has been supplied instead of leaving the section blank.
The 2026 Ottawa municipal election, including the Councillor race, is decided on October 26, 2026.
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