The City’s list of certified candidates shows Donna Dickson’s nomination for Councillor in Ward 10 Gloucester-Southgate dated May 6, 2026, and shows no registration in the Contribution Rebate Program. The City’s open data file shows no school board nomination in her name for 2026, and she is not on the City’s list of withdrawn candidates. CBC News reported on July 11, 2026 that she joined the race days after nominations opened, that she lives in Orléans, and that she grew up in South Keys and has close family ties to the ward. CBC News also describes her as the founder of a non-profit for at-risk youth, started after her son was killed in a shooting, and her campaign website names it the Ashton Dickson Youth Empowerment Foundation.
The City’s published results for the October 24, 2022 election give her 6,907 of the 12,389 votes cast for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in Zone 8, which is 55.8 percent, in a race of three candidates. An Ottawa-Carleton District School Board document of November 14, 2023 lists her among the trustees appointed to the Special Education Advisory Committee, the Community Member Recognition committee, the Advisory Committee on Equity and the Indigenous Education Council. The board’s page says that since June 27, 2025 the board has been under supervision by the Minister of Education, and that all decisions normally made by trustees are made by the appointed Supervisor. CBC News reported that supervision suspended trustees’ meetings, honorarium payments and decision-making role. Her campaign website says she was also the board’s representative to the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority. voche.me did not find a board document that confirms that appointment.
CBC News reported on September 12, 2023 that in February 2023 she filed a complaint under the board’s code of conduct about text messages that fellow trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth sent her in November 2022 before a vote on masks in schools. A third-party investigator’s report found it unlikely that Kaplan-Myrth meant the offence Dickson took, and found that his apology two days later was sincere. The board also obtained a legal opinion that he broke the rules but should not be sanctioned because it was an error of judgment made in good faith. At a special meeting on September 11, 2023 a motion to find a breach of the code received 7 of the 8 votes it needed, so no breach was found. Dickson said she respected the decision and disagreed with it, and Kaplan-Myrth said she felt vindicated.
In the CBC News questionnaire she says her experience includes 55 years in Ottawa, her trustee work, running the youth non-profit, and her advocacy against gun violence since 2017. She names housing affordability as the biggest challenge, says a 2027 property tax increase should ideally be 1 percent, and calls for a freeze of police funding until performance improves. She gives no answer on how to cover OC Transpo deficits, and gives 4 on a scale where 5 is strongly agree to the statement that building more homes in built-up areas will be important for housing in the ward. She says the Ottawa Police Service has run a $25 million deficit in 2026 after more than $65 million in budget increases over three years. These are her figures, and voche.me has not checked them. CTV News Ottawa lists her with no response to its questionnaire.
Her campaign website says the City and the current councillor have completely failed Ward 10, and that Ottawa Police Service has lost the trust of residents. These are the campaign’s own opinions. The sources voche.me read hold no complaint or allegation against Dickson.
