The City's list of certified candidates shows Neil Saravanamuttoo's nomination for Mayor dated May 1, 2026. CBC News reported that day that he filed his papers after saying earlier that he would run only if 1,000 people signed up to support him, and that he says he passed that number. CBC News describes him as an economist who worked on Catherine McKenney's 2022 mayoral campaign and helped lead the opposition to the latest Lansdowne Park redevelopment. No public office is on record for him in the sources opened, so no recorded vote is attributed to him.
In a post of March 6, 2026 he wrote that he is a public finance professional who spent nearly twenty years at the Department of Finance Canada, then served as chief economist at the G20's Global Infrastructure Hub. He says he studied at Carleton University and the London School of Economics. His campaign website says he grew up in Ottawa's west end and works as a community advocate. Capital Current repeated his Finance Canada and Global Infrastructure Hub roles in 2024 and reported that he and Catherine McKenney founded the non-profit CitySHAPES. These are his own statements, and voche.me did not check them with Finance Canada or the Global Infrastructure Hub.
At his campaign launch on May 4, 2026 he said that special interests control City Hall and promised two things. The first is a transit fare of $1 for every rider with a monthly cap of $40, which his campaign calls 'Buck a Ride, Citywide' (a buck is a dollar). CBC News reported that, all else equal, this would cost more than $100 million in fare revenue. His own calculation, which assumes 35 percent more riders, is $82 million, and he says savings from the province's planned take-over of the light rail line would cover the rest. The second promise is to put City spending in an online database that residents can search. His priorities page lists 'Open Books, 100 Days' as a priority.
CBC News and CTV News reported his later announcements. On August 4 he set out a four-point transit recovery plan that includes the $1 fare, a redesign of the bus network and a City land development agency. On August 27 he proposed to double the share of non-market housing in Ottawa from 5 percent to 10 percent (housing with rents set below market prices), which he says means 25,000 to 30,000 homes built largely through Ottawa Community Housing and its ARRIV Properties arm. He expects to reach this within 20 years and says it would cost taxpayers nothing, though he agreed that the loan guarantees it needs (a City promise to repay loans if the housing agency cannot) carry some risk. On September 2 he promised a village of tiny homes for people without housing, modelled on one in Gatineau, and gave no site or funding source. On September 15 CBC News reported that he promised zero-based budgeting (each department starts from nothing each year and justifies every cost). On October 2 he said he would not give a tax number before studying the City's finances.
On August 22, 2026 CP24 reported that he promised in a video to raise the Palestinian flag at City Hall and said 'Gaza is a genocide', citing a United Nations commission of inquiry. The City's website says it flies the flag of any country that has diplomatic relations with Canada on its national day. Alex Lawson said only the flags of Ottawa, Ontario and Canada should fly at City Hall. Mark Sutcliffe's campaign said questions on the policy go to the City's Office of Protocol. Jeff Leiper did not respond. CP24 also reported that Israel's Foreign Ministry rejected the UN commission's report.
