Candidate for Councillor in Ward 14 Somerset, a former president of the Centretown Community Association who says he is a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario member.
Robert Dekker is on the City of Ottawa’s list of certified candidates for Councillor in Ward 14 Somerset, with a nomination dated May 4, 2026. A page of the Centretown Community Association shows him as its President in July 2025, and he says he also served two terms as president of the board of Daybreak Housing. He told The BUZZ that he is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and a Vice-President of its executive, and that he ran for it in Ottawa Centre in 2011 and 2014. His campaign says its themes are safe communities, a revitalized downtown and housing for all, and he says he would vote for a larger police budget if the benefit to the ward can be shown.
Researched by voche.me · Not a campaign-authored page
The City of Ottawa’s list of certified candidates shows Robert Dekker’s nomination for Councillor in Ward 14 Somerset dated May 4, 2026, with the same date for his registration in the Contribution Rebate Program. The City’s list of elected officials for 2022 to 2026 does not include him, and the sources voche.me read show no public office held by him. The City’s list shows no withdrawal and no nomination for another office.
CBC News describes him as a political strategist and former president of the Centretown Community Association, and CTV News Ottawa gives the same description. A page of the Centretown Community Association dated July 7, 2025 carries the budget recommendations of the association to the City, signed by Robert Dekker as its President. In his answers to CTV News Ottawa he says he was president from 2024 to 2026 and vice president before that, and he told The BUZZ that he was president for 18 months, chaired its planning and transportation committees, and served two terms as president of the board of Daybreak Housing, a non-profit supportive housing group. A 2011 article in Xtra Magazine names him as president of the board of Daybreak at that time. He also says he chaired Ottawa’s Walk for Kids Help Phone. His campaign website says he grew up in Scarborough and Mississauga, began as a radio announcer in Stratford, Ontario, and then worked as a call centre manager for Bell Canada. voche.me did not check the later roles with the organizations.
He told The BUZZ that he is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and a Vice-President of its executive, that he ran as its candidate in Ottawa Centre in the 2011 and 2014 provincial elections, and that, as part of his work for a federal Member of Parliament as Director of Policy (a role he told CTV News Ottawa he has held since 2016), he is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. Xtra Magazine in 2011 calls him the Progressive Conservative candidate for Centretown, and Global News on May 27, 2014 lists Rob Dekker as the Progressive Conservative candidate in Ottawa Centre. voche.me did not open the provincial election results or the party’s records. He says municipal government is non-partisan and that he would decide each matter on its merits.
His campaign website names three themes: safe communities, a revitalized downtown and housing for all. In the CBC News questionnaire he says crime is up and homelessness has reached crisis levels in the ward, and he would work for a greater police presence, which he links to 200 more police officers for the Ottawa Police Service, more paramedics and 50 new firefighters. He says he would vote to raise the police budget if a direct benefit to Somerset Ward and a reduction of crime can be shown, would seek a seat on the Ottawa Police Service Board, supports more supportive housing, an expanded HART Hub program and ANCHOR, favours a transit levy, and supports the Mayor’s plan for a multi-year budget with a cap of 2.5 percent for the first two years of the next term. He told CTV News Ottawa that Somerset Ward has the highest crime rate in the city, and he told The BUZZ that he is accepting campaign donations from everyone legally allowed to give, including people in the development sector, and is not soliciting them. These are his own statements, and voche.me has not checked the crime figures he gives. The sources voche.me read hold no complaint about him.
Summarized from the campaign’s published profile. These are stated positions, not an assessment of results or a complete platform.
His campaign website lists reducing crime, improving commuter safety and keeping public spaces and parks clean and user-friendly as the first of three themes.
In the CBC News questionnaire he says he would work for more police presence and, if the benefit to Somerset Ward and to crime reduction can be shown, would vote to increase the police budget. He says he would seek a seat on the Ottawa Police Service Board.
His campaign website says he would work with business improvement associations, make streets cleaner and more attractive, and support local arts and activities.
In the CBC News questionnaire he says he would speed up the City’s permit process so that new businesses can open sooner.
His campaign website says he would help seniors age in their community, support housing for all budgets and keep local non-profit housing groups sustainable.
In the CBC News questionnaire he says he supports more supportive housing, an expanded HART Hub program and the ANCHOR program.
In the CBC News questionnaire he says he supports the Mayor’s plan for a multi-year budget with a 2.5 percent cap for the first two years, favours a transit levy, and would support the OC Transpo General Manager’s Customer First Action Plan with public performance targets.
He says the Bank Street bus lane pilot should be judged on evidence once it starts in 2027.
In the CBC News questionnaire he says Somerset Ward’s sidewalks are in terrible condition and he would push for a firmer repair schedule, and he says developers should be asked to provide more greenspace and tree canopy.
CBC News · Candidate questionnaire: Robert Dekker, Ward 14 SomersetEvidence reviewed on October 6, 2026: the City’s list of certified candidates for Ward 14 and its open data file of nominations, his campaign website (home, About Robert, My Commitment to Somerset, How to Vote, Events and Robert in the Community), CBC News of August 25, 2026, CTV News Ottawa of September 11, 2026, NCR Now of September 24, 2026, the Centretown BUZZ of August 19 and September 2026 (experience, police, drug crisis, housing), a Centretown Community Association page of July 7, 2025, Xtra Magazine of September 19, 2011 and Global News of May 27, 2014.
Gaps. His Facebook and Instagram pages showed only a login page or a profile summary, and the newsletters and the debate video linked from his website were not opened. His roles at Daybreak Housing and the Centretown Community Association were not checked with those groups beyond the association page named above. His work for a Member of Parliament, his party offices and his claims about crime in the ward were not checked. Elections Ontario’s results for 2011 and 2014 were not opened. The voche.me questionnaire has not been sent.
A page of the association dated July 7, 2025 shows him signing the association’s 2026 budget recommendations to the City as its President. He told CTV News Ottawa that he served as president from 2024 to 2026 and as vice president before that, and told The BUZZ that he was president for 18 months.
Centretown Community Association · Releases City of Ottawa Budget 2026 Recommendations, July 7, 2025Xtra Magazine in 2011 names him as president of the board of directors of Daybreak, a non-profit supportive housing group. He told The BUZZ that he served two terms as president of the board. voche.me has not checked the dates with Daybreak.
Xtra Magazine · From the corporate world to politics: Robert Dekker’s bid for Centretown, September 19, 2011He told The BUZZ that he ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in Ottawa Centre in 2011 and 2014. Xtra Magazine (September 19, 2011) and Global News (May 27, 2014) name him as that party’s candidate. voche.me did not open the election results.
Global News · Ontario election 2014: Ottawa Centre riding, May 27, 2014He told CTV News Ottawa that he has held this role on Parliament Hill since 2016. voche.me has not checked it with the Member’s office.
CTV News Ottawa · Meet the candidates for councillor in Ward 14 Somerset, September 11, 2026His campaign website says he began as a radio announcer in Stratford, Ontario, and then moved to Ottawa to manage a call centre for Bell Canada. Xtra Magazine in 2011 says the same. He told CTV News Ottawa he worked for Bell Canada for 20 years.
Robert Dekker campaign · About RobertProposed 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 Robert Dekker directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
Facts voche.me can state about Robert Dekker'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 Robert Dekker's own campaign.
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Robert Dekker.
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 Robert Dekker 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.
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