--- title: "Shawn Menard: candidate for Councillor in Ward 17 Capital, Ottawa 2026 | voche.me" canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/shawn-menard" last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:05:39.404Z" meta: description: "Shawn Menard is the sitting Councillor for Ward 17 Capital, according to the City’s list of elected officials, and is on the City’s list of certified candi..." "og:description": "Shawn Menard is the sitting Councillor for Ward 17 Capital, according to the City’s list of elected officials, and is on the City’s list of certified candi..." "og:title": "Shawn Menard: candidate for Councillor in Ward 17 Capital, Ottawa 2026" "twitter:description": "Shawn Menard is the sitting Councillor for Ward 17 Capital, according to the City’s list of elected officials, and is on the City’s list of certified candi..." "twitter:title": "Shawn Menard: candidate for Councillor in Ward 17 Capital, Ottawa 2026" --- ** Councillor in Ward 17 Capital · Ottawa 2026 # Shawn Menard Sitting Councillor for Ward 17 Capital since 2018, running for a third term. Shawn Menard is the sitting Councillor for Ward 17 Capital, according to the City’s list of elected officials, and is on the City’s list of certified candidates for the same ward, with a nomination dated June 4, 2026. The City’s results give him 11,358 of the 14,412 votes cast in Ward 17 in 2022, which is 78.8 percent, in a race of 3 candidates. The Council minutes record him voting against the 2026 Ottawa Police Service budget and against the Safe Access to Social Infrastructure By-law, and moving the motion that made youth fares free in July and August of 2026. CBC News reported in September 2025 that a court-ordered audit found he under-reported the value of reused 2022 campaign signs by $310.98, and that the City’s election compliance audit committee decided not to refer the matter to a prosecutor. His campaign says its priorities are housing, transit, road safety and repairs, climate action, parks and community wellbeing. Explore priorities Campaign links Researched by voche.me · Not a campaign-authored page Candidate space2026 ![Shawn Menard, from Shawn Menard campaign (menard2026.ca).](https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/images/candidates/shawn-menard-640.webp) *Shawn MenardCouncillorv.* [Image: Shawn Menard campaign (menard2026.ca)](https://www.menard2026.ca/) 01 / Introduction ## About Shawn Menard The City of Ottawa’s list of elected officials for 2022 to 2026 shows Shawn Menard as Councillor for Ward 17 Capital. The City’s list of certified candidates shows his nomination for the same ward dated June 4, 2026, with the same date for his registration in the Contribution Rebate Program. The City’s published results for the October 24, 2022 election give him 11,358 of the 14,412 votes cast in Ward 17, which is 78.8 percent, the most votes in a race of 3 candidates (Rebecca Bromwich received 1,986 and Daniel Rogers 1,068). CBC News and CTV News Ottawa report that he was first elected in 2018 and is seeking a third term. The other two candidates are Farah Gulzar and Jaac Doduck. The Council minutes of four meetings record his votes by name. On December 10, 2025 he voted against the 2026 Ottawa Police Service budget (carried 20 to 5, with Councillors King, Johnson, Bradley and Troster also against), for a motion by Councillor King that would have matched a $5.4 million police reserve allocation with $5.4 million for ANCHOR (a program that sends non-police crisis teams) and community hubs (lost 9 to 16), and for the motion that adopted the 2026 budgets (carried 21 to 4). He moved a motion that fares for riders aged 18 and under be free in July and August of 2026, at an estimated $340,000 a year, which carried. On April 22, 2026 he voted against the Safe Access to Social Infrastructure By-law (carried 20 to 4, with Councillors Devine, Bradley and Troster also against), for an amendment that would have removed the by-law’s ban on demonstrations inside safe access zones (lost 6 to 18), and for an amendment that would have limited the by-law to times when a facility is used for its main purpose (lost 10 to 14). He moved a motion to ask Council to waive legal privilege and discuss the City’s legal advice on the by-law in open session, and then withdrew it. On July 15, 2026 he voted against the Development Charge Reduction Program report (carried 23 to 1, and he was the one member against), moved a motion to refer that report to a special meeting of Council (lost 11 to 14), voted for the Rental Renovation Licence By-law review (carried 20 to 5), and moved the motion that lets City staff sign a non-binding agreement with Carleton University on a Joint Aquatic Sports Centre, which carried. On September 9, 2026 he voted for a motion by Councillor King that asks the federal government to extend its consultation on the Eastern Bridge Project (carried 23 to 2). A complaint about his 2022 campaign finances was filed by Ted Phillips, whom CBC News calls a prominent local developer. It said Menard did not report the full value of reused campaign signs. CBC News reported that the City’s election compliance audit committee first judged there was not enough evidence for an audit, that Phillips then won an appeal in the Superior Court in Ottawa, and that the City hired Oxaro Inc. for a third-party audit. CBC News reported on September 9, 2025 that Oxaro found the value he reported for signs from earlier campaigns was inaccurate by $310.98, and that this did not comply with the Municipal Elections Act. The same day the committee decided not to refer the matter to a prosecutor. Its chair said the low amount, and the fact that Menard did not go over his spending limit, were factors, and the committee did not agree with the argument of Phillips’s lawyer that the unreported signs gave Menard a hidden advantage. Menard calls it a clerical filing error, and said the audit found no other irregularities. His campaign website says that over his years as councillor the work has focused on new not-for-profit housing and lower rents, more affordable and reliable transit, more public bathroom access, new and renewed parks, safer streets and bike lanes, community safety and climate action. Its priorities page lists, for the whole ward, expanding Ottawa Community Housing to build public housing on public lands, a new bylaw against demolitions that evict tenants, continued free transit for riders aged 18 and under and lower fares for all, less spending on large projects financed with debt in favour of repairs, more public bathrooms, expanded ANCHOR service, longer hours at the Sunnyside library, a new governance and financial oversight model for Lansdowne Park, and improved access to the Rideau River. In the CBC News questionnaire he chooses a transit levy to deal with OC Transpo deficits beyond money from other levels of government, and says he has voted both for and against the police budget in his eight years on Council. In the CTV News Ottawa questionnaire he lists his work as a strategic analyst at the Department of Justice and as manager of government relations at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and his service as a school board trustee from 2014 to 2018. These are his own statements, and voche.me checked only the votes and the audit described above. Read the sources 02 / The issues ## Priorities & positions Campaign-source summary Summarized from the campaign’s published profile. These are stated positions, not an assessment of results or a complete platform. 01 ### Housing and planning His campaign page lists expanding Ottawa Community Housing so that it builds public housing on public lands, more co-op and not-for-profit housing including projects at Bank and Chamberlain, 160 Lees Avenue and 185 Hawthorne Avenue, a housing acquisition fund, and a new bylaw against demolitions that evict tenants.
Read the full position His campaign page says he has directed staff to undertake the bylaw, and the campaign runs a petition for it. voche.me did not check that direction in the Council record. In the CBC News questionnaire he says a motion from his office directed staff to explore expanding Ottawa Community Housing.
[Shawn Menard campaign · Priorities ](https://www.menard2026.ca/priorities) 02 ### Transit His campaign page says he will continue expanding free transit for riders aged 18 and under, fight to reduce fares for all residents, push for more bus service and reliability in the ward, and secure new bus shelters at Lansdowne Park.
Read the full position In the CBC News questionnaire he says he moved the motion that gave free transit for riders aged 18 and under on evenings, weekends, holidays and all summer.
[Shawn Menard campaign · Priorities ](https://www.menard2026.ca/priorities) 03 ### Infrastructure and road safety His campaign page says he will rein in spending on large projects financed with debt in favour of repairs to existing roads, sidewalks, bike lanes and intersections, speed up road safety measures, make short-term safety improvements on Bronson Avenue and continue work on Bank Street.
Read the full position In the CBC News questionnaire he names Lansdowne 2.0, the LRT, the Tewin development and road widening among the spending decisions he opposes.
[Shawn Menard campaign · Priorities ](https://www.menard2026.ca/priorities) 04 ### Climate and environment His campaign page says he will work for more city and community action on emissions from buildings and transportation, expand and protect the tree canopy, and support more places to cool off in extreme heat. [Shawn Menard campaign · Priorities ](https://www.menard2026.ca/priorities) 05 ### Community wellbeing His campaign page lists more public bathrooms and longer opening of park bathrooms, expansion of ANCHOR across Ottawa, longer hours at the Sunnyside library in consultation with library workers, and work on noise disturbance at The Clemow and a revised Noise Bylaw. [Shawn Menard campaign · Priorities ](https://www.menard2026.ca/priorities) 06 ### Parks and recreation His campaign page lists better access to the Rideau River including swimming, expanding Glebe Memorial Park, funding the renewal of the Windsor Park Fieldhouse, and making sure the Old Ottawa East Community Centre and Forecourt Park meet residents’ needs. [Shawn Menard campaign · Priorities ](https://www.menard2026.ca/priorities) 07 ### Transparency at City Hall His campaign page says he wants a new governance and financial oversight model for Lansdowne Park, more representative governance of City committees, and continued opposition to large expensive projects such as the Tewin development. [Shawn Menard campaign · Priorities ](https://www.menard2026.ca/priorities) Research status ## What voche.me has checked Evidence reviewed on October 6, 2026: the City’s list of certified candidates for Ward 17 (an Internet Archive copy), its open data file of nominations, its list of elected officials and its 2022 results, his campaign website, his Councillor website, his Bluesky account, CBC News of August 25, 2026 and its questionnaire, CTV News Ottawa of September 2026, two CBC News reports of September 9, 2025 on a campaign finance complaint, and the Council minutes of December 10, 2025, April 22, July 15 and September 9, 2026. Gaps. His X, Facebook and Instagram pages showed no posts to a visitor who is not logged in. The campaign finance complaint rests on CBC News reports and on his own answer. The audit report and the committee’s minutes were not read. His statements about his earlier jobs, his school board term and his Council motions were not checked with the bodies named, and his votes on matters outside the four Council meetings above were not searched. The voche.me questionnaire has not been sent. 03 / Background ## Experience & community 2018 to present ### City Councillor, Ward 17 Capital The City’s list of elected officials 2022 to 2026 shows him as the Ward 17 Councillor, and the City’s 2022 results give him 11,358 of 14,412 votes. CBC News and CTV News Ottawa report that he has held the seat since 2018. [City of Ottawa open data · Elected Officials 2022-2026 (Ward 17 row)](https://services.arcgis.com/G6F8XLCl5KtAlZ2G/arcgis/rest/services/_Elected_Officials_2022_2026/FeatureServer/0) 2014 to 2018, as he describes it ### School board trustee, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board In the CTV News Ottawa questionnaire he lists service as a trustee from 2014 to 2018, and CBC News says he served a term as a school board trustee. voche.me has not checked the dates with the board. [CTV News Ottawa · Meet the candidates for councillor in Ward 17 Capital, September 2026](https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/meet-the-candidates-for-councillor-in-ward-17-capital/) Dates not given, as he describes it ### Manager of Government Relations, Federation of Canadian Municipalities In the CTV News Ottawa and CBC News questionnaires he lists this job, and CBC News also says he worked at the Federation. voche.me has not checked it with the Federation. [CTV News Ottawa · Meet the candidates for councillor in Ward 17 Capital, September 2026](https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/meet-the-candidates-for-councillor-in-ward-17-capital/) Dates not given, as he describes it ### Strategic analyst, Department of Justice In the CTV News Ottawa and CBC News questionnaires he lists this job. voche.me has not checked it with the Department. [CTV News Ottawa · Meet the candidates for councillor in Ward 17 Capital, September 2026](https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/meet-the-candidates-for-councillor-in-ward-17-capital/) Dates not given, as he describes it ### Community and student leadership In the CTV News Ottawa questionnaire he lists terms as president of the Carleton University Students’ Association, president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association and vice chair of the City’s Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee. voche.me has not checked these with those bodies. [CTV News Ottawa · Meet the candidates for councillor in Ward 17 Capital, September 2026](https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/meet-the-candidates-for-councillor-in-ward-17-capital/) 04 / Questions & answers ## Questions for the candidate Proposed 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. ### Have your own question? Ask Shawn Menard directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one. 05 / About this page ## Questions about this page Facts voche.me can state about Shawn Menard's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Shawn Menard? No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Shawn Menard's own campaign.
Does Shawn Menard currently hold public office? Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Shawn Menard.
How many sources does this Shawn Menard profile cite? This profile lists 19 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Why do some questions on Shawn Menard's page show no answer? The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Shawn Menard 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.
When is the election Shawn Menard is running in? The 2026 Ottawa municipal election, including the Councillor race, is decided on October 26, 2026.
06 / Candidate contributions ## Space for campaign updates ### No campaign updates yet Announcements, event details and messages can be added here, with their source and publication date. No campaign submission has been added. ## Sources & transparency - [City of Ottawa · certified candidates, Councillor ](https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/elections/candidates/certified-and-acclaimed-candidates)Checked October 6, 2026 - [City of Ottawa · certified candidates, Ward 17 Capital (list last updated August 21, 2026; Internet Archive copy) ](https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/elections/candidates/certified-and-acclaimed-candidates/certified-and-acclaimed-candidates-city-councillor/certified-candidates-ward-17-capital)Checked October 6, 2026 - [City of Ottawa open data · 2026 Municipal Elections, nominated candidates ](https://open.ottawa.ca/datasets/5b79177ae7524c9fa68f79e852527604)Checked October 6, 2026 - [City of Ottawa open data · Elected Officials 2022-2026 (Ward 17 row) ](https://services.arcgis.com/G6F8XLCl5KtAlZ2G/arcgis/rest/services/_Elected_Officials_2022_2026/FeatureServer/0)Checked October 6, 2026 - [City of Ottawa open data · 2022 Elections Official Results (Statement of Votes Cast) ](https://open.ottawa.ca/datasets/ec1423ac43254bff8692fabd5d47772b)Checked October 6, 2026 - [CBC News · Capital ward: Here’s who’s running to be your Ottawa city councillor, August 25, 2026 (updated October 1) ](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/capital-ward-election-city-ottawa-2026-9.7313915)Checked October 6, 2026 - [CTV News Ottawa · Meet the candidates for councillor in Ward 17 Capital, September 2026 ](https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/meet-the-candidates-for-councillor-in-ward-17-capital/)Checked October 6, 2026 - [CBC News · Candidate questionnaire: Shawn Menard, Ward 17 Capital ](https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/28713089/shawn-menard-ward-17-capital.pdf)Checked October 6, 2026 - [Shawn Menard campaign · Home ](https://www.menard2026.ca/)Checked October 6, 2026 - [Shawn Menard campaign · Priorities ](https://www.menard2026.ca/priorities)Checked October 6, 2026 - [Shawn Menard campaign · Anti-Demoviction Bylaw petition ](https://www.menard2026.ca/anti-demoviction-bylaw-now)Checked October 6, 2026 - [Shawn Menard · Councillor website, Capital Ward ](https://www.shawnmenard.ca/)Checked October 6, 2026 - [Shawn Menard on Bluesky (read through Bluesky’s public interface) ](https://bsky.app/profile/shawnmenard.bsky.social)Checked October 6, 2026 - [CBC News · Court-ordered audit finds $300 discrepancy in Shawn Menard’s election spending report, September 9, 2025 ](https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7627979)Checked October 6, 2026 - [CBC News · Shawn Menard’s election spending discrepancy won’t go to prosecutor, committee decides, September 9, 2025 (updated September 10) ](https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7629273)Checked October 6, 2026 - [City of Ottawa · City Council minutes, December 10, 2025 (2026 budget meeting) ](https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=4d914219-00c6-48c4-bcc6-b82ca579c430&Agenda=PostMinutes&lang=English)Checked October 6, 2026 - [City of Ottawa · City Council minutes, April 22, 2026 (Minutes 78) ](https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=b8f046ed-1ad8-41a3-9c20-c177b0dde00a&Agenda=PostMinutes&lang=English)Checked October 6, 2026 - [City of Ottawa · City Council minutes, July 15, 2026 (Minutes 83) ](https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=ba9d583c-b16d-4f97-9e87-a7b16b5825f4&Agenda=PostMinutes&lang=English)Checked October 6, 2026 - [City of Ottawa · City Council minutes, September 9, 2026 (Minutes 85) ](https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=0576ac9f-74e8-4986-b8f8-9c96b26f6e67&Agenda=PostMinutes&lang=English)Checked October 6, 2026 Missing information does not imply a candidate’s position. [Read our editorial standards.](https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/about) Campaign contact ## Campaign links & contact. Find the candidate’s website, social accounts and contact information. [Shawn Menard campaign website](https://www.menard2026.ca/) [Shawn Menard, Councillor website for Capital Ward](https://www.shawnmenard.ca/) [Shawn Menard on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/shawnmenard.bsky.social) [Shawn Menard on X](https://x.com/ShawnMenard1) [Shawn Menard on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/shawnmmenard) [Shawn Menard on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/shawnmmenard1) ## View more candidates. [All candidate spaces ](https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/candidates) [Councillor**Ahmed Alsabaawi**](https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/ahmed-alsabaawi) [Councillor**Ahmed Rashid**](https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/ahmed-rashid) Candidate Q&A ## Ask Shawn Menard a question. Give your name, email and question. We send it to the campaign, and publish their answer here if we get one. ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/on/ottawa-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.