Retired civil engineer who worked for the City, running for Mayor on a four-year property tax freeze and road repairs.
Suraj Harish says he is a civil engineer and a retired senior project manager who worked for the City of Ottawa and the Region of Ottawa-Carleton. The City's list shows his nomination for Mayor dated August 5, 2026. His campaign website promises a four-year freeze on property taxes and repairs to potholes and pavement markings. In his answers to CBC News he wrote that the City should stop construction on the LRT and that he would not use the mayor's strong powers.
Researched by voche.me · Not a campaign-authored page
The City's list of certified candidates shows Suraj Harish's nomination for Mayor dated August 5, 2026, and gives a campaign website for him. His website says he is a civil engineer with the Professional Engineers of Ontario licence P.Eng. and a former City of Ottawa senior project manager with more than three decades of experience. It lists road widening, bus rapid transit planning (buses on their own roads), watermain, stormwater and intersection work. 580 CFRA, an Ottawa radio station, describes him in the notes to its interview with him as a civil engineer who spent over 3 decades at the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. voche.me did not listen to the audio.
His curriculum vitae on his website gives this career: draftsperson and technical assistant at the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton from 1973 to 1988, then project manager and senior project manager at the Region and the City from 1988 to July 2011, then senior project manager at the firm Dessau Inc. from August 2011 to October 2012. It lists a civil engineering degree from the University of Ottawa in 1987. These are his own statements, and voche.me has not checked them against City, university or Professional Engineers of Ontario records.
His website names three campaign topics: pavement surface and potholes, a four-year freeze on property taxes, and pavement markings. In the website text he writes that a property tax freeze will not be easy and that he is committed to finding responsible ways to do it.
In his answers to the CBC News questionnaire he wrote that transportation is the biggest challenge for the next Council, that he would not use the mayor's strong powers because too much power can make it hard to work, and that he would not accept campaign donations from the development and construction industry. He wrote that the City should stop construction on the LRT, and wrote that it broke down 31 times in 53 days. voche.me has not checked that figure. He rated OC Transpo's reliability 8 out of 10 and chose a transit levy to deal with its deficits. He wrote that the police budget should be increased depending on the crime rate, and that he favours more social supports for people in encampments. In a set of five questions from NCR Now, a news site, he wrote that he has little knowledge of the Lansdowne 2.0 plan, that housing is his first priority, and that the City will lower taxes where there is room.
Summarized from the campaign’s published profile. These are stated positions, not an assessment of results or a complete platform.
His campaign website says that if elected he will carry out a four-year freeze on property taxes.
In his answers to CBC News he wrote that he has an issue with the property tax increase and proposed that the City charge 25 percent less property tax from single mothers.
In his answers to NCR Now he wrote that the City will lower taxes where there is room to lower them.
His campaign says it would repair potholes and cracks and make faded pavement markings brighter and clearer at night and in rain.
In his answers to CBC News he wrote that he wants no potholes and no cracks in the pavement, and that all iron works (covers set in the road) should be fixed.
In his answers to CBC News he wrote that the City should stop construction on the LRT, that OC Transpo deficits should be met with a transit levy, and that the City should charge 25 percent less for a bus pass and 50 percent less for students.
In his answers to NCR Now he wrote that buses should run on time.
He rated OC Transpo's reliability 8 out of 10.
In his answers to NCR Now he wrote that housing is the first priority. In his answers to CBC News he wrote that new housing should mostly be built in existing neighbourhoods through intensification (more homes on land that is already built on).
NCR Now · 5 Questions with Ottawa Mayoral Candidate Suraj Harish, September 8, 2026In his answers to CBC News he chose that the police budget should be increased, and wrote that how much should depend on the crime rate. He chose more social supports over more enforcement for public drug use and encampments.
CBC News · Suraj Harish's questionnaire answers, 2026 mayoral candidatesEvidence reviewed on October 5, 2026: the City of Ottawa's list of certified candidates, two pages of his campaign website (the home page and the curriculum vitae), CBC News's list of mayoral candidates of August 28, 2026 with his questionnaire answers, NCR Now's five questions of September 8, 2026, and the page for 580 CFRA's interview with him. His plans and his work history come from his campaign and from his own answers, and each is written here as his statement.
Gaps. The audio of the CFRA interview and the CTV News video of September 10, 2026 were not played, so nothing from them is used. His LinkedIn profile, linked from his website, could not be read. The City's older committee and Council records that might name him as a project manager could not be opened, so his City role and dates were not confirmed from a City record. His engineering licence and degree were not checked against the licensing body or the university. The transit breakdown figure he gave to CBC News was not checked. No news report that examines his record was found. The questionnaire has not been sent.
His curriculum vitae says he prepared designs and tender packages for roadway projects in the Region's roadway design and construction division. voche.me has not checked this against Region or City records.
Suraj Harish campaign · curriculum vitaeHis curriculum vitae says he planned bus rapid transitway routes and managed road, watermain and stormwater projects. It lists the widening of Hazeldean Road and Limebank Road and the Sawmill Creek stormwater wetland among his projects, with costs it gives as $65 million, $24 million and $12 million. These are his figures, and voche.me has not checked them.
Suraj Harish campaign · curriculum vitaeHis curriculum vitae lists this engineering firm in Ottawa as his employer after the City.
Suraj Harish campaign · curriculum vitaeProposed 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 Suraj Harish directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
Facts voche.me can state about Suraj Harish'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 Suraj Harish's own campaign.
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Suraj Harish.
This profile lists 7 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 Suraj Harish 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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