---
title: "Four Ottawa mayoral candidates will debate on CBC on October 21"
description: "CBC Ottawa will host a live mayoral debate from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21, with Alex Lawson, Jeff Leiper, Neil Saravanamuttoo and Mark Sutcliffe taking part."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/news/cbc-mayor-debate-oct21-2026-10-15"
last_updated: "2026-10-17T18:36:41.878Z"
---

CBC Ottawa will host a live one-hour mayoral debate on Wednesday, October 21, from 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern time, CBC News reported on October 15. Four candidates will take part: [Alex Lawson](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/alex-lawson), [Jeff Leiper](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/jeff-leiper), [Neil Saravanamuttoo](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/neil-saravanamuttoo) and [Mark Sutcliffe](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/mark-sutcliffe).

CBC News Ottawa at 6 host Omar Dabaghi-Pacheco and CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning host Rebecca Zandbergen will lead the discussion, according to the CBC. The debate will focus on transit, affordability, infrastructure and public safety, the CBC says. A recap from CBC Ottawa's municipal team will follow the broadcast.

## Where to watch and listen

The debate will air live on CBC TV in Ottawa. CBC Ottawa will stream it in several places at the same time: CBC.ca/Ottawa, CBC Gem and the CBC Ottawa YouTube channel. Those who prefer audio can listen live on CBC Radio at 91.5 FM in Ottawa or through the CBC Listen app on a phone or tablet. Roku and Samsung TV Plus carry it through CBC Ottawa's FAST channels.

The CBC News app will also carry the debate. Turning on Ottawa push notifications in the app's settings will send a reminder when the debate begins, the CBC says.

## The four candidates on stage

The four candidates taking part are among the 14 people running for mayor in Ottawa in the 2026 election. CBC describes them as the four leading candidates for the race. The one-hour format gives each candidate time to address questions on topics that the CBC says will include transit, affordability, infrastructure and public safety.

Voters who want to read about each candidate before watching can find profiles of all four at this site: [Alex Lawson](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/alex-lawson), [Jeff Leiper](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/jeff-leiper), [Neil Saravanamuttoo](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/neil-saravanamuttoo) and [Mark Sutcliffe](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/mark-sutcliffe). Profiles of the other 10 mayoral candidates are also available at [/on/ottawa-2026/candidates#mayor](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates#mayor).

## Voting dates

The debate falls five days before election day. Voting in Ottawa is on Monday, October 26, 2026, with polls open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is one more advance voting day on Friday, October 16, also open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Fourteen candidates are running for mayor. [See all candidates](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates#mayor), city council candidates for all 24 wards, and school board trustee candidates on this site.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/on/ottawa-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.