Eight mayoral candidates tell CBC where they stand on arena funding, developer donations and data centres

All eight candidates who responded to CBC Ottawa's questionnaire said the City of Ottawa should not contribute funding to build a new arena at LeBreton Flats. The Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission reached a deal in August 2025 on a land purchase at LeBreton Flats for a proposed arena and mixed-use development. In other cities, municipal governments have sometimes contributed hundreds of millions of dollars toward similar projects, but none of the eight respondents supported doing that in Ottawa.

Alex Lawson was the only candidate among the eight who responded to say he would accept campaign donations from the development and construction industry. The other seven respondents, including Mark Sutcliffe, Jeff Leiper and Neil Saravanamuttoo, said they would not. In Ottawa's municipal election, individuals can give a maximum of $1,200 per candidate and $5,000 total across all candidates. Campaign financial statements are due to the City of Ottawa by March 30, 2027.

Jeff Leiper and Neil Saravanamuttoo both said they would introduce a moratorium on new data centres until more is known about their environmental, infrastructure and electricity impacts. Mark Sutcliffe said he would prefer a management strategy rather than a blanket approval or ban. Alex Lawson said data centres should generally be permitted but did not give further detail. Ali Shayvard was the only other respondent to say data centres should generally be opposed.

Mark Sutcliffe and Jeff Leiper both said they would not use strong mayor powers if elected. Sutcliffe noted he has not used them during his current term as mayor. Alex Lawson said they are an option he could use if necessary. Neil Saravanamuttoo said he would use them to appoint senior city staff but not to override city council decisions. The Ontario government has given these powers to more than 200 Ontario mayors; they allow a mayor to veto some council decisions and direct staff.

Mark Sutcliffe said he has increased the Ottawa Police Service budget during his current term and plans to continue. Alex Lawson said the budget should go up and he would want to double the minimum number of on-duty patrol officers over four years. Jeff Leiper said the current budget level is appropriate and he would expand the city's ANCHOR crisis response program. Neil Saravanamuttoo said he would do a line-by-line review before deciding. Ottawa's 2026 police budget is more than $400 million, according to CBC.

Eight of the 14 candidates on the Ottawa ballot for mayor responded to CBC Ottawa's questionnaire. The eight respondents were Mark Sutcliffe, Jeff Leiper, Alex Lawson, Neil Saravanamuttoo, Ali Shayvard, Suraj Harish, Peter Westaway, Josh Rachlis and Queen Divine Priya Amber Bakshi. According to CBC, Lawson and Sutcliffe each declined the question about enforcement versus social supports for drug use and encampments, saying it was not an either-or question.

Voche.me has a profile page for every candidate on the Ottawa ballot, including all 14 running for mayor. You can find them at the candidates page at /on/ottawa-2026/candidates#mayor. Voting day is Monday, October 26, 2026, with polling places open across Ottawa.

Voting day in Ottawa's 2026 municipal election is Monday, October 26, 2026. Advance voting took place October 1 to 4 and on October 16. The City of Ottawa has reported that nearly half of mail-in ballots issued for this election were not returned on time. Voters who have an unreturned mail-in ballot should go to a voting place in person on October 26 to cast their ballot.