---
title: "Four Ottawa mayoral candidates debate transit, taxes and housing on CTV News Ottawa"
description: "Mark Sutcliffe, Jeff Leiper, Neil Saravanamuttoo and Alex Lawson faced questions from residents and journalists on Wednesday in a 90-minute debate on CTV News Ottawa."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/news/ctv-mayor-debate-cost-living-2026-10-14"
last_updated: "2026-10-17T18:36:42.011Z"
---

The four leading candidates for Ottawa mayor debated on CTV News Ottawa on Wednesday, with cost of living in Ottawa as the main issue driving the discussion, CTV News reported on October 14, 2026.

[Mark Sutcliffe](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/mark-sutcliffe), [Jeff Leiper](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/jeff-leiper), [Neil Saravanamuttoo](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/neil-saravanamuttoo) and [Alex Lawson](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/alex-lawson) answered questions from residents, students, CTV News journalists and Newstalk 580 CFRA hosts in a 90-minute debate. The debate was held on the CTV News Ottawa set.

## Transit

According to CTV News, public transit was the issue residents most want improved in Ottawa, based on a Nanos Research poll conducted for CTV News Ottawa. At the debate, candidates said OC Transpo is unreliable, unaffordable and in need of change.

Sutcliffe said he would cut the price of a monthly transit pass to $95, and said the city is set to receive $4 billion that it can put back into transit service.

Leiper criticized the New Ways to Bus plan, put in place in 2025, which he said cut 70,000 service hours. His plan, he said, would return a citizen member to the transit committee so riders have representation where decisions are made. He also said the city needs more buses and must advance its bus rapid transit network.

Lawson said he would put a transit operator representative on the transit commission so council promises reflect what operations can actually deliver.

## Property taxes

Property taxes drew direct exchanges between candidates. Sutcliffe said he would cap increases at no more than 2.5 per cent a year for the first two years of the next council term.

Lawson said he would freeze property taxes in 2027. Sutcliffe and others said that cannot be done without cuts to services. Lawson pointed to Sutcliffe's record in response.

Leiper declined to name a specific figure for property tax increases. He said he would make the budget process more transparent and hold an open discussion about the trade-offs involved for Ottawa residents who are struggling with the high cost of living.

## Housing

According to CTV News, a Ratehub.ca report found that buyers in Ottawa needed to earn an average of $137,400 to afford the average-priced home in August 2026, up from $136,570 in July. That figure framed the housing discussion.

Leiper said the private market has fallen short of providing truly affordable housing for many Ottawa residents. His plan focuses on the not-for-profit sector, where builders can keep rents and costs low. He also proposed a city housing acquisition fund to buy existing affordable housing and keep it affordable long term.

Saravanamuttoo said a city-owned public housing option is needed, pointing to other cities that have used this approach to provide homes at all income levels.

Voters who want to compare the candidates before voting day on October 26 can see all Ottawa mayoral candidates at [/on/ottawa-2026/candidates#mayor](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates#mayor).

## Sitemap

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