Kitchissippi Ward candidates split on paid parking, transit reliability

Jeff Leiper, who has represented Kitchissippi Ward for more than a decade, is running for mayor rather than seeking re-election as councillor. The Kitchissippi Times reported this means Kitchissippi Ward will have a new councillor for the first time in more than a decade. Four candidates are running: former municipal affairs journalist Joanne Chianello, former Hintonburg Community Association president Brian Innes, entrepreneur Subhir Uppal, and Xavier Commerford. A fifth candidate, Michelle Groulx, withdrew her nomination.

Subhir Uppal told the Kitchissippi Times he opposes how paid parking was carried out on Richmond Road and Wellington Street West, saying it lacked proper consultation with businesses, employees and residents. He called for stopping the current system while alternatives are reviewed, though he left open the possibility that parking fees could return once the western LRT extension is operating. Joanne Chianello said she does not expect paid parking to disappear but wants uniform hours along commercial corridors and 15 minutes of free parking for quick stops. Brian Innes called for a review of the program after it has been operating for a year.

Brian Innes told the Kitchissippi Times his top transit priority is addressing ghost buses, which are trips that appear on schedules but never show up. He proposed posting weekly information about cancelled or missing trips on his councillor website, and said the city should use real-time ridership data to determine where buses are most needed. Joanne Chianello said frequency and reliability matter as much as whether a bus is on time, and said a resident told her she bought a car because an unreliable transit connection made her late picking up her daughter.

Chianello told the Kitchissippi Times that the ward cannot grow through intensification without fixing transit first. She said she has heard from residents who want to use transit but cannot build their schedules around it. She also said the New Ways to Bus network needs another look as travel patterns and the transit system change. 'If transit doesn't work,' she said, 'we have a big intensification plan; we need transit. Environmental issues, we need transit. Everything needs transit.'

Brian Innes told the Kitchissippi Times the ward needs a long-term recreation plan for buildings like Tom Brown Arena rather than waiting until they are no longer usable to decide what replaces them. He also said councillors should play a stronger role when controversial developments come before city hall, rejecting the idea that councillors can simply tell residents that decisions are outside their control.

Four people are running for the Ward 15 Kitchissippi seat: Joanne Chianello, a former municipal affairs journalist; Brian Innes, former president of the Hintonburg Community Association; Subhir Uppal, an entrepreneur; and Xavier Commerford. A fifth candidate, Michelle Groulx, withdrew before the nomination deadline, the Kitchissippi Times reported.

You can read about all four candidates running in Ward 15 Kitchissippi at /on/ottawa-2026/races/councillor/ward-15-kitchissippi on voche.me. Each candidate page lists their platform positions and sources. Ottawa's municipal voting day is October 26, 2026.

The Kitchissippi Times published this roundup of Ward 15 candidate positions on October 19, 2026, asking each candidate about paid parking, transit, and intensification. The Kitchissippi Times is a community outlet covering Kitchissippi Ward and nearby Ottawa neighbourhoods.