Leiper platform: reverse OC Transpo cuts, 1,500 non-profit homes a year, ANCHOR expansion

The Kitchissippi Times reported on 21 October 2026 that Leiper's platform calls for reversing recent OC Transpo service reductions and introducing what his campaign calls a Transit Service Guarantee, with publicly reported standards for reliability and frequency. He has also committed to advancing bus rapid transit projects, including the long-planned Baseline Road corridor. Leiper specifically mentioned that Route 11 frequency has been reduced in Westboro and that Route 14 has been repeatedly cancelled in the mornings.

The Kitchissippi Times reported that Leiper's platform calls for 1,500 new non-profit homes annually, with funding from other levels of government. His platform also includes an acquisition fund that would allow non-profit housing providers to purchase existing rental buildings and preserve their affordability. On development, Leiper said he supports what Ottawa's Official Plan already says: large buildings near transit stations, mid-rises on main streets, and low-rise construction inside neighbourhood interiors.

The Kitchissippi Times reported that Leiper told them about a resident in Hintonburg who is afraid to walk her daughter to school at Devonshire because of public drug use and social disorder on the street. He said supportive housing and health care are ultimately needed, but in the interim he wants more people picking up needles, more ambassadors on the street and more outreach workers. His platform calls for permanent funding and expansion of ANCHOR, which sends civilian teams to mental health and substance use calls instead of police.

The Kitchissippi Times reported that when Leiper talked about adding more needle pickup workers, street ambassadors and outreach workers, he described those measures as achievable within Ottawa's $5.2 billion annual operating budget. He used the figure to argue that these additions would be a small share of what the city already spends.

The Kitchissippi Times reported that Leiper said Ottawa's Official Plan already sets the right rules: tall towers near transit stations, mid-rise mixed development on main streets, and low-rise building inside neighbourhood interiors. His concern is that planning documents have not always been updated to match each other, so a neighbourhood's secondary plan may still be based on older assumptions. He said he would bring those documents into better alignment so residents have a clearer picture of what can be built where.

Jeff Leiper is a candidate for mayor of Ottawa in the 26 October 2026 municipal election. He has served as the City Councillor for Kitchissippi ward since 2014 and is not seeking re-election to that seat. The Kitchissippi Times reported that he said concerns about transit, affordability and municipal services have followed him across ward boundaries as he campaigns in communities like Blackburn Hamlet and Alta Vista.

ANCHOR is a City of Ottawa program that sends civilian crisis workers, rather than police, to some mental health and substance use calls. The Kitchissippi Times reported that Leiper's platform calls for permanent funding and expansion of the program. Leiper said policing would remain part of the response to public safety issues, but expanding civilian alternatives could free officers to focus on other matters such as traffic enforcement.

Ottawa's municipal election voting day is 26 October 2026. Voting places are open from 10 am to 8 pm. Advance voting day was 16 October, and special advance voting days ran from 1 to 4 October. You can find your voting place at the City of Ottawa's election website.