---
title: "Jeff Leiper lays out five-point plan for rural Ottawa"
description: "Mayoral candidate Jeff Leiper published a five-point rural platform on October 6, promising a dedicated office for rural residents and a new voice for farmers."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/news/leiper-rural-plan-2026-10-07"
last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:05:50.445Z"
---

Mayoral candidate Jeff Leiper published a five-point rural platform on October 6, 2026, promising to create a dedicated office for rural residents inside the mayor's office and a formal planning role for farmers, CTV News reported.

Leiper's campaign put out a news release outlining the plan. "Rural Ottawa deserves a mayor who listens, shows up and gets things fixed, it's time to give rural communities a stronger voice and the investment they deserve," Leiper said in that release.

## What the plan says

The first point is a rural secretariat inside the mayor's office. Leiper's campaign says this office would give rural residents and business owners a direct line to the mayor and make sure rural views are included in city hall decisions.

The second point is a formal voice for farmers and rural businesses in city economic and policy planning. The campaign says this would include dedicated support to help rural businesses deal with city hall processes.

The third point is a rural road safety program. Leiper's campaign says he would identify and publicly track priority repairs to roads, bridges, culverts and drainage in rural Ottawa.

The fourth point is a rural service review that sets clear service standards for roads, infrastructure, policing and other municipal services in rural areas.

The fifth point is a village growth plan that the campaign says would support new housing and infrastructure while protecting farmland, village character and rural landscapes.

## A previous pledge

Leiper had already announced, before this plan, that he would add a one per cent levy to property tax bills to fund city infrastructure. CTV News reported that the levy is meant to cover a major funding gap for city infrastructure.

## What other candidates have said

Incumbent mayor Mark Sutcliffe has promised economic and development zones in rural and suburban Ottawa, a village main street rehabilitation program, and increased policing and paramedic services in rural areas, CTV News reported. Sutcliffe and Leiper opponent Alex Lawson have both pledged support for a ring road.

Lawson's rural plan includes increasing the frequency of rural road assessments from once every five years to once every three years, and new service standards for farm business licensing and ditch maintenance, according to CTV News.

Voters can compare all 14 mayoral candidates on the [Ottawa 2026 candidates page](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates#mayor). Read more about [Jeff Leiper](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/jeff-leiper) on voche.me. Voting day is October 26.

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