Ottawa voters choose mayor today as 86,592 cast early ballots

A total of 86,592 voters cast early ballots ahead of election day on October 26, 2026. Capital Current reported this represented an 8.9 per cent increase compared to the 2022 municipal election, when 79,491 voters cast early ballots across four special advance voting days and two advance voting days.

Capital Current reported on October 26 that Sutcliffe pledges to keep property tax increases to no more than 2.5 per cent in the first two budgets of a new term. He points to 252 million dollars in savings at city hall over the past four years and pledges another 250 million by maintaining hiring freezes and reviewing programs. He also pledges to cut the adult monthly transit pass from 138.50 dollars to 95 dollars. He has a 10-billion-dollar, 10-year plan to close the city's infrastructure gap, which includes road widenings in Orleans, Kanata and Riverside South, and four new recreation complexes.

According to Capital Current, Leiper says he would reverse OC Transpo bus route cuts and expand dedicated bus lanes, paying for this by reprioritizing money within the existing OC Transpo budget. He also proposes a one per cent infrastructure levy on property tax bills, which he says would cost the average homeowner 28 dollars a year and raise 25.5 million dollars annually. He has committed to building 1,500 non-profit homes a year, or 6,000 over four years, by dedicating city-owned land and fast-tracking approvals for non-profit builders.

Capital Current reported that Saravanamuttoo has committed to one-dollar-a-ride transit across the city as part of a four-point transit plan. He has also pledged to create a public option on housing, doubling the share of non-market housing by building 25,000 to 35,000 units. He says construction costs would eventually be covered by rent, but he acknowledges the city would need to guarantee loans worth billions. He has not committed to specific property tax figures, saying the amount depends on the cost of fixing aging infrastructure and the savings he can find.

Capital Current reported that Lawson is pledging a property tax ceiling for all four years of the term, with a freeze in 2027, followed by increases of one, two and two per cent. He has also pledged to bring a motion to eliminate the vacant unit tax at the first council meeting of the new term. He plans to turn off on-street parking meters and make curbside parking free across the city. He also wants to start building a southern ring road to divert traffic from Highway 417, which would depend on federal or provincial funding.

There are 14 candidates in total on the ballot for mayor of Ottawa, according to Capital Current's October 26, 2026 report. The four who have received the most attention from the press and in polls are Mark Sutcliffe, Jeff Leiper, Neil Saravanamuttoo and Alex Lawson. You can see all candidates at /on/ottawa-2026/candidates#mayor.

Capital Current reported on October 26 that CTV found voters are most concerned with transit, followed by roads and sidewalks. A survey by the Ottawa Lookout also found transit as the most pressing issue, followed by infrastructure, health care and homelessness.

Full candidate profiles are available on this site: Mark Sutcliffe at /on/ottawa-2026/candidates/mark-sutcliffe, Jeff Leiper at /on/ottawa-2026/candidates/jeff-leiper, Neil Saravanamuttoo at /on/ottawa-2026/candidates/neil-saravanamuttoo and Alex Lawson at /on/ottawa-2026/candidates/alex-lawson.