---
title: "Six Ottawa mayoral candidates addressed gender-based violence at September forum"
description: "At a forum on September 25, candidates including incumbent mayor Mark Sutcliffe discussed housing, police alternatives and funding for organizations that work with survivors."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/news/safer-together-forum-gbv-2026-10-26"
last_updated: "2026-10-26T23:49:09.167Z"
---

Six Ottawa mayoral candidates, including incumbent [Mark Sutcliffe](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/mark-sutcliffe), attended a forum on gender-based violence on September 25, hosted by two organizations that work with survivors. The Fulcrum, the student newspaper of the University of Ottawa, reported on what the candidates said and how organizations responded.

The forum, called the Safer Together Forum, was organized by the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW) and the City for All Women Initiative (CAWI). Besides Sutcliffe, it was attended by [Jeff Leiper](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/jeff-leiper), [Neil Saravanamuttoo](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/neil-saravanamuttoo), [Alex Lawson](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/alex-lawson), [Ali Shayvard](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/ali-shayvard) and [Zed Chebib](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/zed-chebib).

## Sutcliffe's housing plan and the encampment promise

At the forum, Sutcliffe committed to building 650 supportive housing units during his term, which he described as "more than double the pace that we were originally planning to build housing units because we need to support vulnerable people," according to the Fulcrum.

His campaign also released an advertisement in early October stating it would "move immediately to clear encampments." CAWI co-executive director Meg Herod told the Fulcrum she was concerned about the gap between those two positions. "If Sutcliffe serves another term, I sincerely hope he makes the connection that prevention is not an isolated issue, but rather it relies on an interconnected system of supports and resources," Herod said.

Herod also said: "To me, the administration can and needs to do more to ensure the safety of its residents, even more so as we navigate these times of economic uncertainty."

## Funding figures not provided

The forum asked all six candidates whether they would increase funding to organizations such as OCTEVAW and CAWI. The Fulcrum reported that 72.5 per cent of gender-based violence organizations in Ottawa cite inadequate city funding as their main obstacle to providing services.

Sutcliffe told the forum he thought the city needed to "look at the funding for the organizations that are doing great work in the community," but did not provide a specific dollar amount. The Fulcrum said it contacted his campaign for specific figures and received no response before publishing the article.

## Police alternatives

The forum also focused on what non-policing approaches candidates would support. Ottawa's ANCHOR program provides mental health and addiction services as a city-led alternative to police response.

OCTEVAW executive director Astara van der Jagt told the Fulcrum that the candidates showed "limited familiarity with non-policing approaches to safety. Despite decades of community-based work demonstrating why prevention, social supports, and community-led solutions matter."

The Fulcrum noted that Sutcliffe's answers at the forum did not address ANCHOR specifically.

## Context: reported violence rates

CAWI told the Fulcrum that Ottawa saw a 9 per cent increase in reported gender-based violence statistics from 2024 to 2025. The City's own 2021-2031 Community Well-Being and Safety Plan lists gender-based violence as one of its seven priorities.

Voters choosing a mayor today can read the profiles of all four mayoral candidates at [/on/ottawa-2026/candidates#mayor](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates#mayor). Voting places are open until 8 p.m. today, October 26.

## Sitemap

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