Seven candidates challenge Ward 1 incumbent Matt Luloff in Orléans East-Cumberland

CBC reports that seven candidates are running in Ward 1 Orléans East-Cumberland, making it the ward with the largest field of any Ottawa ward that has an incumbent councillor. The candidates are incumbent Matt Luloff and six challengers: Bob Bell, Barbara Daniela Gandolfo, Yvette Ashiri, Tammie Trellert, Mazhar Choudhry and Sherif Rizk.

Horizon Ottawa is described by CBC as a left-leaning advocacy group and registered third-party advertiser. Its co-ordinator Tom Ledgley told CBC the group has chosen Ward 1 as one of its two highest-priority races and is buying YouTube advertising against incumbent Matt Luloff. The group has also had volunteers drop thousands of flyers across the ward. Horizon Ottawa has endorsed challenger Bob Bell. As a registered third-party advertiser, CBC notes the group must keep records of contributions and spending. Ledgley told CBC the group had raised more than $7,000 and planned to spend about $5,000 on advertising targeting Ward 1 and the neighbouring Beacon Hill-Cyrville ward.

Horizon Ottawa co-ordinator Tom Ledgley accused Luloff of supporting what he called 'austerity budgets' that made commuting harder, and of voting for a municipal return-to-office mandate while attending committee meetings virtually from his home office. Several challengers also told CBC they viewed the race as a referendum on Luloff's two terms. Barbara Daniela Gandolfo said residents were 'starting to become aware of the lack of investment' in the ward. Yvette Ashiri said Luloff needed to do more.

Luloff told CBC he was 'not pleased that groups are resorting to misinformation, incomplete information and lack of context.' He told CBC he has heard from residents who want no part of what he called American-style attacks. He defended his record, telling CBC: 'We're building on eight years of a lot of progress in this ward, renewing roads, paths and parkways.' He said he felt good about the race and was focused on listening to residents rather than responding to the attacks.

CBC reports that Luloff was fined $4,550 in total and given a one-year driving prohibition after a judge found he was drunk while driving home from Bluesfest in July 2024. Several challengers told CBC the conviction was coming up at the doorstep. Luloff told CBC: 'This was a grave error that I made. It's something I take responsibility for, and I'm focused on moving on with my life in a positive way.' He said he no longer drinks at all and is donating to Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada.

With six challengers, some candidates told CBC that dividing the vote among them is a concern. Bob Bell, who has Horizon Ottawa's endorsement, told CBC that unifying voters behind one challenger would be the task of the final three weeks and that he saw himself as the candidate to consolidate against Luloff. Mazhar Choudhry also told CBC that vote splitting was a concern. Sherif Rizk said he saw himself as better placed to consolidate the vote because his candidacy would appeal more broadly than one aligned with Horizon Ottawa.

CBC reports that most candidates named transit as the top issue. The LRT extension to Trim Road is preparing for a possible opening after the election. Sherif Rizk proposed a reliability guarantee. Yvette Ashiri and Tammie Trellert called for more express routes. Bob Bell said Ottawa had been ignoring its bus fleet. Mazhar Choudhry said he wanted to bring back the long-defunct route 95. Luloff said the priority was making the LRT extension successful.

Voting day for the Ottawa municipal election is October 26, 2026. You can see all Ward 1 candidate profiles at /on/ottawa-2026/races/councillor/ward-1-orleans-east-cumberland. Matt Luloff's profile is at /on/ottawa-2026/candidates/matt-luloff. For all Ottawa election news, visit /on/ottawa-2026/news.