And so it begins. With the 2026 municipal election still eight months away, the challengers are already lining up for a shot at a seat on city council starting with the Mayor’s office even though candidates can not officially register for the election until May 1.

The most high profile candidate who has declared his intention to run so far is Kitchissippi Ward councillor Jeff Leiper who plans to run against Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.

In fact, Leiper was already making the rounds, introducing himself to residents at events across Ottawa, as early as last September where he was seen at the Chateauneuf Community Association Family Fun Day.

Leiper was first elected to city council in 2014, when he defeated then incumbent Katherine Hobbs. In doing so, he became one of only a handful of people who have defeated an incumbent since the City of Ottawa was amalgamated in 2001.

But beating the incumbent mayor could prove to be a much bigger challenge. He’s not seen as being a very controversial figure. In fact, compared to the previous two
mayors, Jim Watson and Larry O’Brien, he is positively boring.

That said he has presided over a city council that is dealing with several ongoing issues including a transit service in OC Transpo that is having a hard time in meeting its minimal standards and is running a massive deficit.

And then there’s the controversial Lansdowne 2.0 project which was approved last November and will cost Ottawa taxpayers $419 million.

Here in the east end, transit and transportation will likely be the hottest issues of the 2026 election campaign.

How big of an issue they will be will likely depend on the voters’ memory. OC Transpo has been plagued with sub-standard service, delays and disruptions for months now, but things really came to a head last month when half of the city’s trains and a number of buses had to be taken out of service due to maintenance issues.

The ongoing delay in the opening of the eastern extension of the O-Train has also been a bone of contention with commuters. Assuming it will eventually open sometime this spring, it’s debatable whether it will remain a hot issue by the time the official election campaign kicks off on Sept. 1.

Transportation issues in the area south of Innes Road could also be a hot potato, although the city has already approved the Renaud Road extension from Navan Road to Anderson Road and an extra lane in both directions on the Blackburn Bypass that will accommodate buses and high occupancy vehicles. But none of those issues will likely result in any new faces representing Orléans on the next city council. Orléans South-Navan councillor Catherine Kitts and Orléans West-Innes councillor Laura Dudas have both said they plan to run for reelection, And while Orléans East-Cumberland councillor Matt Luloff and Beacon Hill-Cyrville councillor Tim Tierney have yet to do the same, they are both expected to run for re-election as well.

Tierney was first elected to city council in 2010 when he defeated then incumbent
Michel Bellemare. He was re-elected in 2014, 2018 and 2022 when he received
82 per cent of the vote.

Luloff beat out 16 other candidates in 2018 when he ran to replace Bob Monette. He was re-elected in 2022 when he received 74 per cent of the vote running against two other candidates.

Laura Dudas was also elected to city council in 2018, beating out three other challengers to replace incumbent Jody Mitic who had stepped down for personal reasons. She was re-elected in 2022 with 71 per cent of the vote.

After finishing second to Luloff in 2018, Catherine Kitts ran for the seat in the former Cumberland Ward in a 2020 byelection after then incumbent Stephen Blais successfully ran for a seat in the provincial legislature. She was re-elected in 2022 in Orléans South-
Navan with 76 per cent of the vote after the ward boundaries were redrawn.

The only candidate to so far declare their intention to run in next fall’s election is
Barbara Daniela Gandolfo who plans to run in Orléans East-Cumberland.

A designer, educator and community advocate, Gandolfo wants to close the funding gap for Orléans East-Cumberland and bring a strong local voice to City Hall.