Ottawa Mayor 2022

The election followed Jim Watson's departure after four terms. Mark Sutcliffe defeated Catherine McKenney by more than 42,000 votes in a race that drew national attention for its scale, spending, and the city's post-pandemic reckoning with transit, trust, and housing.

Ottawa was at a critical point, facing crises of housing, policing, and identity, alongside a transit system that had significantly deteriorated under the incumbent council. Our city needed effective, decisive, and responsible leadership to ensure a bright future for every resident. We needed leaders willing to work together and take bold action.

As we recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, we had a rare opportunity to transform Ottawa into a city that works for everyone, everywhere. Our tourism industry and downtown core had suffered from the lack of visitors and government office workers. However, suburban businesses had begun to thrive, with more community members at home during the day.

Rather than forcing unwilling Ottavians back into downtown offices to preserve the status quo, some key pillars of my campaign were more housing downtown, more investment in small businesses, and more support for remote workers. I advocated to seize the opportunities before us and build communities that work for all lifestyles and all residents, all across the city.

Between registration and election day, I made myself available across the city: at doors, at events, on the street, on the phone, and on the web. You could find me at festivals, paddling our waterways, or hiking Greenbelt trails with my wife Rachel and our dog. I campaigned on every social media platform imaginable — even on Tinder! — to make myself available to voters, wherever they were.

I listened to everyone with something to say to ensure my goals reflected yours, and I intended to keep listening even after the campaign ended. That ethic of showing up, hearing people out, and building plans together is the same approach I bring to community association work and public advocacy today.

Ottawa's reputation precedes it, but "boring" is truly an unfair assessment of our city. This is a place of lively festivals, vibrant entertainment, and thriving communities. It's home to spectacular parks, Nordic spas, and countless outdoor recreation opportunities that we take pride in. We know how to relax as well as we know how to have fun. But Ottawa has long had a marketing problem.

Our capital city should be admired for its beauty, its peacefulness, its vibrant culture, and its diversity; all the qualities Canadians proudly hold as our national identity should be embodied in its capital. As mayor, I pledged to protect and amplify everything that makes Ottawa great, and then shout it from the world's rooftops.

My vision for Ottawa was an affordable and vibrant home, the best place in the country to start a business, and a world-renowned capital city.

At the centre of that vision were complete communities: neighbourhoods where residents can access food, shopping, health, wellness, education, recreation, and transportation within a short walk. When every part of the city becomes a destination, small businesses thrive, transit works better, emissions fall, and remote workers can build lives close to home. Your relationships with your neighbours strengthen, and your home feels a whole lot fuller.