Ottawa Votes Monday: 14 Candidates for Mayor, Transit, Safety and Taxes in Focus

Ottawa voters head to the polls on Monday, October 26, to elect a mayor and council for the next four years. Polls are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and voters must go to the polling place assigned to their address -- checkable through the voter notification letter, the City of Ottawa's 'Where do I vote?' tool, or by calling 311. Advance voting ended October 16, so Monday is the last chance.

The mayoral ballot: 14 names, four contenders

Fourteen names are on the mayoral ballot, but polling points to four main contenders: incumbent Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, and challengers Jeff Leiper, Alex Lawson and Neil Saravanamuttoo. The four shared a stage at CTV's mayoral debate on October 14, where transit, housing, taxes and public safety ran through the night.

The five issues voters are weighing

The campaign's issues are close to home: crime, homelessness, public disorder, transit and municipal taxation. Taxes produced the sharpest contrast between the two best-known candidates: Leiper has pledged a tax increase that is 'affordable and predictable,' while Sutcliffe has defended his record, saying 'we have gotten a lot done in the last four years.' Pollster David Valentin sees an upset as possible but still rates the incumbent the likelier winner -- with the outcome resting on who actually turns out on Monday.

This site reported the mayoral polling picture on October 22, when the Sutcliffe-Leiper contest was already the race's main axis. Monday night's count will decide Ottawa's civic direction for the next four years.