City of Ottawa workers will be returning to the office five days per week in January in a decision that is drawing criticism from some city councillors.
City manager Wendy Stephanson
called the directive “the new standard” for all city employees in an Aug. 26 memo to council and the city’s senior leadership team.
More than 85 per cent of city staff are already onsite or in the workplace each day, Stephanson said in the memo, and all employees will be returning to the office effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper expressed his “profound disappointment” in the directive and called it “a short-sighted decision”
in a social media post.
“It is a short-sighted decision that serves no one well in either the short or long term,” Leiper stated.
“As we learn more from StatsCan this morning about longer commute times, adding even more traffic congestion is the wrong direction. I’ve been struck when visiting Ottawa’s suburbs at how vibrant local businesses have become serving work-from-home customers.”
Leiper said the decision is “counter” to the vision laid out in the city’s official plan to build more complete communities across the city and to rebuild a vibrant downtown.
“Office workers get to spend more time with their families without long commutes. Taking that away weakens our neighbourhood main streets and undermines communities that have finally started to thrive,” Leiper said.
“It also ignores the reality that Ottawa’s public transit system is already unreliable for too many, with inconsistent bus service and a lack of dependable options for those outside the core. Ordering workers to take on significantly more costs in their household budgets with more and longer commutes is a blow to affordability.”
The city’s senior leadership team regularly reviews the hybrid work approach and considers best practices and comparable employers “to ensure our workforce policies continue to evolve and align with any changes to broader standards,” according to the memo from Stephanson.
“The collective return to a five-day office standard for all city employees will help strengthen the organizational culture and build confidence and trust in the city’s ability to continue to provide responsive and reliable service to the public,” the memo stated.
“The City of Ottawa values in-person work as the foundation for collaboration, organizational culture and excellent service delivery. A return to the five-day office standard allows the city to remain aligned with other public sector employees while supporting the overall wellness and success of the organization.”
Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster echoed Leiper’s criticism of the city directive and questioned its timing, with a similar mandate coming last week from Premier Doug Ford to all Ontario Public Service Agency and Commission workers.
“If we haven’t made the proper investments to ensure fast and frequent transit, this will just add more cars to the road and increase congestion in Centretown,”
Troster said in a social media post.
“Also: hybrid work arrangements are good for parents and caregivers — often women. Trust people to work where they do it best.”
Troster said city staff “have always been instantly available and helpful, no matter what location they are working from” during the hybrid work system.
“Offering flexibility means people can do their best,” Troster said.
