The suburban riding tends to follow national voting trends. Here’s what you need to know about voting there.
Quick facts
- Size of the riding: 44 square kilometres
- Population: 128,520 (2021)
- Density: 2,920 people per square kilometre
- Median household income: $84,000
- Median age: 40.8
- Estimated number of electors: 92,273
- Knowledge of official languages: English (69.2 per cent), French (0.9 per cent), English and French (28.1 per cent), neither English nor French (1.8 per cent)
Where is Ottawa West — Nepean?
The riding follows the shore of the Ottawa River, roughly from Shirley’s Bay to the Kichi Zìbì LRT station. As a result of the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution, the western boundary now starts at Davidson Side Road instead of Herzberg Road, then follows Carling Avenue before veering south to Moodie Drive and east to Hwy. 416. The bulk of the riding encompasses about three dozen mature Ottawa and Nepean neighbourhoods, including Bayshore, Lincoln Heights, Centrepointe, City View, Briargreen and more.
The northern border of the riding is the Ottawa River, while the CN Rail Line constitutes the southern perimeter. In 2022, the northeastern boundary shifted to the east, from Maitland Avenue and Sherbourne Road, to Golden Avenue and then along Carling to Hwy 417, a move that brought McKellar Park and McKeller Heights into the Ottawa West — Nepean fold.
Another 2022 adjustment affected the southeast boundary, pushing that line further east, from Merivale Road to Fisher Avenue, and absorbing the entire neighbourhood of Carlington into the riding.
Evening Update
OWN, as it’s known in political circles, is diverse, both in income and ethnicity, capturing the ritzy, waterfront homes of Crystal Beach as well as pockets of public housing in places like Michelle Heights, Caldwell Avenue and Carlington. It has a large population of federal public servants and is home to the Queensway Carleton Hospital, Algonquin College, Centrepointe Theatre, Britannia Beach, Andrew Haydon Park and two sailing clubs. The National Capital Commission owns much of the green space.
With the extension of Ottawa’s light-rail system — Phase 3 will run to Moodie and the 417 — it is also the site of a massive amount of public infrastructure spending, funded by three levels of government.
About one in five voters is a senior.
Observers say the biggest change in the last decade has been the growth and impact of new Canadians, reflected by a sizeable population (close to 30 per cent) who have neither English nor French as a mother tongue.
Historically, it has been the political base of some heavy hitters, such as former Foreign Affairs minister John Baird (in the Harper Conservative government) and, provincially, Liberal Bob Chiarelli, a longtime McGuinty cabinet minister.
Stalwart Liberal backbencher Anita Vandenbeld has been the riding’s MP for a decade.
2021 federal election results
- Liberal: 25,889 (45.1 per cent)
- Conservative: 16,473 (28.7 per cent)
- NDP: 11,163 (19.4 per cent)
- Green: 1,642 (2.9 per cent)
- People’s Party: 1,908 (3.3 per cent)
- Christian Heritage: 327 (0.6 per cent)
Recent electoral history
The riding tends to stick with its incumbents until a national wind of change pushes them out. On that theme, Baird succeeded Liberal Marlene Catterall in 2006 and held the seat until Vandenbeld painted the riding red in the Justin Trudeau victory of 2015. She repeated the win in 2019 and again in 2021, although she lost about 1,700 votes over those two years.
Insiders say Vandenbeld, a low-key presence in Parliament, has been good at building bridges to ethnic communities in the riding, pays attention to constituency work and has a reputation on Parliament Hill for her work on women’s and international issues.
But she has also ruffled feathers. In 2019, the federal ethics commissioner found Vandenbeld violated conflict-of-interest rules when she used her position to try to influence constituents to vote for her husband, Don Dransfield, in Ottawa’s 2018 municipal election. Dransfield was not elected and the ethics commissioner did not recommend punishment.
Vandenbeld caused a different furor last year when she derailed a meeting of the House of Commons status of women committee that had been convened, during the summer with little notice, to address domestic violence. Instead, Vandenbeld called for a debate on a motion related to abortion rights, shifting attention away from the victims’ testimony and disrupting the meeting. Advocates described the action as tone deaf and accused her of using the victims to score political points.
Overall, Vandenheld may not hold on to her seat in this election. Provincially, the riding has flipped a couple of times in the last decade, from red to blue to orange, with the NDP’s Chandra Pasma recently elected as MPP for a second term.
Who are the candidates running in Ottawa West — Nepean?
First elected in 2015, Liberal Anita Vandenbeld, 55, has a long resume in international development and women’s issues, including work for the UN and stints in more than 20 countries. A Calgary native, she has never been appointed to cabinet but has served as the parliamentary secretary to the ministers of National Defence and International Development and has chaired the parliamentary women’s caucus.
At his campaign launch on Feb. 1, Conservative Ryan Telford argued that a Tory government will make life more affordable, secure borders, empower the military and “unleash Canadian industry.” He also said that Conservatives are focused on “common-sense” solutions to the housing crisis and its impact on new Canadians and seniors. Telford, who grew up in a rural farming community, has worked for the federal government and in Conservative politics for more than 20 years.
NDP candidate Josh Bizjak describes himself as an NGO management professional who is well-versed on labour issues, public policy, trade relations and stakeholder collaboration. The Toronto native, who’s lived in Ottawa for more than a decade, worked closely with NDP legends like Jack Layton and Ed Broadbent. Bizjak is promising to better represent constituents, and fight for improved public services, affordability and strengthening the country.
People’s Party candidate Glen Armstrong says he stands for freedom, personal responsibility, respect and fairness. He believes Canada can “restore its prosperity and empower the people through bold convictions.” He is also the former Ottawa Catholic School Board trustee who was asked to resign and publicly apologize to the Muslim community for a social media post he made in 2021.
The candidate for the Green Party is Prashanta Dhakal. The party has not yet shared his biographical information. The party’s platform focuses on several issues, including climate action, affordable housing, a green economy and emergency preparedness.
