Voters in Ottawa are heading to the polls today.
Months of campaigning, debates, and door knocking have all lead to this evening, when votes in the 2026 Ottawa election will be counted.
The citizens of Ottawa will elect 22 councillors and a mayor today. (Two wards will have their councillors return after no one signed up to oppose them.)
Will Mark Sutcliffe get a second term in office? Will one of his three main challengers claim the chain of office? The city will find out tonight.
We’ll be providing live updates right here, so you can follow along as our team of reporters fans out across the city to cover election night from where it matters most — on the ground.
12:18 p.m. — Ottawa voters begin casting their ballots
The day of change has arrived, and it is being welcomed by the citizens of Ottawa as they hit the polls.
For some, only minimal change is needed.
“I would like to see more of a police presence enforcing the rules of the road,” said Wayne Burke, an ex-Navy service member and a retired school bus driver. “It seems people just don’t care and drive thinking the law doesn’t apply to them.”
Burke says he doesn’t use Ottawa transit but, like most people, “sees that it needs a bit of work.”
So does Murray Campbell, a retired 65-year-old and longtime resident of McKellar Park in Ottawa’s west end.
“It’s time to get the LRT running more efficiently,” said Campbell. “And I want my candidate to keep my taxes low and invest more money to update the infrastructure of the city.”
Campbell also noted that with development should come accommodations.
“There are too many high rises being built in the city core without determining how the traffic increase will be handled,” he said. “Parking accommodations must be met before more developments are approved.”
Burke rhetorically asks “why is there so much farmland inside city limits?” He’d rather see “maybe more Amazon buildings and more affordable housing.”
“Get a few encampments shut down,” said Burke, before adding: “This city needs Donair shops.”
Campbell said he is “tired of hearing about long-term tenants who have been paying under markets rents for years but complain later about landlords wanting to increase rents or evict tenants.
“Landlords have all the risks with older buildings,” he added.
Monika O’Ree, a 47-year-old director of a senior care and companionship, said she is voting for Mark Sutcliffe as mayor.
“He was handed a dumpster fire four years ago and he couldn’t get it all perfect,” she said. “So I think he deserves another shot at this.
“He started something and he’s working hard to keep our taxes down and cleaning up the streets of Ottawa, as well as the LRT.
“I think that the homelessness has gotten out of control and he’s just trying to clean up the streets of Ottawa so we can feel safe walking downtown again.”
O’Ree, who voted at Des Pionniers Catholic School, is continuing her support of councillor Matt Luloff in the Orléans-East Cumberland ward.
“I think he’s done really good things for the ward,” said O’Ree. “He was charged with a DUI, which made me want to lean on the side of not voting for him again. But I am a believer that you go with the devil you know rather than the devil you don’t. So he deserves a second chance.”
Cathy Ryan, who resides in Ward 4, Kanata North, says in a mayoral candidate she would “like to see someone recognizes that a lot of Ottawa exists outside the downtown core and that issues are very different in the suburbs.
“Transit remains a big issue, especially living in the west end, given the delays to the LRT,” said Ryan, a retired registered nurse. “We also need someone that doesn’t blame the provincial and federal governments for all of the city’s shortfalls. ”
— Don Brennan
The mayoral front-runners
Read our in-depth features about the four leading candidates: Mark Sutcliffe, Jeff Leiper, Neil Saravanamuttoo, and Alex Lawson.
- We followed Mark Sutcliffe’s campaign for a week. He gets mad sometimes
- Jeff Leiper: The former drama kid who wants centre stage at City Hall
- Neil Saravanamuttoo: The ‘pragmatic progressive’ who wants to be Ottawa’s mayor
- Alex Lawson: The problem solver who wants to be a new voice as mayor
What you need to know if you’re going to vote
Polling stations across the city will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Each voter will be required to show a piece of identification to receive a ballot, which must show your name and address. Photo identification is not required.
If an eligible voter cannot present an acceptable proof of identity and address, they will be required to make a statutory declaration before a ballot is issued.
Voters can also search for their voting place and can get more information and resources at ottawa.ca/vote or by calling 311 or the Elections Office at 613-580-2660.
For more information, see our full Election Guide.
When will results be announced?
Wondering how late you need to stay up tonight?
Elections Ottawa said unofficial results will be available soon after polls close “and will be updated frequently until all results have been tabulated.”
The majority of results are expected within one hour of the voting station closing, and, based on past elections, all results will likely be received by 10:30 p.m.
The latest election news
Stick with us though election night as we bring you all the results from across the city. We’ll have reporters in every contested riding across the city, and at all the parties for the leading mayoral campaigns.
We’ll have updates through the day so be sure to join us for everything you need to know about the Ottawa 2026 municipal election.
