Rideau-Rockcliffe Head-to-Head: The Eastern Bridge

A single-issue comparison of incumbent Councillor Rawlson King and challenger Peter Karwacki on the proposed Montée Paiement–Aviation Parkway (Kettle Island) crossing. Election day is 26 October 2026. Public comments on the federal Initial Project Description close 9 October 2026.

Issue	Rawlson King (Incumbent)	Peter Karwacki (Challenger)
Overall stance	Firm, consistent opposition. Has called the project fundamentally flawed and said Ottawa should say no.	Support. Argues the crossing is needed and that the ward should lead on design rather than block it.
Downtown truck problem	A 2021 NCC/IBI study showed only about 15% of King Edward truck traffic would be diverted even by 2050. Most heavy trucks would still use the Macdonald-Cartier / King Edward corridor. The core problem would remain unsolved.	3,500+ trucks cross the river daily; 72% use Macdonald-Cartier into Lowertown. Most trips start or end east of the Rideau/Gatineau rivers. Getting trucks off King Edward and Rideau is a city-wide safety, noise, and livability issue the ward should help solve.
Local neighbourhood impact	Would shift traffic, noise, pollution, and safety risks onto Aviation Parkway and nearby streets in Manor Park, Rockcliffe Park, and Vanier. Risks to Montfort Hospital access and quality of life for seniors and residents. “1950s solution to a 2026 problem.”	Acknowledges local impacts but says outright opposition is NIMBYism. The ward sits closest to the corridor and therefore has the most leverage to demand mitigations (routing, noise, hospital access, connections) if it engages early instead of saying no.
Induced demand & capacity	New capacity will generate additional traffic. Building the bridge does not solve congestion; it relocates and potentially increases it.	Existing five crossings are clustered in a short stretch and at or near capacity. Population in the National Capital Region has doubled since the last new road bridge (Portage, 1973). Extra capacity is required.
Cost and priorities	Estimated $3–4 billion is a misallocation. Federal and municipal money should go to transit, housing affordability, homelessness, and the opioid crisis. Project is not a City of Ottawa priority.	The project is federally led and funded. Opposition does not stop the money; it only reduces the ward’s ability to shape how the money is spent on the Ottawa side.
Role of Rideau-Rockcliffe	Councillor’s job is to protect the communities that would absorb the new traffic. Local residents and community associations have opposed this corridor for more than a decade.	Ward 13 must show leadership. “The bridge is coming whether you like it or not.” Council as a whole can and likely willoverrule ward-level resistance (16-9). Better to negotiate design now than be left with whatever is built later.
Preferred path forward	Stop or significantly rethink the project. Invest in transit and other solutions that do not dump traffic on east-end neighbourhoods.	Accept the preferred corridor, participate in the impact assessment, and extract the strongest possible local protections and connections (417 links, truck restrictions where possible, active-transportation elements, hospital access).
Tone toward the other side	Frames opposition as evidence-based representation of residents who would live with the consequences.	Calls the incumbent’s position “wrong-headed” and “pandering.” Contrasts city-wide benefit with ward-level obstruction.

Sources: King’s June 2025 newsletter and March 2025 Manor Park Chronicle column; Karwacki’s August 2026 campaign posts and earlier 2019–2026 blog entries on the file; NCC/PSPC project materials and 2021 IBI Group study as cited by both sides. Positions summarized from public statements only. The project remains a federal undertaking; a city councillor cannot approve or cancel it.

https://peterkarwacki.blogspot.com/p/peter-karwacki-for-rideau-rockcliffe.html?m=1