#564 An Imbalanced Approach

#564 An Imbalanced Approach - Look at the bright shiney object!

By Peter Karwacki, candidate for Ward 13 (Rideau-Rockcliffe)
October 14, 2026

In 2022, Mark Sutcliffe asked Ottawa to trust him with a simple idea: a balanced approach. Four years on, the record raises a fair question. Balanced between what and what?

The promises were specific

On election night in 2022, CTV News summarized his platform: cap property taxes at 2 to 2.5 per cent a year for two years, find at least $35 million in savings at City Hall, freeze transit fares for all riders, spend $100 million over four years on roads and cycling, and build 100,000 homes over 10 years.[1] CBC reported that he also claimed he could find $35 to $60 million in savings and cut 200 positions without layoffs, all without reducing services. CBC called that a bold assertion at the time.[2]

Promise	Verdict	Source
Keep tax increases low (2–2.5%, first two years)	Kept, by his account. He told CTV in May 2026 that he kept this promise.	CTV News Ottawa
Freeze transit fares	Not kept	—
Find at least $35 million in savings	kept	—
Build 100,000 homes over 10 years	Not kept yet	need six more years, behind pace required—
$100 million over four years on roads and cycling	kept	—

He did keep some, and he is right to say so. But holding a tax line is the easiest promise a mayor can make good on. It asks nothing of him except saying no. The other four are where the work was. The dollar value of Lansdowne and the dump dwarf other promises.

What residents are asking for

A Nanos Research poll for CTV News Ottawa, published October 10, found that 55 per cent of residents rank transit as the city service most in need of improvement. Roads and sidewalks came second at 27 per cent. In the east end, 52 per cent ranked transit first.[4] Nik Nanos said the top solutions include better LRT service and more reliable buses. Residents are not divided on this. They want both, and they want them first.

What the term delivered instead

Two of the biggest decisions of the term were never put to voters in 2022.

Lansdowne 2.0. Affordable housing diverted; new arena too small for the PWHL Charge, who moved to the Canadian Tire Centre.

The landfill purchase. $95 million CRRRC price, the appraised land value.

A balanced mayor weighs transit, housing and basic services against projects like these. On this record, the money and the attention went one way.

A local example of the same imbalance: Manor Park sidewalks

The pattern appeared in this ward as well. During the Manor Park road, water and sewer rebuild, city policy calls for adding sidewalks on local streets at the same time so the opportunity is not lost for 70–90 years. Councillor Rawlson King moved to shorten or remove sections of the planned sidewalks. Mayor Sutcliffe supported the motion, calling it a “difficult decision” while noting arguments for applying rules uniformly and avoiding neighborhood-by-neighborhood exceptions.[6]

Council defeated the motion 16–7. The sidewalks will proceed.

Accessibility advocates and several councillors argued that the opposition prioritized a vocal local preference over pedestrian safety, accessibility for people with disabilities, and long-term infrastructure efficiency. Supporters of the motion cited trees, sequencing, and other priorities. Whatever the merits of the specific streets, the episode is revealing: when basic pedestrian infrastructure was on the table in Rideau-Rockcliffe, the mayor sided with the effort to scale it back rather than with the city’s standing practice of building sidewalks when the street is already open. That is not balance. It is choosing one constituency’s preference over universal accessibility and cost-effective infrastructure delivery.

He had the tools

When Sutcliffe was elected, the province had just granted strong mayor powers to Ottawa and Toronto, including a veto over bylaws that conflict with provincial priorities.[5] Those powers also let the mayor prepare the budget. The gap between promise and result cannot be blamed on a council that outvoted him. He had the authority.

Now, more promises

This campaign, he is again pledging to keep tax increases as low as possible. A promise is only worth what the last one was worth. Before taking the new ones at face value, what happened to the 2022 list?

The question for voters. In 2022, voters were told they were choosing balance. They never got to weigh Lansdowne 2.0 or the landfill purchase. On October 26, they can weigh both, plus what he is promising now, against what he delivered last time—and against local decisions such as siding with the motion to reduce Manor Park sidewalks.

Rideau-Rockcliffe needs a councillor who will ask these questions in public, and who will not pander to get through a meeting. That is the job I am asking you to give me.

Sources

1. CTV News Ottawa, “Mark Sutcliffe elected mayor of Ottawa” (2022 campaign promises). Link
2. CBC News, “For incoming mayor Mark Sutcliffe, the hard part starts now.” Link
3. CTV News Ottawa, “100 days until Ottawa’s municipal election: here’s what you need to know.”
4. CTV News Ottawa / Nanos Research, “Ottawa voters overwhelmingly choose transit as top municipal election issue,” October 10, 2026. Link
5. Reporting on strong-mayor powers granted to Ottawa (Ontario legislation).
6. CBC News, Arthur White-Crummey, “Manor Park sidewalks to go ahead after council vote,” April 8, 2026. (Reports King’s motion, Sutcliffe’s support, 16–7 defeat, accessibility arguments, and long-term rebuild policy.)

Time for a change.