This is an Op-Ed. NCR Now has covered this municipal election with complete independence, providing every candidate with an equal opportunity to make their voices heard to the public. This piece highlights my personal endorsements for every ward & for mayor as a co-founder of NCRNow.ca. It does not take away from our coverage neutrality throughout the campaign, or our commitment to covering local news in a factual manner.
In covering the 2026 Ottawa Municipal Elections, we have had the privilege and opportunity to research and learn about the candidates in every ward and what they stand for broadly. With well over 30 total responses from candidates across various wards and further research into other candidates, we feel uniquely qualified to provide endorsements for multiple wards, not just a single one.
NCR Now is proudly independent and openly progressive. With these values in mind, our endorsements will most often go to candidates who reject austerity politics, refuse corporate developer influence, and who campaign on fighting for a city for all Ottawans, not just the wealthiest or the massive suburban class. With that said, here are our endorsements!
Mayor: Jeff Leiper
Leiper has a history as a staunch progressive as Ottawa’s City Councillor for Kitchissippi, a role that he’s served since 2014. Supporting expansive policy measures, Leiper has cemented himself as one of Council’s most socially progressive voices. What fully cemented this was his vote against Mayor Sutcliffe’s 2025 budget, making him one of few incumbent councillors to reject the direction of “austerity measures.” With polls consistently showing Leiper as the top opponent to Sutcliffe, a vote for him is the only vote that can potentially bring change to the city.
Orleans East-Cumberland (Ward 1): Bob Bell
Bell is a real-estate lawyer who has a history of fighting against corporate landlords. A member of Progressive Nation, Bell’s platform includes plans to expand OC Transpo, expand affordable housing units in the city, and fight developer-influence in municipal politics.
Orleans West-Innes (Ward 2): Jenna Jessop
Less ideologically progressive than many of the other candidates we will be endorsing today, Jessop is the best of the three options running in Ward 2. As the only candidate who filled out The Star’s Vote Compass in Ward 2, Jessop seems to be fairly principled when it comes to progressive economic and social policy. Compared to her relatively right-wing opponents, Jessop is the clear forward-thinking option in this race.
Barrhaven West (Ward 3): Jeff Balys
The incumbent, David Hill, is a major member of Mayor Sutcliffe’s voting bloc, so he was ruled out quickly. Between the two challengers, Balys seems the best option. With a reasonable expansive platform and a history in financing, Balys is a far-cry from a staunch progressive, but he is the best option in this Ward.
Kanata North (Ward 4): James Murchison
Incumbent Cathy Curry votes with Mayor Sutcliffe over 90% of the time, and Rob Millan’s platform is full of proposed austerity measures. This leaves James Murchison, a self-described “municipal nerd” who is not afraid to attack Ottawa’s current political establishment. Similar to most candidates discussed so far, Murchison is very much a suburban progressive. He doesn’t have many radical policy ideas, but he would be the least likely here to be a puppet to developers, and that’s enough for an endorsement.
West Carleton-March (Ward 5): N/A
To be frank, all three candidates in Ward 5 have platforms that are either vague to a fault or explicitly fiscally conservative. No candidate in this riding has done enough to win an endorsement.
Stittsville (Ward 6): Kevin Hua
Hua has a history of being a staunch progressive in the West of Ottawa. He’s run as a candidate with the NDP in multiple federal elections, helped found West Side Pride, and has a well-reasoned expansive policy platform on his website. Our endorsement here is not just due to the otherwise weak crop in Stittsville: he would be a serious candidate for our endorsement even in the most progressive of ridings.
Bay (Ward 7): Theresa Kavanagh
Honestly, Ward 7 has a very strong crop of candidates. All three candidates have brought something valuable to the table in this race, but Kavanagh will get our endorsement for her track record of being willing to vote against the current mayor’s austerity measures.
College (Ward 8): Laine Johnson
Another strong incumbent, Johnson is a client of Progressive Nation and one of eight sitting Councillors to vote with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe less than half the time. In a two-candidate race, she is the best option to continue representing College Ward.
Knoxdale-Merivale (Ward 9): Sean Devine
One of Council’s most progressive voices (and one who would make a great mayor one day), Mr. Devine votes against the incumbent mayor 62% of the time and took no developer donations in 2022. In his platform, he remains committed to more expansive public investment as a vehicle to build a better city, as well as a unique position surrounding weather-conscious infrastructure. Overall, Devine is an A+ candidate for the progressive voter.
Gloucester-Southgate (Ward 10): Donna Dickson
The incumbent councillor, Jessica Bradley, is a good candidate in her own right. Dickson, though, has an incredible story and a fantastic platform to go alongside it. Focusing on community-oriented social reform and an ambitious affordable housing plan, Dickson is one of the best names of the nearly 100 candidates running for Council throughout the entire city.
Beacon Hill-Cyrville (Ward 11): Cathryne Milburn
Incumbent Tim Tierney is one of Mayor Sutcliffe’s most loyal pawns, and one who receives the majority of his campaign funds from corporate developer donations. Challenger Cathryne Milburn is a Progressive Nation client and has already promised not to accept developer donations. It’s rather sad that she will likely lose to a career politician based on his name recognition and “cool uncle” persona, but Milburn is a candidate more than worthy of a seat at the table. Perhaps when Tierney runs for mayor…
note: as a former resident of 4 years in Beacon Hill, I feel uniquely qualified in this specific endorsement
Rideau-Vanier (Ward 12): Lyra Evans
The incumbent, Stephanie Plante, is certainly not a firm member of Mayor Sutcliffe’s voting bloc, but she leaves a lot to be desired from one of Ottawa’s urban Councillors. Lyra Evans, on the other hand, has an incredibly comprehensive progressive platform, including measures to increase food affordability, homelessness, and public civic participation. She would make a strong addition to Ottawa’s City Council.
Rideau-Rockcliffe (Ward 13): Rawlson King
Another incumbent who isn’t afraid to vote against Mayor Sutcliffe and who takes no donations from developers, King has proven himself progressive enough to earn our endorsement for Ward 13. It helps that he does not have a long list of challengers, but he is generally just a strong candidate.
Somerset (Ward 14): Ariel Troster
One of the most progressive voices in the current Ottawa City Council, Troster retains our endorsement against a relatively strong field. The four challengers here would all make good councillors elsewhere, but Troster has done an excellent job in being a voice for residents of Centretown and the surrounding area. Specifically, her proposed policies on housing and ANCHOR are well-reasoned and representative of the needs of Urban voters.
Kitchissippi (Ward 15): Joanne Chianello
Xavier Commerford is an excellent progressive candidate. I hope that they continue to engage in Ottawa’s politics, because they are the most progressive candidate in this race, and, with more experience, would make a fantastic councillor.
Joanne Chianello wins our endorsement here because she has decades of involvement in the community, and, more importantly, perhaps has the most in-depth progressive platform of any Council candidate in all of Ottawa. Another client of Progressive, Chianello would make an excellent successor to Mr. Leiper.
Capital (Ward 17): Shawn Menard
The candidate who holds the honour of voting against Mayor Sutcliffe the most in the current term of council, Menard is one of the best sitting Councillors in advocating for affordable living and against austerity. Jaac Doduck is an intriguing young candidate who we’d encourage to run again in the future, but Menard remains the best voice for Capital and one of the best voices in the entire city.
Alta Vista (Ward 18): Elsa Niyongabo
A candidate with a strong track record of civic engagement, Niyongabo is a centre-left candidate whose platform separates her from the crop with pledges to lead for the people of Alta Vista. Incumbent Marty Carr is not an awful councillor, but votes with the mayor a little too often, and has been described as wishy-washy by Alta Vista constitutents.
Orleans South-Navan (Ward 19): Jason Wing
Wing is another “suburban/rural” progressive, which is to say that he’s generally progressive, but does support plenty of popular suburban policy positions that would often put him at odds with the progressive wing of City Council. Still, his platform has some great ideas, and his opposition to current council makes him a better choice for the progressive voter than incumbent Catherine Kitts, who has accepted developer donations and typically votes with the mayor.
Osgoode (Ward 20): N/A
Good riddance to political opportunist George Darouze, who received most of his donations from corporate developers, and who is now an MPP, but neither of the candidates for this seat in 2026 reflect progressive ideals in the slightest. The incumbent, Isabelle Skalski, campaigns on lowering property taxes for rural Ottawans who take more than their share of city funds, and her challenger, Bruce Anthony Faulkner, has ran with the Ontario Libertarian Party multiple times.
Riverside South-Findlay Creek (Ward 22): Muyiwa Ojo
Ojo is the farthest candidate from being a progressive that we’ve chosen to endorse, but he will likely be more of a voice for Ottawans than incumbent Steve Desroches, who has proven to be an extension of Mark Sutcliffe’s voice more than anything else. Perhaps Ojo will be more of the same, but the possibility for him to be better outweighs the chance that he could somehow be worse.
Kanata South (Ward 23): Megan Strazds-Esenbergs
The vast majority of incumbent Allen Hubley’s donations are linked to developers. That is the least of his controversies.
If Hubley does not win this race, it will likely be Erin Coffin. This is the wrong choice. Looking at each candidate’s responses on The Star’s vote compass, Strazds-Esenbergs is the only candidate willing to advocate for taxation of Ottawa’s upper-class as a tool for funding the city’s programs. This is a hard endorsement to make when there is a real concern of vote-splitting and when Hubley is the clear worst candidate, but we’ve opted to put principle over strategy here.
Barrhaven East (Ward 24): Jules Ruhinda
This is a race lacking a true progressive voice, but Ruhinda seems to be the best and most pragmatic of the bunch. Facing off against many fiscal conservatives, Ruhinda is at least willing to fight for developers to pay their fair share in Ottawa, something that incumbent councillor Wilson Lo has refused to do often.
Conclusion
Ottawa is at a crossroads. It was at a crossroads four years ago when it ultimately chose to elect Mark Sutcliffe’s austerity-platform over an established progressive voice in Catherine McKenney. It will now have the chance to choose again. In this article, we’ve endorsed the candidates that will do the most to put Ottawa — not developers — first.
Thank you for reading, and remember to vote!
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