Here are five developments shaping Ottawa and the National Capital Region today, with context on why they matter.
Women will outnumber men on Ottawa city council for the first time
Ottawa will have its first city council with more women than men after Monday’s municipal election, CTV News Ottawa reports. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and 21 incumbent councillors were re-elected, and all three newcomers are women: Chelsea Walton in Stittsville, former city hall reporter Joanne Chianello in Kitchissippi and Erin Coffin in Kanata South. The new members take their seats next month for a four-year term. Turnout was just over 36 per cent, which CTV describes as the second-lowest since amalgamation. With 21 of 24 councillors returning, the next term will feature mostly familiar faces, but the council’s makeup marks a historic shift even as low turnout raises questions about how engaged residents are with city hall. Sources: CTV News Ottawa, CTV News Ottawa (new council) and CTV News Ottawa (turnout).
Ottawa tables bill to keep MAID off-limits for mental illness alone and allow advance requests
Justice Minister Sean Fraser on Tuesday tabled Bill C-41, which would indefinitely bar medical assistance in dying for people whose only underlying condition is a mental illness, The Canadian Press reports. Without the bill, those people would become eligible on March 17, so it must pass the House of Commons and the Senate before then. The bill would also let people, such as those with dementia or ALS, request MAID in advance, to be carried out after they lose the capacity to consent. Two independent medical or nurse practitioners would have to confirm eligibility, and MAID could not proceed if the person shows refusal or resistance. Provinces would decide whether to offer advance requests through their health systems. The bill settles a long-delayed question for Parliament, but leaves each province, Ontario included, to decide whether advance requests become available in practice. Sources: The Canadian Press via Lethbridge Herald and CTV News.
Canada and the UAE sign a trade deal and launch a strategic partnership
Canada and the United Arab Emirates signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on Tuesday in Ottawa, during the first visit to Canada by a Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. The deal was negotiated in 47 days and, once fully in place, would cut or remove tariffs on over 99 per cent of current Canadian exports to the UAE; it is expected to take effect in 2027. Sectors set to benefit include pulses, canola, aerospace, forestry, seafood and industrial machinery, and Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu projects two-way trade growing from about $3.4 billion to $7 billion over the next decade. The two countries also signed a defence cooperation memorandum, agreed to start negotiating extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties, and noted progress on the UAE’s $70-billion investment commitment to Canada. For Canadian exporters facing U.S. tariffs, the deal opens another market, though the UAE remains a small partner by comparison. Sources: Prime Minister’s Office readout and Prime Minister’s Office news release.
Carney to host EU leaders in Montreal as Canada seeks closer ties with Europe
Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to host European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a Canada-EU summit in Montreal on Oct. 29 and 30, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. The EU is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, with about $178 billion in two-way trade in goods and services in 2025, and its second-largest source of foreign direct investment. A draft joint statement obtained by The Canadian Press outlines closer cooperation on digital security, critical resources and water bombers. Canada’s ambassador-designate to the EU, Jonathan Wilkinson, said full free movement of workers is not part of the talks, which are focused on something narrower, CP reports. With U.S. trade talks still unresolved, the summit is a chance for Ottawa to deepen ties with its next-biggest partner. Sources: Prime Minister’s Office and The Canadian Press via CTV News.
U.S. steel, not offshore dumping, leads Canada’s coated steel imports, data shows
U.S. steel made up 54.1 per cent of the 625,726 tonnes of galvanized and coated steel sheet Canada imported in the first nine months of 2026, according to Global Affairs Canada data reported by The Canadian Press. The figures challenge Cleveland-Cliffs, Stelco’s U.S. owner, which blamed the partial idling of its Hamilton plant partly on dumped overseas steel. McMaster University economist Colin Mang told CP the numbers don’t support that claim, noting import prices for these products have risen in recent months. Federal steel import quotas, tightened in December 2025, exempt imports from the U.S. and Mexico. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has given Stelco’s owners 15 days to reverse their layoff notices. The data shifts the Stelco debate toward U.S. competition, which Canada’s import quotas do not cover. Sources: The Canadian Press via BNN Bloomberg and CTV News.
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