Here are five developments shaping Ottawa and the National Capital Region today, with context on why they matter.
Ottawa voters choose a mayor, councillors and trustees on Monday
Ottawa’s 178-day municipal campaign ends Monday, Oct. 26, when polls are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for residents to elect a mayor, city councillors and school board trustees, CTV News Ottawa reports. Fourteen people are running for mayor, and the four leading candidates, Mark Sutcliffe, Neil Saravanamuttoo, Jeff Leiper and Alex Lawson, met in a CTV News Ottawa debate on Oct. 14. A Nanos poll for CTV News Ottawa published earlier this month showed Sutcliffe leading the race by 18 points. Council will also see new faces: Kitchissippi voters are choosing a new councillor for the first time in 12 years, and nine candidates are running in Stittsville, where there is no incumbent. More than 27,000 people cast ballots during four days of special advance voting earlier in October. The results will shape how city hall handles transit, housing, taxes and infrastructure, the issues that headlined the CTV debate. Sources: CTV News Ottawa, CTV News Ottawa (candidates), CTV News Ottawa (Nanos poll) and CTV News Ottawa (advance voting).
B.C. Conservatives win majority government as David Eby resigns as NDP leader
The B.C. Conservatives, led by interim leader Lorne Doerkson, won a majority government in Saturday’s snap election, ending almost a decade of NDP government, The Canadian Press reports. Preliminary results as of 11:30 p.m. Saturday had the Conservatives elected or leading in 64 ridings, well above the 47 needed for a majority, with the NDP at 27 and the Greens at two, according to My Cariboo Now; election-day ballots are being counted by hand, so final numbers may still shift. David Eby, who called the vote two years early, conceded and said he will step down as NDP leader, saying he accepts “full responsibility,” CTV News reports. Doerkson, re-elected in Cariboo-Chilcotin, has promised to triple liquefied natural gas production by 2035, keep health care publicly funded and impose no new taxes. Green Leader Emily Lowan is projected to win Saanich North and the Islands. The result brings a new government to the table with Ottawa on energy and resource development, with LNG expansion at the centre of its platform. Sources: The Canadian Press via National Newswatch, CTV News Vancouver and My Cariboo Now.
First Nations, Carney and premiers gather in Ottawa as Quebec and Alberta premiers skip Monday’s meeting
First Nations leaders, Prime Minister Mark Carney and premiers are set to gather in Ottawa today for a ceremony with elders, knowledge keepers and community members ahead of Monday’s closed-door First Nations-First Ministers meeting, The Canadian Press reports. AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says starting with ceremony helps participants arrive grounded in First Nations spirituality. Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have both said they will not attend Monday’s meeting, and the Privy Council Office has not confirmed which premiers will. According to Global News, Assembly of First Nations priorities include economic development, policing and public safety, employment, health and a proposed First Nations sovereign wealth fund, while Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said, “We will not accept a relationship defined by promises without action.” The first meeting of its kind since the 2005 Kelowna talks will test whether Ottawa can build support for faster major-project approvals, which some First Nations leaders say were pushed ahead without proper consultation. Sources: The Canadian Press via 980 CJME, The Canadian Press via CTV News and Global News.
Bank of Canada widely expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday
Most economists in a Reuters poll now expect the Bank of Canada to raise its key policy rate by a quarter point to 2.50 per cent on Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 2.25 per cent. In the Oct. 21-23 survey, 19 of 34 economists predicted a hike, a sharp turn from the previous poll, when 80 per cent expected rates to hold through the end of 2026. Reuters points to September inflation of 3.1 per cent, rising inflation expectations in the Bank’s own business survey, and oil prices that hit $117 a barrel on Friday. Fortune reported Brent crude at about $116 on Thursday morning, roughly 76 per cent higher than a year earlier. The Bank says its decision and Monetary Policy Report will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, with Governor Tiff Macklem holding a news conference at about 10:30 a.m. at its Ottawa head office. A hike would be the Bank’s first move up in this cycle, raising costs for variable-rate borrowers and households renewing mortgages. Sources: Reuters via 93.3 The Drive, Fortune and Bank of Canada.
Flu season arrives about seven weeks early as Ontario opens flu shots to everyone Monday
Canada’s flu season started about seven weeks earlier than usual, experts told Global News. Health Canada data show 6.1 per cent of tests detected influenza in the week ending Oct. 17, above the 5 per cent epidemic threshold and up from 0.8 per cent in the same week of 2025, when the threshold was not crossed until mid-November. The dominant strain is H1N1, which this year’s vaccine covers. In Ontario, flu shots are available now to vulnerable populations, and everyone becomes eligible on Oct. 26. Dr. Jesse Papenburg of the Montreal Children’s Hospital estimates the vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by almost 50 per cent. With the virus circulating weeks ahead of schedule, Monday’s wider eligibility gives Ottawa residents an earlier chance to get protected before winter. Source: Global News.
About The Author
