Cities

Ottawa councillors face competitive races as municipal election nears

Several wards feature well-funded challengers and acrimonious campaigns ahead of the Oct. 27 vote.

By Erin Kowalski, Editor-in-Chief
October 20, 2026

OTTAWA — Voters will choose city councillors in 24 wards across Ottawa in one week.

While 22 sitting councillors are running again, several face competitive, well-funded or unpredictable races.

In Kanata South, four-time councillor Allan Hubley faces a rematch with Erin Coffin, who got 23 per cent of the vote to his 34 per cent in 2022.

"Mostly for that reason, Hubley said he views Coffin as his main rival," the notes state.

Coffin, the Bridlewood Community Association president, said she feels in a better position than ever, with more experience and lessons from the last campaign.

She and another challenger, Sam Bhalesar, are running well-funded campaigns, reporting more than $15,000 and more than $22,000 respectively in early October.

Bhalesar said this is not just a Hubley-Coffin rematch.

"Whatever happened in the past, each election is different," said Bhalesar.

Hubley is also being targeted by the left-wing advocacy group Horizon Ottawa, which selected his ward as one of three to defeat a right-leaning incumbent.

"We are definitely focused solely on Allan Hubley, his voting record and reminding people about all of these reasons why his time really should be up on council," Horizon co-ordinator Tom Ledgley said.

Hubley dismissed the group's efforts as based on misleading and negative attacks.

Challengers listed transit, traffic and infrastructure as big issues for the ward, while Hubley, who described himself as a fiscal conservative, added taxes and fiscal responsibility.

Knoxdale-Merivale race turns acrimonious

In Knoxdale-Merivale, incumbent Sean Devine is facing two challengers in what has become one of the city's most acrimonious races.

Challenger Anna Ielo-Tal has posted signs with slogans like "Stop the War on Drivers" and "Faith Deserves Respect" as she tries to frame Devine as anti-car and critiques his opposition to the bubble bylaw restricting protest near schools and places of worship.

Devine has accused her of spreading misinformation over his record and past statements.

He said he sees signs that outside forces are targeting the ward in a bid to unseat him, including at least two city councillors who have supported Ielo-Tal.

Devine has the support of Capital ward's Shawn Menard, while Gloucester-Southgate's Jessica Bradley has been out canvassing with him.

Both Ielo-Tal and Devine are running well-funded campaigns, while the other candidate, Cole Fraser Jones, is operating on a tighter budget.

The candidates agree that the state of stormwater infrastructure is a top priority, as the ward was among those hardest hit by the Canada Day floods.

In the open race for Kitchissippi, one of two wards with no incumbent, several well-funded candidates are competing.

Tech entrepreneur Subhir Uppal, former journalist Joanne Chianello and former Hintonburg Community Association president Brian Innes all say their fundraising totals are either at the maximum spending limit or close to it.

A fourth candidate, Xavier Commerford, joined later and said they have raised far less but are relying on volunteers.

Most candidates agree that intensification is a key issue in the ward, which keeps seeing tall towers and infill development.

Innes said projects are being approved "without really understanding the impact on citizens who live here."

Chianello said she supports "smarter intensification" that makes sure recreation, services and infrastructure keep up with growth.

Two wards will not see any race at all after no one stepped forward to challenge their incumbents.

Voters go to the polls on Oct. 27.

With files from CBC News and Simcoe Reformer