Jeff Leiper falls short as incumbent Mark Sutcliffe is re-elected mayor

Volunteers and supporters of Jeff Leiper filled Beyond the Pale brewery to watch the live results of the 2026 Ottawa mayoral election, but were left disappointed with the results.

Grumbles filled the restaurant as CBC announced the projected victory of incumbent Mark Sutcliffe over runner-up Leiper.

Leiper’s campaign and loss

Leiper ran on the platform he called “A City That Works.”

He believes “Ottawa doesn’t need more political noise or distraction, it needs leadership that can fix what isn’t working,” according to his campaign website.

Leiper proposed changes to many aspects of Ottawa’s operations including the reversal of the federal four-day office mandate and focusing police resources on community safety.

The platform gathered significant support but fell short at 105,819 votes to Sutcliffe’s 139,354 votes.

What supporters saw in Leiper

Dhriti Aravind chose to support Leiper, not just for what he campaigned on, but what she saw of him before he ran for mayor.

“I’ve seen him (Leiper) on the bus multiple times, especially when I was a student,” she said.

“I could really see that he was a transit advocate — he seemed to be around and about the city.”

For Aravind, Leiper was a passionate Ottawan first, mayoral candidate second — something she couldn’t say for incumbent Sutcliffe.

“I haven’t seen Sutcliffe (around) once in my entire time and I’ve lived the majority of my life in Ottawa,” she said.

Vicky Smallman, former board member of the Somerset West Community Health Centre, felt Leiper was the best person for the role for his “great balance of compassion, experience, knowledge and creative problem-solving abilities to get it done.”

Hopes for the next four years in Ottawa

No matter the mayor, many residents of Ottawa simply want to see the city’s biggest problems solved.

“Ultimately, I think the biggest thing would be trying to improve Ottawa’s transit,” said Kyle Jahns, a resident of Alta Vista.

“There’s so much potential there for it. It seems like such a missed opportunity for Ottawa.

“The city is beautiful. I moved here about five years ago, but I love all the different neighbourhoods.

“I love how beautiful it is and all the different areas you can explore, but it just seems there’s a bit of a disconnect there in regards to getting around.”

Smallman wants to see more support given to those who need it most.

“Community and social services have essentially been abandoned for the last 10 or 15 years,” she said.

“These are services that our most vulnerable people rely on, but they’re always the first to be cut or underfunded.”

Leiper addresses supporters, expresses gratitude

Leiper said his campaign which began “during days that still have a hint of a long winter, move into long stretches of satanic heat, then back into mornings that need gloves again,” was something he couldn’t be happier to have done.

“Some of my favourite moments actually came much later in the campaign when I was out doing the big events, where I’m handing flyers out to people and the engagement of the youth who were genuinely excited to see me,” Leiper said.

“That will be something for which I am grateful for the rest of my life.”

Despite his loss, Leiper feels the work he and his team put into the campaign is something to look back on without any regrets.

“I went in to this campaign determined that I was going to conduct it with integrity,” he said.

“I am very proud of the campaign I ran, I’m very proud of the campaign my team ran. They are rock stars, each and every one.”