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Ottawa mayoral candidate Neil Saravanamuttoo outside an elections office on May 1, 2026. (Arthur White-Crummey\/CBC)<\/p>\nTwo Ottawa mayoral candidates released platform planks on Thursday as the city passes a key milestone on the way to the October election. <\/p>\n
It’s the beginning of the blackout period, which starts 60 days before voting day and aims to create a firewall between city hall business and the election campaign.<\/p>\n
Neil Saravanamuttoo made a housing announcement Thursday, saying the city should scale up its public builder to double the share of non-market housing in the city from five to 10 per cent. <\/p>\n
“The private market working alone cannot solve the middle class housing crisis,” he said. “Shelter is simply too fundamental to be left solely to market forces, and when the market softens private developers will hit the pause button.”<\/p>\n
He said that means building 25,000 to 30,000 new units. The strategy would rely on Ottawa Community Housing through its ARRIV Properties arm, which focuses on affordable middle class units rather than deeply affordable rent-geared-to-income subsidized units.<\/p>\n
The waiting list for subsidized units is now above 16,000 people, but Saravanamuttoo said Ottawa isn’t in a financial position to scale up that kind of housing.<\/p>\n
“What we’re talking about today with a public option, that is a zero cost to taxpayers. To provide more subsidized social housing, that is a high cost to taxpayers,” he said. “Every one of those units needs to be subsidized on a monthly basis, and we simply don’t have the budget to do that.”<\/p>\n
But he said his public options would still protect tenants from rent spikes and evictions, and the units would still be cheaper, since they don’t need to turn a profit and can use public land.<\/p>\n
One example he gave is ARRIV’s Mosa\u00efq development on Gladstone Avenue, which has townhomes and apartments. Two-bedroom units rent at $1,550, according to its website.<\/p>\n
Billions in loans needed<\/p>\n
Saravanamuttoo said ARRIV operates on a break-even basis, recouping costs through rents. But he said Ottawa Community Housing needs more capital to expand ARRIV, something the city can provide through loan guarantees.<\/p>\n
He didn’t give a firm timeline, saying he would have to take a closer look at the city’s finances and consult with credit rating agencies, but he said he’s hoping to meet his goal of doubling public supply within 20 years. <\/p>\n
“We are talking about loans that go into the billions, let’s be clear,” he said. “But the housing crisis really calls on that sort of action. What we need to do is have much more clarity into the long-range debt projections.”<\/p>\n
Ottawa mayoral candidate Neil Saravanamuttoo outside an elections office on May 1, 2026. (Arthur White-Crummey\/CBC)<\/p>\n
He said all of the developments would fully recover their expenses with no cost to taxpayers, though he acknowledged there is some risk from the loan guarantees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“As long as we are providing housing that people want to live in, they will pay the rent,” he said. “On paper it is a risk, but I consider it a very low risk because we have a revenue source that is tied to those debt payments.”<\/p>\n
He said it remains to be seen whether Ottawa would have to increase its debt limit. <\/p>\n
Lawson releases jobs plan<\/p>\n
Other candidates have already made housing announcements. Jeff Leiper said he would get 1,500 non-profit homes built every year and protect existing affordable housing using a city fund to buy at-risk properties from private owners. <\/p>\n
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Ottawa mayoral candidate Alex Lawson. (Francis Ferland\/CBC)<\/p>\n