Fairness for Ottawa: Calling on Federal Party Leaders

This is a very important election for Ottawa for many reasons.

What’s the Issue?

For five years now, the federal government has underpaid the City of Ottawa almost $100 million in property taxes. That means local taxpayers have had to make up the difference. I'm asking the next federal government to pay its fair share, so you no longer have to cover part of their bill.

Ottawa has been shortchanged for too long. If you agree, please add your voice!

Ottawa has been shortchanged for too long, and local taxpayers have had to make up the difference. The federal election campaign is the ideal time to continue the Fairness for Ottawa campaign and raise the issue with those running to become prime minister. If you agree, please fill out the form and your voice in support!

In accordance with the City’s Election-related Resources Policy, your personal information will not be used for any election-related purpose. Your personal information will be used for the purpose of creating the petition including validating signatories’ identities and protecting the integrity of the petition process. Your personal information will not be forwarded to any third parties, only the total number of signatories will be made public.

Ottawa has been getting less, even as costs go up.

Nine years ago, the federal government was paying Ottawa about $194 million in property taxes. Now they are paying only $164 million. That's because unlike you and I, the federal government has been undervaluing their own assets to get away with paying less.

Trump, trade are important, but so is our city.

The federal election campaign has been mostly about trade and tariffs. But there are important local issues as well. I'm calling on the party leaders to pay their fair share of taxes for federal properties and support the revitalization of downtown Ottawa. I was happy to join forces with Mairesse Maude Marquis-Bissonnette of Gatineau to send this urgent message to federal party leaders.

Key areas of focus and shared priorities:

Fair Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILTs): requesting PILT payments on properties at market value to reduce pressure on City budgets and residents having to make up the difference.
Revitalizing downtowns: partnering with the federal government to repurpose vacant federal office spaces and revitalize our downtown neighbourhoods.
Public transit funding: securing long-term federal funding for public transit, including infrastructure funding for the tramway in Gatineau and Stage 3 LRT in Ottawa.
Affordable housing and homelessness: calling for increased funding to accelerate the construction of affordable housing and support homelessness prevention initiatives
Support for public service worker transition: implementing retraining and reskilling programs to help workers affected by layoffs in the federal public service.
Strengthening regional governance: increased representation on the National Capital Commission (NCC) to ensure better decision-making for residents.
Infrastructure and climate resilience: requesting federal investment in critical infrastructure and climate resilience projects.

If you agree that this issue is critical for our region, I encourage you to add your voice and show your support here. Additionally, I urge you to reach out to federal party leaders and candidates, asking them to commit to addressing this important issue during the campaign.