1,000 People Can Take Back Ottawa

Will you be one of The Thousand? And should I run?

The status quo is broken

Ottawa is no longer the city of opportunity we once knew.

When I was a student at Nepean High School, you could get almost anywhere in the city in 20 minutes. Buying a home was within reach for many families. Transit worked.

Today, that city feels further away than ever.

Congestion is a daily frustration. Getting on the housing ladder requires help from parents. Transit is no longer a real option for many.

This didn’t happen overnight. And it won’t fix itself.

2026 is a municipal election year. It’s our chance to put Ottawa back on track.

That means rebuilding Ottawa as a city that works for everyday people — where housing is within reach, transit is dependable, and communities shape the future they live in.

Missing the moment

The incumbent mayor talks about historic investments, especially in transit. But people aren’t fooled.

Currently, he has two challengers. But few people seem inspired by what they’re hearing.

Recent polling reinforces this view. Few residents think Ottawa is heading in the right direction. Few residents have expressed any real enthusiasm for the mayoral contenders who have come forward.

Why 1,000 people matter

One way to win a city-wide election is with money and political machinery. This is the approach of the incumbent and his challengers.

Another way to win is by rallying the grassroots around a vision for a better tomorrow. This is the approach that put Obama, Mamdani and others in power.

For Ottawa, 1,000 engaged residents, mobilized behind the right candidate, could win this election.

1,000 people who are willing to talk to neighbours, co-workers, friends, and community networks — and bring them into something bigger. 1,000 people who would dare to dream that we can have better, and do what it takes to realize that dream.

I call them The Thousand.

The Thousand are the first organizers, connectors, and ambassadors of a people-powered campaign.

They reach out to friends, family and community connections, and invite them to become part of building a better Ottawa. They might take on a specialized role — like heading up canvassing or fundraising — that gets good people elected to Council. Or they just provide the quiet support that shows the people of Ottawa want better than what we are getting.

Candidate for change

The Thousand need a candidate to rally behind.

I’m prepared to step into the race and be that candidate, if that is what enough of you want.

You might reasonably ask why not simply back an alternative already in the race?

The short answer is that this moment requires more than a respectable showing. There is too much at stake to come in second, or even third.

Success requires someone who can sketch out a credible vision for a better Ottawa, and has a realistic plan for winning. Someone who can motivate individuals across the city, inside and outside the greenbelt, around a credible message of change.

You don’t need to decide today who you’ll vote for on election day.

But you can decide whether you want to be part of a people-powered movement that builds a city that works for all of us.

That’s what The Thousand is about.

Why me?

If I’m stepping into this conversation, I owe you an explanation.

I’m an economist trained at Carleton and the London School of Economics. I’ve spent my career solving difficult real-world problems — including as a Department of Finance Canada executive and as the G20’s chief economist for global infrastructure.

I understand municipal finance. How bad City Hall decisions make life less affordable for all of us.

But expertise alone isn’t enough.

I’m also a community organizer with Better Ottawa and have been a public advocate on many local issues — including Lansdowne, Tewin, the infrastructure deficit and Sprung Structures. I learned the craft of organizing and building social movements at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Ottawa urgently needs a different approach than what we’re getting out of City Council.

We need leadership that returns City Hall to its rightful owners — the people of Ottawa.

This city works best when people are involved

For more than twenty years, Ottawa has crumbled. It’s time to stop managing decline, and start getting our confidence back.

I love this city too much to stand by while residents are told to expect less. Less affordability, less reliability, less say.

If stepping forward as a candidate is the most effective way I can help Ottawa move forward, I’m prepared to do it. But only if there is real demand from the community.

This is our moment

Political veterans will tell you that incumbents always have the advantage. That taking on the establishment is like David and Goliath.

And yet, time and again, people-powered movements break through when enough ordinary residents believe that a better future is possible.

Ottawa is no different.

If 1,000 of us step up, we can change this race.

If 1,000 of us work together, we can take back our city.

So here’s the question:

Will you be one of The Thousand?

Next: Who Really Runs Ottawa?