Will the City of Ottawa get a ‘bump’ from being home to the next prime minister?

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Poilievre was born and raised in Calgary, where his adoptive parents were teachers. After graduating from the University of Calgary, he moved to Ottawa in 2002 to work as a political staffer for Stockwell Day, then a member of the Canadian Alliance. He moved to Manordale in 2003 and has been the MP for Carleton since the age of 25.

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Former mayor Jim Watson said having a prime minister knitted politically to the city could only be positive for Ottawa.

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“It certainly helps in terms of our municipal leaders, like the mayor, having greater access to the prime minister, a greater chance of seeing him at an event and having a few minutes to plant something in their ear,” Watson said.

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Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is expected to press the federal government for help with transit costs, affordable housing and a makeover of the ByWard Market. The National Capital Commission, a Crown corporation, owns about 20 per cent of the property in the Market and will play a key role in setting the future direction of the downtown neighbourhood.

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Watson said a prime minister with an Ottawa foothold would have to maintain a working knowledge of the city’s issues and challenges. “It means,” he said, “you don’t have to go into a meeting with them and explain where Barrhaven is or New Edinburgh, or why the Innovation Center is important. It does sensitize them.”

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It also means Ottawa will have a voice at the cabinet table when discussions turn to issues affecting the city.

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“I certainly can attest to the fact that ministers make a lot of important decisions that in many ways can affect their home community,” said Watson, a former Ontario cabinet minister. “You want that voice around the table. We don’t have it provincially, but certainly we’ll have it federally.”

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is running for re-election as the MP for Carleton riding. Photo by Arlen Redekop /POSTMEDIAArticle content

Premier Doug Ford’s new cabinet, unveiled in March, does not include a single minister from Ottawa, Ontario’s second largest city. Former city councillor George Darouze, the only Progressive Conservative MPP sent to Queen’s Park from Ottawa’s eight main ridings, was not named to cabinet.

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Former Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury said Ottawa’s schools, hospitals and universities benefited from the decade during which Ottawa’s Dalton McGuinty was premier. McGuinty also served as MPP for Ottawa South.

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Fleury suggested the local influence of the prime minister may well depend on the individual and his leadership style. He noted Prime Minister Stephen Harper used MP John Baird (Ottawa West-Nepean) as his Ottawa lieutenant, while Justin Trudeau anointed MP Catherine McKenna (Ottawa Centre) to manage local issues.

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“They had a strong voice: No other MPs in the area would dare cross them on a local issue,” he said.

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Fleury says Poilievre has not taken strong stands on many local issues and largely supported the truckers during their occupation of downtown Ottawa in 2022. He also says neither Poilievre nor Carney has taken a position on key local issues such as the proposed Kettle Island Bridge, the future of downtown Ottawa or the fate of 24 Sussex Drive, the prime minister’s official residence.

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“We hope we have a stronger voice,” Fleury said, “but the fact that they’ve not taken positions directly on local national capital files is also something that we should question.”

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