OTTAWA – Horizon Ottawa is calling on City Council to reject Mayor Mark Sutcliffe’s proposed 2026 budget directions, which include a massive 6.5% increase to the Ottawa Police Service budget (the largest in 15 years) while continuing to neglect critical public services such as transit.
When pressed on why the police budget is increasing so much more than every other area, Sutcliffe’s only justification was that he has “heard from residents” that they want to see more officers and that demonstrations downtown are “taking up too much police time.”
“Residents deserve a budget built on facts and evidence, not anecdotes and political talking points,” said Tom Ledgley, the Coordinator of Horizon Ottawa. “Ottawa has deep challenges with housing, transit, and affordability, none of which are solved by pouring more money into policing. This is an irresponsible use of public funds that does nothing to address the root causes of safety.”
Despite Sutcliffe’s claims that Ottawa is in a “strong financial position,” he continues to pursue an austerity-style budget that prioritizes low taxes and police funding over urgently needed investments in transit, housing, and other public services. While the mayor boasts about “record levels” of transit spending, he also suggests hiking fares by up to 7.5% to pay for it. Residents are tired of infrequent, unreliable, and expensive service yet he makes no promises about actually making transit work better.
“At a time when the cost of living is rising and people are struggling, the mayor is choosing to spend millions more on policing while offering residents less and less in return,” added Ledgley. “This is austerity dressed up as fiscal responsibility and it will only make our city less affordable and less safe in the long run.”
Horizon Ottawa is urging City Councillors to reject this budget direction and push for real investments in the services that residents rely on every day.
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For Media Inquiries:
Tom Ledgley
[email protected]
613-663-7018
