Alex Lawson

Your property tax rate won't go up in my first budget. Zero per cent in 2027. And you don't have to take my word for it. Every dollar that pays for it is named, line by line. votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… Ottawa deserves better.

Look a dog! I’m going to freeze your taxes and look inside before taking your money. I will scrap the vacant unit tax. We will reverse the 3 item limit that has led to illegal dumping across the city. If you think these are wild and crazy ideas, go to votealex.ca/policy and argue with me about the real points. See you soon.

Let’s talk about #transit again. I released my plan in May and I stand by it because it’s the only one not relying on hopes and dreams. If you haven’t read it yet, head over to votealex.ca/policy We need to create reliability with what we have and then expand and build on it from a place of strength.

DEBATE CLIP: Alex calls out Mark's budget fluff. 🥊 – at Ottawa, Ontario

We need to build an incinerator. Less smell. Less greenhouse gas. No more making piles for our kids and grandkids to deal with. – at Ottawa, Ontario

The vacant unit tax has to go. – at Ottawa, Ontario

City Hall has spent four years telling you there's no way to hold the line without cutting services. There is. Fix the bucket. The full Back to Basics Budget, every figure sourced: votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… We've got a lot of work to do. Ottawa deserves better.

No bus routes cut. No reserves drained to fake a freeze. No fees raised to pay for the zero. No new spending without a named saving. And the savings ledger gets published with every budget, so you can check our work. votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… Ottawa deserves better.

A speed hump in Ottawa: $15,000 to $20,000. In Toronto: about $4,000. A memorial tree with a plaque: $1,750 here. $738 there. We buy in bulk and still pay double. I build things. I know what things cost. votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… Ottawa deserves better.

We need to get the basics right. I'll freeze property taxes in my first budget, focus on the basics, and have the city live within its means, just like we all do at home. – at Ottawa, Ontario

City Hall spent $99.4 million on overtime in 2025. It budgeted $65.2 million for 2026. Come on. Outside transit, overtime gets held to budget, starting where the gap is widest. votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… Ottawa deserves better.

The mayor says he saved $252.7 million. By the City's own tables, about one dollar in ten came from City Hall running leaner. Nearly half is capital "efficiencies" nobody itemizes. A promise without a list isn't a plan. votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… Ottawa deserves better.

Six leaks at City Hall. The plan plugs every one. $77 million to $148 million a year in savings and growth, every line sourced to the City's own records. The list is in the picture. The math is at the link. votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… Ottawa deserves better.

Ottawa doesn't have a revenue problem. It has a leaky bucket problem. Fix the bucket, and you hold the line without cutting the services people count on. votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… Ottawa deserves better.

For the average urban home, my plan costs you about $760 less than the mayor's over four years. That's real money. Groceries, hockey registration, a car repair. I know what things cost. votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… Ottawa deserves better.

Behind the scenes on my CBC interview about my plan to freeze property taxes for my first budget.

What your tax rate goes up over the next four years: Me: 5% Mark Sutcliffe: 10%, at his own cap Jeff Leiper: 16%, if it's 3% a year plus his 1% levy. He hasn't named a number. Neil Saravanamuttoo: hasn't committed. votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… Ottawa deserves better.

Media asked Jeff Leiper what he thought of my plan to freeze property taxes in my first budget. Here's what I think of what he had to say. – at Ottawa, Ontario

Zero in 2027. One in 2028. At or below two in 2029 and 2030. I'm setting the rate for the whole term now, so you can hold me to it. Every dollar we find above that line goes to roads, snow clearing and transit. votealex.ca/policy/back-to-b… Ottawa deserves better.