You will also start receiving the Star's free morning newsletter Nepean 2025 federal election live results. Browse live results for all 343 ridings 229 of 229 polls are reporting as of 4:21 p.m. Follow our full coverage of the 2025 federal election 229 of 229 polls are reporting as of 4:21 p.m. Follow our full coverage of the 2025 federal election Carney has 46,073 of 72,237 votes (63.78%) is in second place with 24,017 votes (33.25%) and Shyam Shukla Arya was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015 32,689 voters cast ballots at advance polls Looking for another riding? Here are the full results for the 2025 federal election. The Liberals have 169 races called in their favour. They have 8,535,128 votes and 43.69 per cent of the popular vote. The Conservatives have 144 races called in their favour. They have 8,059,938 votes and 41.26 per cent of the popular vote. The Bloc Québécois have 22 races called in their favour. They have 1,232,095 votes and 6.31 per cent of the popular vote. The New Democrats have seven races called in their favour. They have 1,231,198 votes and 6.3 per cent of the popular vote. The Greens have one race called in their favour. They have 243,471 votes and 1.25 per cent of the popular vote. At Parliament’s dissolution, the Liberals held 152 seats, the Conservatives 120, the Bloc Québécois 33, the NDP 24 and the Greens two. There were three independents and four vacancies in the 338-seat Commons. Because of population increases, the Commons has grown by five ridings starting with this election. This article was automatically generated using data provided by Canadian Press and will update as riding results become available. Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account. Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account Liberal Leader Mark Carney will sit in the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Nepean — the first time in more than 130 years that a sitting prime minister will represent an Ottawa riding Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience Carney put an exclamation mark on his party’s election night success Monday — the Liberals will again form government — by defeating his nearest rival captured more than 63 per cent of the popular vote in Nepean By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc The next issue of The Evening Citizen will soon be in your inbox Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. a veteran police officer who ran an energetic Carney took the stage at TD Place at 1:20 a.m to the raucous cheers of Liberal supporters gathered on the covered floor of the hockey arena “That is the spirit of Nepean right there,” he said Carney vowed to work on behalf of all Canadians including the millions who did not place their faith in him or in his party at the ballot box Monday “As we come here after this most consequential election let’s put an end to the division and anger of the past,” he said “We are all Canadian and my government will work for and with everyone.” Carney warned that the challenge posed by U.S by his tariffs and by his rejection of open global trade will require an immense building effort in Canada: the forging of new trade links the tearing down of barriers between provinces and a broad commitment to Canadian unity “The coming days and months will be challenging and they will call for some sacrifices,” he said “but we will share those sacrifices by supporting our workers and our businesses.” The former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England Carney officially entered the race for Nepean on March 23 — the same day he triggered a federal election Carney had been prime minister for just nine days and Liberal leader for two weeks His rapid and unlikely ascension to power was made possible only by a revolt within the Liberal caucus against Justin Trudeau’s leadership 6 in the face of a political crisis touched off by the shock resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Freeland resigned in December 2024 after being asked to accept a cabinet demotion and to present an economic statement she thought misguided Carney’s candidacy in Nepean was also a function of an unusual political drama Incumbent Nepean MP Chandra Arya was disqualified as a candidate by the Liberal Party on March 20 The backbench Liberal MP had held the seat for a decade but party officials removed him from contention at the eleventh hour reportedly because of his close ties to the Indian government in search of a safe riding that would ensure him a seat in Parliament had only a passing familiarity with the riding of Nepean and he relied on a Liberal team that included his wife and close friend and Harvard University hockey teammate Peter Chiarelli to campaign for him locally “Canada has given me everything: my family conceded to Carney in a midnight speech at her Merivale Road campaign office Dozens of attendees packed into foldable chairs spilled out of the office and into a pop-up tent outside sipped coffee and piled plates with catered Indian food as eastern results trickled in on TV Cheers punctuated the air as the Tories flipped a Liberal riding in Atlantic Canada But the mood shifted and attendees audibly groaned as news outlets projected a Liberal win around 10:15 p.m The tent fell quiet as outlets called a Carney win in Nepean but attendees stayed anxiously glued to the screen but tonight we still made history,” she said “We put Nepean on the map … The issues we talked about together — affordability safer streets and hope for the next generation — they still matter.” Bal had been campaigning in the riding for a year and a half by the time Carney entered the race She canvassed widely and used by-invitation meet-and-greets in private homes to spread her campaign message which emphasized a crackdown on illegal guns and fentanyl new affordable housing measures and a “strategic approach” to downsizing the public service Bal defined herself during the campaign in sharp contrast to Carney a former Goldman Sachs investment banker educated at Harvard and Oxford universities perseverance and service to my community and country,” said Bal who grew up on a dairy farm in southern Ontario Bal said she would return to the Ottawa police force on Tuesday The other declared candidates in Nepean were New Democrat Shyam Shukla, an information technology specialist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and project manager Eric Fleury of the People’s Party of Canada. Please check back as we update results live. transmission or republication strictly prohibited This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy You can manage saved articles in your account PoliticsLiberal Leader Mark Carney wins riding of NepeanLiberal Leader Mark Carney has been declared the winner of his riding of Nepean. | CBC.ca LoadedWhat happens if Mark Carney loses in Nepean 19 days agoDuration 2:10What happens if Mark Carney loses in Nepean, but the Liberal Party wins nationally? 19 days agoNewsDuration 2:10CBC News answers your audience question about what happens to Liberal Leader Mark Carney if he loses in the Ottawa riding of Nepean, but the Liberal Party wins nationally. Video evidence, NHLer testimony raise questions in world junior sexual assault trialThe National |May 2Video11:28 Trump repeats 51st state taunt as Carney prepares for White House visitThe National |11 hours agoVideo1:19 It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. Liberal Anita Vandenbeld was delighted to win her fourth term in Ottawa West-Nepean on Monday after campaigning against a slate of first-time candidates “We chose our neighbours over hate,” she said to a few dozen supporters who were gathered to eat pizza and watch the election results on a big screen at Colonnade Pizza’s Fairlawn Plaza location her husband and gave a special shout-out to her mother who was instrumental in helping Vandenbeld secure her first victory a decade ago by diligently working the phones A lively crowd of volunteers and supporters filled the well-lit restaurant enjoying the pizza and watching the results with eyes glued to the live feed on a TV screen Cheers erupted with every Liberal seat notched on the scoreboard Large red-and-white campaign signs decorated the room and every other person sported a red Team Anita T-shirt the crowd leaped to their feet and Vandenbeld was ushered to the small stage to express her gratitude “I have this incredible privilege of representing what I believe is the best riding in the country,” she declared “It’s a beautiful riding … It’s got the river She also voiced her belief in power of democracy and promised to keep fighting for constituents with a lead of 42,5056 to 18,236 over the Conservatives’ Ryan Telford about 15 people gathered in Telford’s campaign office as the results rolled in Telford’s supporters watched as news networks called the federal election for the Liberals and Carney Supporters cycled in and out of the building with minimal chatter except the occasional expression of disappointment with the results some donning “Canada First” and Pierre Poilievre-branded clothing sat among large campaign signs displaying Telford’s name and two large Canadian flags and was greeted with a quiet warmth before he proceeded to a private area upstairs in the event building A Citizen reporter at the event was told the candidate and the campaign would be providing no interviews to the media that night an expert on democracy and human rights who worked in more than 20 countries during her international development career She coasted to her first victory in 2015 with more than 55 per cent of the vote repeated the feat in 2019 with 45.6 per cent and again in 2021 though she lost about 1,700 (0.5 per cent) votes in that election she was quick to align herself with Carney as the Liberals’ leader describing him as a “world-renowned economist who knows how to talk to world leaders” and holding him up as the best person to fight Donald Trump’s unjustified tariffs noting that she has continued to host a weekly coffee hour with constituents She also makes time for 10-minute phone calls with any constituent on Friday afternoons and pledged to continue to keep both channels of communication open to residents “I tend to pick one big project and then focus solely on that until it’s done,” she said in an interview the main project she promised to pursue is a housing development on a plot of federal land across from the Queensway Carleton Hospital She pledged to bring partners together to construct something that would combine long-term care transitional housing for those leaving the hospital and housing for front-line health-care workers She also promised to develop and protect good jobs minimize public-service cuts and help young people get into the federal workforce roughly from Shirley’s Bay to the Kichi Zībī LRT station the local environment was another top concern Vandenbeld vowed to continue to work to protect green spaces She called for more consultation and conservation with the National Capital Commission the Crown corporation that manages the urban shoreline and its parks but promised to deal with the affordability crisis and stand up for the riding’s Jewish population in combating antisemitism a father of one and an NGO management professional who’s knowledgeable on labour issues He pledged to better represent constituents while fighting for improved public services affordability and economic measures to strengthen the country The other two candidates were Sean Mulligan of the Christian Heritage Party and People’s Party of Canada contender Glen Armstrong lsaxberg@postmedia.com Please check back as we update results live Ryan Telford of the Conservative Party of Canada declined an interview.  All interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. Given what is going on in the United States, it’s very clear that we need to strengthen our international trading partners. But we also have to find new places that want our goods and resources. Sadly in Canada, after years, I guess you could say, of neglect, we need major investments into our infrastructure. We need to be able to get our goods to our training partners. We need skilled tradespeople who are unionized (and certified) with the red seal to ensure that the utmost safety is taken, and that we can have apprentices working on those projects. We also need to be respecting the environment as we do that and respecting Indigenous people. Our member of Parliament needs to be reliable, a strong counterpart to our other elected officials in the riding and to our community associations. They need someone whose office is open, whose staff answer the phone, who reply to emails, who come out and work collaboratively to get big projects done for the community. A great example of that would be our local transit. There is a lot of money on the table that the federal government has promised the City of Ottawa. It’s about time that that funding be released. I also believe strongly that our city has been overburdened by our transit system, and this is something that the federal government could upload, especially when it comes to the operating costs of transit. This is the capital city. This is supposed to be the shining gem, and yet we have a municipal government that is burdened by finances and by its budget. I believe the City of Ottawa should be helped out and that transit would be an easy way for the federal government to step in and assist. It would make a huge difference in our community.  We would absolutely not cut the public service. Our public servants dedicate their lives, their careers to being there for all of us. They deserve the utmost respect. They deserve to feel confident that they will have a job, that the years of service they’ve put in won’t be undermined simply by a government that comes in and wants to make budget cuts. If anything, our public service can be strengthened.  I’ll start by saying that the situation we’re in is terrible and that people are suffering. We’re putting first-time homeowners into a situation where they’re not just getting a mortgage but they’re mortgaging off their financial futures to be able to get in the market.  This is not a crisis that has just happened upon us. This has been a train wreck in slow motion, and now we’re at the tipping point. I talked to a woman who just recently came to Canada;  she and her husband are refugees. They’re paying $1,900 a month for a one-bedroom for themselves and their three children, and the apartment is infested with bedbugs and cockroaches. We have a predatory rental system out there. The issue of societal stability is one that nobody’s talking about and I feel like it’s a very important topic. Sustainable development is possible and we can do long-term thinking and long-term planning in the context of a stable society where we’re not just constantly fighting fires. We have to be able to build local supply chains. We need to build an engine entirely in Canada without having the parts going back and forth across the border. We do have high-tech know-how in this country. We have good quality education in the country, but we’ve lost a lot of our best and brightest to the U.S., unfortunately. So we need to stop the brain drain. We also need to ease the flow of goods and services across borders. We need to be self-sufficient in a lot of important things like food, medicine and energy so that we cannot be bullied by foreign powers. Affordability is an extremely important issue not just for people in Ottawa but all across the country. I think it is absolutely the most important issue at the moment, and housing cost is an important variable. Housing is a lot of people’s biggest expense. When housing is expensive, people end up in poverty. You cannot afford food, you cannot afford to make it through hard times, and so on. If you want a bigger middle class, one easy way to do that is to make housing affordable and make sure that wealthy landlords are not just sitting on their butts in the Bahamas and collecting rent. Because that’s not only making the average Canadian poor, it’s also taking money out of the system, which lowers our economic competitiveness. And so lowering housing costs is actually good for our competitiveness (and) it’s good for our economy. I’ll be honest with you. I haven’t done enough research on this area and it’s difficult to give an honest answer without really looking at what’s there and whether or not it is necessary. If I was in a position of power, I would certainly make it a priority to do that research because what happens is, even though agencies might not be bloated, what can happen is that as technology improves, we’re able to do more with less resources. And as our ability to do more with fewer resources comes up, we have to be able to take advantage of that and we have to be able to implement that in all levels of government because to not do so is to not improve productivity. Improving productivity is absolutely important if we want our living standards to remain high. So there may be opportunities to streamline and make some agencies more efficient. Any party that does not acknowledge that uncontrolled immigration was part of the housing crisis is not being honest with themselves, I think. But, despite the shortage of housing, we’re not able to build more houses quickly enough. Why is that? It’s a difficult problem because you need a lot more construction workers, and construction workers don’t just fall out of the sky. We also need a much larger supply chain. Another part of the reason is that we have regulations that make development very expensive, and we allow developers to make a lot of decisions at the municipal levels. Developers want to sell big homes on the outskirts. One big home might cost $500,000 to build but it can only be one time. We could build a highrise that can support 100 families and we would be better allocating our resources in that regard. We also have to be streamlining our regulations and reducing our population growth.  I might be an oddball here because I actually like winter. And I like winter because skiing is my favourite activity. Downhill because it’s less work for me. Gravity does the work. I enjoy the thrill of just going fast downhill. In fact, whenever friends ask me if they could visit Ottawa, I encourage them to visit us in the winter because I can show them a lot of things that are totally different from what they might be used to in, say, Boston, for example. In the winter, we can go skating at the Canal, we can go skiing, and they’re so accessible, so close to the city. I know you’re not going to be able to see ice sculptures anywhere in Texas. Well, obviously, the first thing with the economy is the threat of Trump’s unjustified tariffs. I think (the fact) that we’ve got Mark Carney, who, in my view, is a world-renowned economist who knows how to talk to world leaders, puts us in the best position to make sure we go up against Trump.  We also have to make sure that the economy works for everybody. A lot of the measures that we put in the last few years are things like dental care, which has helped a lot of seniors, and the child benefit, which raised 400,000 children out of poverty. We know that when you have programs like child care, it’s not just a program that helps families, but it’s also an economic policy because it increases our GDP. It brings with it the highest workforce participation of women.  I think that what we need to do for the economy is to deal with Trump’s tariffs right now. We need to get rid of interprovincial trade barriers. We need to change supply chains. We need to further diversify our trade with other parts of the world. And then on top of that, we need to have those programs that make sure that everybody benefits. One of the things that I’ve been very focused on is housing. We’ve been pretty successful in Ottawa and Nepean getting affordable seniors housing at the Carlington Community Health Centre, to get families affordable housing at Michelle Heights and also a new women’s shelter for transitional housing.  But we have a lot of rental units that have gone up significantly in price. So we need to encourage the building of more so that we have competition so that people can actually afford to have a place to live.  One of the more specific pledges is the federal government last election promised that we would make public lands available. So these are National Capital Commission or Public Services and Procurement Canada lands that are not used, that are not ecologically sensitive, that are in key locations near bus routes and major arteries and that we would identify some of these and make them available for housing.  The one in particular that I’m making a commitment to (involves) two parcels of land just across from the Queensway Carleton Hospital. It’s on Baseline Road. What I’ll commit to is to be  working with the hospital, with local municipal councillors, and the provincial MPP, to try to ensure that we can get that land so that the hospital and other partners can develop, first of all, transitional housing for people who are in the hospital that don’t need to be but have nowhere to go.  Also we want to have long-term, supportive care for seniors in that space, which is right across from the hospital. It’s also for our frontline workers because we have people who work at that hospital who can’t afford to live in the area around it. We want to create the kind of housing for health workers they can actually afford, and where they can walk to the hospital. Well, obviously during COVID, we did have to increase the public service because we needed to provide those services to Canadians urgently. I will always fight to make sure that there are no cuts to the federal public service. What we have done is we’ve asked every department to find 1% per year, which is legitimate. We need to find where there are areas that don’t necessarily need spending. For instance, a lot of things can be done on Zoom now that might have required in-person travel. I believe very strongly is that we can’t (cut) anything across the board because some units will end up underserved and others not. And we need to always continue having on-ramps for young people to be able to join the public service. So I would fight any kind of hiring freeze. We need to respect public servants. We need to respect their rights to collective bargaining. We need to make sure that they have the things that they need, including in retirement. Well, first of all, we have a deal with the city of Ottawa so that in exchange for some changes (that will) cut red tape, we’ve given them $176 million for housing. That’s just one of the things that we’ve done. We’ve also got the $72-billion dollar national housing strategy of which quite a bit of that went into the National Capital (Region).  We also have the Canada-Ontario housing benefit, which provides a rent supplement for people who might be at risk of losing their housing and Reaching Home (Canada’s Homelessness Strategy), which deals with encampments and homelessness.  You need to deal with housing at every level. In our area, of course, we have a lot of rental, but we also have bungalows that are getting really expensive. So making sure that we have put in programs to make housing more affordable for people who do want to purchase homes.  One of the real concerns is that people are spending their whole paycheque just to get rental housing. That’s where (we want to be) building more rental housing, making sure that we cut the GST and the development costs so that we can get more affordable housing (and) create more competition.  And then of course, there are the people who desperately need to have affordable housing. We’re lacking supportive housing for people with disabilities, supportive housing for people who may be difficult to house long-term because of mental health crises or addictions, where they have those services. There’s also a gap right now for seniors who need nursing care and can’t afford it. One solution we have is the Carlington Community Health Centre. We were able to build affordable seniors’ housing in an environmental building, which I think costs $27 a month to heat, right above the health centre. I’ve brought a number of ministers there to see if we can make this a model across the country.  I know it comes right before winter but I love fall. I have always loved it. I love the leaves. I love the colours, the smell, walking and hearing the crunching of the leaves. If you’re walking at Britannia Park and looking at the river and seeing the bright colours of the Gatineau Hills across the river and feeling the crunching under your feet. There’s just something about the fall. It’s absolutely beautiful and it’s not that oppressive heat of summer and it’s not cold and snowy either. And no bugs. That is a real advantage.  Did you forget that the priority topic is managing Donald Trump Adding an infantile problem about Mark Carney not being a good fit for Nepean isn’t helping his wife and four children are very welcome to represent Nepean This is an amazing family with strong family values The people of Nepean would love Mark Carney to be our MP You say that Nepean has an ethnic mix not suited to Carney I will remind you that as the Governor of the Bank of Canada his policies were squarely aimed at helping ethnic minorities and addressing wealth inequality He is the only prime ministerial candidate with a longstanding respect and admiration from key leaders in the European Union Nepean welcomes Mark Carney and his family with open arms While I agree with much of what Brigitte Pellerin wrote about the involvement of the “Longest Ballot Committee” in the election campaign in Carleton riding, there is one omission in her story: the LBC’s choice of riding in which to make its point. The party that has profited by far the most from the first-past-the-post electoral system is the Liberal party. In both 2019 and 2021, the Conservatives received more votes than the Liberals; the first-past-the-post system has prevented them forming government for the past six years. The Conservatives are the victims of that system. In 2015 Justin Trudeau promised to end the first-past-the-post system, only to renege once he realized how important it was to his party. Logically, then, the LBC should make its protest in Mark Carney’s Nepean riding. The man behind this antic, Tomas Szuchewycz, claims that his organization had the resources to target the Conservatives in Carleton, but not the Liberals in Nepean. What resources? The LBC candidates all have Szuchewycz as their agent, and they are not required to put down a deposit. If he found nearly 90 “candidates” in Carleton, he should have had no difficulty finding a similar number in Nepean, and that would have made the protest infinitely more meaningful. All our snow removal contracts were completed on April 1. But Mother Nature didn’t receive the memo. How fortunate we were to have a courtesy snow removal after 16 cm fell on us April 8. Thank you to Capital Snow Removal for all you do for your clients. With his federal election campaign about to enter its final week Liberal Leader Mark Carney held a rally in Nepean on Sunday to galvanize supporters and encourage people to vote Thousands of people attended the rally at the Lusitania Portuguese Club of Ottawa many wearing Liberal party merchandise and holding signs in support of Carney and their local Liberal candidates Carney reiterated promises to remove interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day if he wins the election and to make investments into new trade corridors to diversify trade away from the United States to “reliable trading partners.” He also said Canada will fight back with tariffs that will cause “maximum damage” to the U.S while protecting Canadian workers by investing in Canadian technology Canadian skilled labour and Canadian goods President Donald Trump implemented a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy and 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports in March Canada responded by imposing 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion in goods from the U.S “This is the most consequential vote of our lifetimes because President Trump has ignited a trade war that has ruptured the global economy and changed forever our relationship with the United States,” Carney said at Sunday’s rally as supporters booed in response to Trump’s tariffs He also called Trump’s tariffs and threats to annex Canada a betrayal President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us We’ve got reinforcements from across the country “I think we are over the shock of the betrayal We have to look out for ourselves and we have to take care of each other Carney also took shots at Conservative party Leader Pierre Poilievre calling him a politician who isn’t ready to deal with Trump a plan provides direction when there’s a fog of uncertainty “You need the government to step up and lead when the private sector is retreating under anxiety and uncertainty and that’s what our plan to make Canada strong will do.” only about half of the ballots had been counted We blogged into the wee hours on the federal election results as the ballots were counted riding-level results and national seat projections in real time Here’s how things played out through the night As he delivered an Easter Sunday speech to thousands of supporters gathered outside the Lusitania Portuguese Club in Nepean Liberal leader Mark Carney sometimes seemed bemused by the political passions he stirred Mark!” someone yelled as Carney sought to enlist support in what he described as the most consequential election of our lifetimes The central banker turned retail politician didn’t miss a beat He listed his achievements as the country’s newly-minted prime minister: cutting the GST for first-time homebuyers committing to the removal of federal barriers to inter-provincial trade and eliminating the “divisive” consumer carbon tax “Axe Poilievre!” a Liberal supporter shouted parodying the Conservative leader’s “axe the tax” mantra his punishing import tariffs and the economic emergency that now confronts Canada I’m going to get to that,” Carney told the crowd “There is an ask at the end of this speech Carney’s big ask of voters is to send him to the House of Commons as Nepean’s Member of Parliament and to give his party the mandate to govern in a time of profound crisis It’s an extraordinary moment for a man who has never before contested an election a man who declared his candidacy for the Liberal leadership three short months ago Carney’s sudden ascension to the prime ministership in mid-March cast him into a political whirlwind told Sunday’s gathering that her husband takes it all in stride “He’s undaunted by the kinds of challenges that would fell most of us,” she said where they both studied economics and played varsity hockey she has never known her husband to take a sick day or to be unprepared She has been campaigning for him in Nepean while he travels the country “I think that rising to the challenge is one of Mark’s defining features,” Carney said of her husband “His cool and calm demeanour under pressure really makes him suited to this moment of great uncertainty that we face.” The direction of Mark Carney’s life changed utterly at the age of 38 while reading The Economist magazine Carney was managing director of investment banking for Goldman Sachs in Toronto He had already worked in New York and Tokyo for the legendary firm and was well on his way to being named a partner Making partner would usher him into an exclusive Wall Street club whose members regularly earn more than $10 million a year in salary and bonuses But an advertisement in The Economist caught Carney’s attention: It sought applicants for the position of senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada Carney applied even though some of his Goldman colleagues told him it was a foolish gambit Carney had a long-standing fascination with economic policy and considered himself an accidental investment banker He also felt an old-fashioned obligation to public service “Some people feel an obligation to public service then they should pursue it,” he once told an interviewer Then Bank of Canada governor David Dodge hired Carney in August 2003 but he was quickly seconded to the Department of Finance where he became the senior associate deputy minister Carney worked closely with Liberal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale and his successor on many of the government’s most sensitive policy files including the sale of Petro-Canada and new curbs on the use of income trusts Carney was named governor of the Bank of Canada He assumed the helm of the central bank in February 2008 as the global financial crisis unfolded in real time with the dramatic collapse of a U.S International investment banks teetered on the verge of collapse while hundreds of thousands of homeowners and investors suffered deep losses Carney moved quickly to slash short-term interest rates he pledged to leave those rates at rock bottom for a full year Canada suffered less than other major economies and recovered more quickly and completely Carney’s performance brought him the kind of international acclaim rarely accorded a central banker Carney left Canada to take over as governor of the Bank of England the first foreigner to hold the post since the institution was founded in 1694 Three years into Carney’s bank governorship Britain held a referendum to decide whether to leave the European Union Carney warned that leaving the EU could send the British economy into a “technical recession.” After British voters narrowly decided in favour of Brexit Carney warned a disorderly exit could lop eight per cent from the country’s GDP It put Carney in the crosshairs of Brexiteers: He was accused of politicizing the central bank and fearmongering in favour of those who wanted to remain in the EU The Guardian’s economics editor Larry Elliott said Carney was feared for his temper but respected for his calm in a crisis “it was clear Carney considered himself to be the smartest man in the room and wanted to make sure everybody knew it.” Carney returned to Ottawa after his term as Bank of England governor expired in March 2020 and served as the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance He also pondered a move into federal politics The two met in 1983 while they were both freshmen dormitory neighbours and hockey teammates at Harvard University Chiarelli told Carney he would someday be prime minister “We’ve been talking about it about it ever since – for almost 40 years,” Chiarelli said in an interview in a place with so many exceptional people Carney would arrive at breakfast every day with a checklist of things he wanted to accomplish Carney was best man at Chiarelli’s wedding at Cedarhill Golf and Country Club Chiarelli was in the crowd for Carney’s speech on Easter Sunday and has campaigned for him door-to-door in Nepean He believes Carney is the right man for the moment: “I mean Carney often draws on hockey for political analogies and life lessons to stay humble,” he tells the Liberals gathered in Nepean on Easter Sunday And I kept these values close when I was fighting crises and building economies around the world And I’m drawing on them now to stand up to President Trump and to build the strongest economy in the G7.” stayed home to look after the family’s four children and would later return to school to earn a teaching degree The family moved to Edmonton when Carney was six years old His father worked as a senior Alberta government official and later moved to the University of Alberta as a professor of education history (Bob Carney ran as a Liberal candidate in the 1980 federal election in Edmonton South and finished a distant second to the Progressive Conservative candidate.) Mark Carney remembers his childhood home as a place filled with books and political discussion and competed on his high school’s Reach for the Top teams His academic excellence earned him a partial scholarship to Harvard University where he planned to concentrate on math and English literature But after listening to the lectures of Canadian-born John Kenneth Galbraith Carney embraced a new academic passion: economics He would go on to earn a master’s degree and PhD in economics from Oxford University (Carney is only the second Canadian prime minister to hold a PhD; the country’s longest-serving prime minister Carney wears a closely tailored navy-blue suit purple tie and a white shirt with a British wide spread collar (He’s so highly polished you’d swear he’s taking the piss when he says of the turmoil wrought by Trump’s tariffs: “We need solutions and he enumerates his post-election action list: cut taxes for the middle-class double the pace of the country’s housing construction Carney sells himself as a leader who can stand up to Trump He ends his only major public appearance in Nepean with a hockey metaphor – and a shoutout to his Harvard teammate – while exhorting supporters to knock on more door “There are five minutes left in the third period of game seven in the Stanley Cup finals It’s time to act like a great son of Nepean Peter Chiarelli…and leave everything on the ice.” Nepean Conservative candidate Barbara Bal has filed a report with Ottawa police about the alleged destruction and theft of hundreds of her election signs Bal accuses Liberal Party campaign workers of using her marked wooden stakes on signs for Liberal candidate Mark Carney the party leader who’s contesting his first-ever election in Nepean Bal offers video evidence that one of her posts — marked with blue on the top and the letters NCA (Nepean Conservative Association) written on the side — bears a Carney sign “Pulling down and stealing hundreds of my signs placing my opponent’s signs on my wooden stakes and dumping mine in the garbage is not the practice of democracy: It is a deliberate attempt to silence a voice and disrupt the democratic process,” Bal charged an unnamed spokesperson for the Carney campaign denied any wrongdoing by Liberal campaign workers and suggested their own signs had been vandalized: “We are running a respectful and community driven campaign here in Nepean It has been disappointing to see Liberal signs damaged and stolen.” has run a spirited campaign despite unexpectedly facing the Liberal party leader as an opponent She had knocked on doors for two years in anticipation of taking on backbench Liberal MP Chandra Arya Arya won the past three elections in Nepean and was expected to again carry the party’s banner but his candidacy was revoked by the party just days before Carney called a federal election newly crowned as Liberal leader and in need of a safe seat Bal has also sought to define herself in sharp contrast to Carney the former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor educated at Harvard and Oxford universities I have never started at the top,” she said perseverance and service to my community and country.” Bal grew up on a dairy farm in southern Ontario She earned a bachelor’s degree in English and sociology from Hamilton’s Redeemer University and an MBA from the Royal Military College of Canada She spent 10 years as a field officer in the Royal Canadian Artillery reserve while launching her career as a police officer which triggered a force-wide gender audit that found women were disadvantaged by maternity leaves and less likely to be promoted “I feel deeply for those workers and their families that face this uncertainty.” A federal spending review has raised the possibility of job redeployments Bal denounced the bloated bureaucracy as a source of waste and government debt She said a Conservative government would reduce the size of the public service through a strategic approach to attrition about 17,000 public servants retire or leave their jobs “Instead of automatically replacing them in their existing positions their funding and resource packages will be strategically re-allocated to areas that need them the most improving efficiency and better meeting the needs of the public,” Bal said work-from-home solutions” to the issues raised by an inflated public service “We want an efficient public service where our workers are valued and supported,” Bal said “This ensures taxpayers get value for their money instead of wasteful spending on big bureaucracy.” Bal said Canadians were among the most taxed people on Earth and promised that the Conservatives would offer “smart targeted tax relief” by removing the GST on new homes of up to $1.3 million and by eliminating the federal sales tax on Canadian-made new cars Bal is using meet-and-greets in private homes to spread her campaign message she immediately identified with the sentiment “I personally felt that what Pierre said was explaining what I was feeling,” says Bal an Ottawa police staff sergeant and mother of three It was November 2022 and Poilievre enumerated a litany of Canadian problems: a 40-year high in inflation Bal had seen firsthand the devastation and misery wrought by fentanyl in Ottawa She worried about her children’s ability to someday buy a home Bal decided to get involved: to help Poilievre fulfill his promise to put the country “back on track.” “I just wanted a better future for my children,” says Bal who won the Conservative nomination for Nepean in August 2023 it was widely expected her principal opponent would be incumbent Liberal MP Chandra Arya a backbench MP who had held the seat for a decade But Arya was unceremoniously dumped by the Liberal Party just days before newly-minted Prime Minister Mark Carney triggered an election stepped into the breach as Nepean’s Liberal candidate It meant Bal was suddenly in one of the nation’s most-watched electoral ridings facing a Liberal candidate with a massive political profile: Carney would be on the news every day during the campaign Bal says none of it has altered her strategy which involves amplifying Poilievre’s campaign platform while selling herself to voters “My strategy is to tell everyone in Nepean why I’m the best choice to represent them,” she says She has been involved in her children’s school councils the Nepean Minor Hockey Association and Barrhaven’s Scottish Rugby Football Club “They’re going to see me shopping at Costco on the weekends.” Bal has also used her personal story to highlight for voters how she differs from Carney Bal grew up as the oldest of 10 children on a dairy farm in southern Ontario Her father was an immigrant from the Netherlands Her life’s trajectory changed in high school when she overheard some classmates talking about their experience in the Canadian Armed Forces reserves The boys bragged about how they had spent the weekend running 10 kilometres and throwing hand grenades I want to try throwing a grenade,’” Bal remembers She joined the Royal Canadian Artillery as a reserve member rose from gunner to master bombardier to lieutenant finishing her military service as a gun position officer Bal earned a degree in English and sociology from Hamilton’s Redeemer University and an MBA from the Royal Military College of Canada and launched a career as a police officer in Halton Region Now a decorated staff sergeant with the Ottawa Police Service recruiting officer and criminal investigator she settled a human rights complaint against the police service Canadian Forces troops and better surveillance and scanning equipment can stem the flow of guns and fentanyl into Canada “When Pierre (Poilievre) says we can stop the illegal guns and that is something that is near and dear to me,” she says she believes the Liberal government’s embrace of safe supply – permitting the prescription of pharmaceutical-grade opioids and stimulants to addicts – is wrong “It’s toxic compassion: It’s morally and ethically wrong who favours better treatment and rehabilitation she has also encountered desperation among new homeowners fearful that higher interest rates and government layoffs could spell financial disaster She met a couple in Nepean with a $5,000-a-month mortgage and if anything happens – if she gets sick if he gets sick – they don’t know what they’re going to do,” Bal says the average household now needs to allocate 55.9% of its income to cover its mortgage payments.) and make homes more affordable by cutting the federal GST on new homes of up to $1.3 million “We’ve got to make life more affordable so that owning a house is still part of the Canadian dream — and is not as out of reach as it feels now,” says Bal she has frequently met Nepean voters worried about their job security as civil servants The public service increased in size by 43 per cent during the past nine years of Liberal government Refugees and Citizenship Canada over the next three years when there are backlogs for residence visas and citizenship applications She said a Conservative government would reduce the size of the civil service through a strategic approach to attrition 17,000 public servants retire or leave their jobs “Our plan is to look at each one of those positions If it’s a position number that’s not needed Bal noted that advance polls opened Friday and encouraged Nepean residents to “vote but the local news media had very little luck covering his campaign This is not only a rebuff of the free press who want to hear from the man whose name will be on the ballot in their riding though the party later called and apologized saying it was a “misunderstanding.” But it seems no lessons were learned Carney had two campaign stops in Canada’s capital This is one of the most monumental elections in Canadian history And Nepean residents want to meet the man who hopes to represent the riding and hold the county’s top job who was told just days before the election call that he’d not be allowed to run under the Liberal party banner he was kicked out of the Liberal leadership race Subsequent media reports suggest it was to do with a trip Arya made to India in 2024 But they aren’t crying about his dismissal I can count on one hand the number of times I and I can count on the other how many times I saw the federal politician at local community events and Carney was best man at the wedding of the former general manager of the Edmonton Oilers The differences between the two districts are hard to miss home to about 130,000 residents: most working-class folk who send their kids to public education attend fitness classes at the Minto Recreation Centre The median income is betwnee $50,000 and $55,000 Rockcliffe Park is for the wealthy: the average income there is about $256,000 Perhaps the Liberals are taking a win for granted after Tyler Watt recently won over Nepean provincially for the first time since 1995 It was a huge and well-earned accomplishment for the registered nurse-turned-politician but he’s lived there since it was farmers’ fields Carney know where the Walter Baker Centre is or who it’s named after Or what about the history of the Nepean bell or the story behind Ken Ross Park Perhaps Carney needs to brush up on his local history He mistakenly said Bells Corners was part of Nepean during his speech outside Rideau Hall on March 23 Surely any candidate should know a riding review has moved that neighbourhood into Kanata-Carleton The party also cannot underestimate the power of the Conservatives Party Leader Pierre Poilievre used to represent the Nepean riding served on the Fallowfield Village Community Association and has been knocking on doors for 18 months Carney will likely win; it’s hard to go up against a party leader He’s a razor-sharp man with a deep understanding of the economy He’s understandably the change the Liberal party needs It stretches from Barnsdale Road in the south to the Canadian National Railway line in the north and east from Highway 416 to the Rideau River The riding includes the sprawling suburb of Barrhaven along with the mature neighbourhoods of Arlington Woods The federal riding of Nepean has been dominated by the Liberals in recent years Liberal Chandra Arya won the past three elections with the help of the riding’s large South Asian community was the first member of the Liberal caucus to declare himself a candidate to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister in January But the backbench MP was rejected as a leadership candidate by the Liberal Party which deemed him “manifestly unfit” for the job without explaining why His candidacy in Nepean was then revoked by the party — again without an explanation — just days before Prime Minister Mark Carney called an election Arya travelled to India on his own accord and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi while relations between the two countries were at a nadir The visit came in the aftermath of accusations that agents of the Indian government had shot and killed Canadian citizen and Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey but sat as Kingston’s MP after the 1887 election.) Born in Fort Smith Carney is an economist with an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a master’s and PhD from Oxford University He spent 13 years with the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs before moving to Ottawa as deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in August 2003 Carney jumped to the finance department as senior associate deputy minister He was appointed governor of the Bank of Canada in February 2008 then left that job after five-and-a-half years to serve as governor of the Bank of England Carney won the Liberal leadership contest on March 9 in a landslide vote Other declared candidates in Nepean include New Democrat Shyam Shukla, an information technology team lead with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and project manager Eric Fleury of the People’s Party of Canada. Voters in the Ottawa riding of Nepean find themselves in an interesting situation in this federal election Nepean voters will have a significant say over the political trajectory of Mark Carney Canada’s current prime minister and Liberal Party leader Carney’s substantial support in national polls and the riding’s recent Liberal history suggest an easy win which is exactly what any party wants for its leader especially one who has never been elected to anything Losing his own riding would be an embarrassing setback and has already made some missteps that might hurt his cause Carney has a résumé that practically screams “not from Nepean.” He’s an older white guy from Rockcliffe with degrees from Harvard and Oxford has been the governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England and the UN special envoy on climate change Nepean is a working-class riding with a significant and politically important ethnic population About nine per cent are of South Asian background Carney has no connection to Nepean, citing attending the wedding of a friend from Nepean years ago as evidence of familiarity with the riding. At his riding kickoff event, Carney referred to “representing you in Ottawa.” People from here don’t refer to Parliament as “Ottawa.” He also had an out-of-date understanding of the riding’s boundaries, thinking it included Bells Corners. It’s one thing to be a parachute candidate, but at least you should know where the drop zone is. Nepean voters will have to ask themselves what kind of representation they want. If the Liberals and Carney win, Nepean would have the prime minister as an MP. Sounds good, but Carney’s track record suggests that he is interested in big national and international issues, not the lives of little folks in Nepean. If voters want someone with roots in their riding, a person who understands their concerns and one of will defend their interests vigorously, they should consider Bal. I served on a community association executive with her some years ago, so I have a pretty good idea of the kind of person she is. Bal is an experienced leader with a background as a military reserve officer and police staff sergeant who has served Ottawa for 21 years. She is an amazingly hard worker, doing her day job from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., then knocking on doors from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. All that while raising three teenagers and recently completing an MBA. Bal has a relentlessly positive attitude and is not the standard political candidate who can do nothing more than repeat party talking points. She says what she thinks. We could use more people like that in politics. For Carney, running in Nepean is a convenience. The riding is close to Parliament Hill. For Bal, representing the people of Nepean is a passion because she’s one of them. Randall Denley is an Ottawa journalist and author. He is a former Progressive Conservative candidate provincially. Contact him at randalldenley1@gmail.com Twitter feed ©2025 BellMedia All Rights Reserved In a race that many thought could be competitive Liberal Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi is heading back to Parliament Hill with a decisive vote of support.  Naqvi won the recent federal election with 51,026 votes NDP candidate Joel Harden — who previously served the riding provincially — took 15,906 votes Conservative candidate Paul D’Orsonnens came in third place with 12,712 votes Naqvi and his team of supporters met at Beyond the Pale brewery in Centretown He thanked the community for trusting him again and said the work began now to fight U.S President Donald Trump’s tariffs.  “I feel very honoured and humbled by the support from the community,” Naqvi later told the Kitchissippi Times “We have a lot of hard work ahead of us both in terms of the big issue dealing with Donald Trump and the United States and making sure that our economy is strong not only across the country but here in Ottawa as well.”  Naqvi said he’s committed to building more affordable housing That includes converting former unused office complexes like the Jackson Building downtown which he’d like to see transformed into Indigenous housing.  “I have been working on that issue before the election I want to continue to find a way to complete that project,” said Naqvi “That’s not to mention housing at Tunney’s Pasture and Confederation Heights.“ This was a particularly challenging election for the NDP Many speculated Harden would win in Ottawa Centre as he beat Naqvi provincially in 2018.   Morris Home Team United Way: Let’s tackle our toughest social issues this holiday season Harden said he heard from many voters who typically vote NDP but went Liberal instead to keep the Conservative Party under Pierre Poilievre out of power.  “I think what I saw consistently was the fear in the eyes of people given what this election represented There were people who levelled with me who said they supported me in the past but they are worried,” said Harden “I’d follow up with those folks on the phone and email visiting their doorsteps for a second time It was extremely difficult for Canada’s national third party because this election seemed to be about who would be the best prime minister — not the best candidate which our electoral system is meant to do.” With the Liberals forming a minority government there is speculation an election could be called sooner than four years from now saying he leaves that up to the party membership.  Liberal incumbent Anita Vandenbeld is also celebrating another win she saw her best results in percentage and number of ballots cast.  Conservative Ryan Telford came in second with 18,515 votes The NDPs Josh Bizjak came in third with 4,837 votes Vandenbeld said she is excited to get back to work on the hill She thinks Ottawa and Gatineau will significantly benefit from being made up of all Liberal representatives The long-held Conservative seat of Carleton turned red for the first time in 20 years.  “It’s going to be wonderful to have Prime Minister Mark Carney as one of our local caucus members of Parliament I think it also gives us quite a bit of voice,” she said we’ve worked very well together to advance the issues that matter here in the National Capital Region.” Vandenbeld says she wants to see federal lands used for housing That includes converting a parcel across from the Queensway Carleton Hospital.  ‘I’m hoping we can turn that into something where we can work with the hospital and others to build some housing for the frontline workers but also for people transitioning out of hospital and perhaps a combination of long-term care.” she said “We’ve already started some of the discussions on this on being able to provide that land at a nominal cost to the right combination of partners.”  About UsContact UsDonateAdvertise Copyright © 2025 Great River Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Message Invalid character found in the request target [/leaders-tour/episode/mark-carney-holds-nepean-rally-on-easter-sunday--april-20-2025?id\u003d9e3b6f43-ed49-4654-89e9-6917a757312c ]. The valid characters are defined in RFC 7230 and RFC 3986 Description The server cannot or will not process the request due to something that is perceived to be a client error (e.g., malformed request syntax, invalid request message framing, or deceptive request routing). Note The full stack trace of the root cause is available in the server logs. Ottawa police are investigating after 20-year-old Mahad Elmi of Ottawa died in a Nepean shooting Sunday morning suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries in the incident in the 300 block of Craig Henry Drive The two victims were located and taken to hospital after police received multiple calls about shots fired just after 9:30 a.m Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact the homicide unit at 613-236-1222 Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or at crimestoppers.ca Sean Devine said he is glad OPS officers responded quickly to the incident “I did speak to some residents and they say the area where it happened is an area where they frequently see suspicious meetings,” he said Devine went on to say he is concerned about the recent spike in homicides This is the fifth homicide to happen within a week and the 10th homicide in the city to date this year the crime rate in Ottawa is lower than most other Canadian cities Our crime rate over a year is not spiking like that,” he said but I don’t want to make anymore of it until I know more about what’s behind it.” Eric Madore has lived in the neighbourhood for around 13 years He says that he heard “some loud sounds” but wasn’t sure if it was construction noise or garbage bins being moved Several people were yelling at him to call 911 “I’m just hoping this is something isolated … It would be nice to have a few more cameras around for these kinds of things and it would give the police more to work with,” he said The worst that’s ever happened was a fire here that made the news a couple of years ago.” Message Invalid character found in the request target [/leaders-tour/episode/mark-carney-holds-rally-in-nepean-ont--april-20-2025?id\u003d9e3b6f43-ed49-4654-89e9-6917a757312c ]. The valid characters are defined in RFC 7230 and RFC 3986 Four of the six candidates running for office in Ottawa West-Nepean in the federal general election participated in a Tuesday evening debate organized by several community associations in the riding Hosted by Algonquin College journalism professor (and former Ottawa Citizen reporter) Jon Willing at Ben Franklin Place with prepared questions provided by the community associations and written questions submitted that night by members of the audience Each candidate was allowed just one minute to answer and audience reaction was discouraged to save time Although plenty of topics were discussed and the pace moved briskly it was more like a question-and-answer session than a debate and the answers often sounded more like bullet points Here were five times the discussion got passionate Several questions addressed climate change to the consternation of People’s Party of Canada candidate Glen Armstrong who claimed “uncertainty” around the science of climate change and voiced doubts on the validity of carbon-capture programs “Carbon dioxide is a natural substance that is absorbed by plants only to be schooled by the Green Party’s Prashanta Dhakal “Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant in small quantities but it’s bad in large concentrations,” Dhakal explained patiently “We need a certain amount of carbon dioxide in order to keep the planet warm it can overheat the climate … It’s absolutely known science This is nothing new and I don’t know why we’re talking about this now.” He received a round of applause for keeping his cool on the issue In a riding that hugs the Ottawa River shoreline residents are tired of being in the dark when it comes to decisions made by the National Capital Commission Voters made it clear they had not forgotten the NCC’s 2018 clear-cutting of a trail at Mud Lake nor the Ottawa River flooding of 2017 and 2019 that required a complete overhaul of the berm and pathway through Britannia The NCC’s main form of public consultation consists of online sessions regarded as “too broad and inadequate.” Residents of the riverside neighbourhoods want more transparency “It’s not good enough to send an email,” NDP candidate Josh Bizjak said while incumbent Liberal Anita Vandenbeld said she was calling for consultation and conservation to be increased in the NCC’s mandate Where was Conservative candidate Ryan Telford Debate organizer Morley Brownstein of the Bel Air Community Association told residents his team sent multiple invitations over several weeks to the first-time candidate and didn’t hear a word back The lack of response or even acknowledgement prompted cries of “shame” from the audience Brownstein added that he had heard “second- or third-hand” that Telford might show up if the questions were provided in advance but organizers set a place for Telford on the off chance he might drop in nor is he expected to participate in any other debates during the campaign (The sixth absent candidate was a late addition to the race Sean Mulligan of the Christian Heritage Party couldn’t make it and sent his regrets.) Residents of Ottawa West-Nepean had a message for any party wanting to gut Canada’s national broadcaster: Don’t do it NDP and Green Party candidates were all on the same page as voters who applauded when Vandenbeld shared a plan for $150 million in extra funding for CBC and when the NDP’s Bizjak declared “We are not Canada without the CBC.” Dhakal also made a case for the corporation to be strengthened and kept out of foreign hands The dissenting opinion came from PPC’s Armstrong who dismissed CBC as “paid-for media” full of “talking points for the Liberals” and said people he knew got their news from private broadcasters like Rebel Media The passionate commentary was surprisingly “spicy,” moderator Jon Willing noted The final question of the night was submitted by an attendee and tackled antisemitism sparking an emotional outburst from pro-Palestinian supporters in the room What about anti-Arab racism?” one woman shouted as another man railed against genocide in Gaza Both were escorted out of the room by security leaving the candidates to answer the hot-potato question Vandenbeld spoke on the need for leaders to try to bring people together Dhakal said the indiscriminate killing needed to stop but added that he was “not qualified” to address the topic further Bizjak said it was important to curb the rise in both Islamophobia and antisemitism and Armstrong shared an anecdote of the time he “worked well” with the Muslim community on parents’ rights it was a flashpoint showing the need for debate and leadership on the issue OttawaNewsHere are the winners in Ottawa ridings in the federal electionBy William EltheringtonUpdated: April 29, 2025 at 6:07AM EDT I’m Greg Hopkins and I’m running for the Green Party of Canada in the riding of Nepean My campaign is different from the established parties’ platforms because it’s all about Nepean Your benefit in electing a Green candidate is we are all encouraged by our Green leaders to put our community needs first I believe strongly in everyone in our community and I encourage the contribution of everyone’s individual strengths in helping to keep our community clean I believe that Nepean’s most pressing needs and concerns are: • More federal funding needed for Nepean’s neglected public transit system • Stopping the layoffs of federal workers; • Ending the federally mandated return-to-work policy; • More federal money to adequately fund our schools • Building local sustainable energy production with wind and solar along with the building of more energy-efficient and self-sufficient homes; • I believe strongly in the need to modernize election campaign spending: • I’m choosing not to have wasteful and unnecessary signs for my campaign and advocating to change the rules around future election signage Imagining a ban on all future signage on public property or a 50/50 system where the political party must donate equivalent money spent on public signage to funding their community’s urgent needs am elected in Nepean over the current sitting prime minister I will be donating it all back to this community One idea for this extra money is my building of a Nepean youth hub for our community teens A place where neighbourhood teens could complete their mandatory volunteer hours for high school by taking part in community-oriented activities such as learning how to navigate city resources and even learning how to run to become the next great politician for our riding I remember the time when the City of Nepean’s colour was green and I still believe today that “Nepean Is Green.” Rounding out his first week on the campaign trail Liberal Leader Mark Carney made his first stop in the riding of Nepean on Saturday Speaking to a crowd of volunteers at his new campaign office Carney called the race “the most important election of our lifetime.” Journalists were not given an opportunity to ask questions at the event And the Liberal Party did not inform several local media outlets of the location of the event A Liberal Party staff member later told the Ottawa Citizen that the exclusion of local media was a misunderstanding Trump announced sweeping tariffs on auto imports expected to come into effect on April 2 Carney has said Trump’s tariffs has profoundly and permanently changed U.S.-Canada relations and it’s time to renegotiate the partnership Carney also appealed to local Nepean residents calling the region the “best in our country.” He also mentioned his friendship with Peter Chiarelli a National Hockey League executive with the St the community that grows and believes in each other and stays together And I hope to have the honour of representing you in Ottawa at this crucial time for Nepean The Citizen invited Ottawa candidates from the four major provincial parties to contribute op-eds on why you should vote for them Those who met our deadlines and protocols will be published all this week and next Today: Nepean Liberal candidate Tyler Watt and where I am lucky enough to live and work today We are long past the days of mostly farm fields and only one grocer; the significant growth of our community over the past several years has meant that our needs have changed It is time that we had a strong voice championing what matters most to the people of Nepean at Queen’s Park and it is my goal to be that voice by earning the support of this community As a Registered Nurse at an Ottawa hospital I have the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of my patients and their families on a daily basis My profession has driven my passion for serving my community but it has also allowed me to witness firsthand the challenges of an underfunded health care system and the direct implications it has had for the individuals I care for There are more than 30,000 people in Nepean without a family doctor We need to change the way people experience health care in Nepean We need meaningful investments and increased access to timely Our community needs a care facility of its own; my vision includes a health hub that will serve as a seamless one-stop shop where all health needs can be addressed by providing access to physicians We need to educate and retain more doctors and health-care professionals and ensure that our residents can access the care they need The thousands of new homes in Nepean represent the growth and opportunity of a thriving community families and seniors in need of services that support the growth we are experiencing The message at the doors has been clear: we need capped class sizes for our children with adequate support for education workers; we need solutions for our longstanding transit problems that will bring the LRT to Barrhaven and get the Barnsdale interchange built; we need targeted affordability measures like phased-in rent control and income tax cuts to ease pressures during these challenging economic times My vision for Nepean is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves to have their concerns heard and their needs met I want the people of my community to know that if I am elected as MPP my priorities will be a direct reflection of what matters most to them — regardless of political leanings I am proud to have grown up and settled down in Nepean and I wish the same for all those who call it home Ottawa police have identified one of the victims in a Sunday morning shooting in Nepean Police received multiple reports of shots fired in the 300 block of Craig Henry Drive at about 9:30 a.m Two victims were located at the scene and taken to hospital where a 20-year-old man succumbed to his injuries and died has serious but non-life-threatening injuries police identified the 20-year-old victim as Mahad Elmi of Ottawa Homicide detectives and police officers were canvassing the area and investigating the incident throughout the day on Sunday Officers are still investigating the incident This is Ottawa’s 10th homicide this year to date The NDP’s Chandra Pasma handily defeated four contenders to retain her seat in Ottawa West-Nepean on Thursday night The incumbent prevailed convincingly over candidates who were running for office for the first time namely Progressive Conservative candidate Husien Abu-Rayash the Green Party’s Sophia Andrew-Joiner and Rylan Vroom of the New Blue Party Pasma consistently held a 50-per-cent share of the votes cast more than the combined votes of her Conservative and Liberal rivals Szmul had 7,229 votes while neither Andrew-Joiner nor Vroom had more than 1,000 votes dozens of NDP supporters greeted Pasma with loud cheers when she arrived shortly before 10 p.m I am so grateful to the people of Ottawa West for putting their trust in me once again,” she told the crowded pub our community has rejected Doug Ford’s bad deals and his wasteful scandals and they have instead opted for a hopeful positive vision of our province,” she said “A province where everyone has a family doctor and gets the healthcare that they need a province where everyone has a home they can afford and can put groceries on the table A home where all of our children have a safe healthy school and the supports that they need to learn Where we stand together and build a more resilient province.” Spirits were high at Abu-Rayash’s College Square watch party with attendees chatting and smiling for photos Just one TV at Chances R displayed the latest on the election — the other two showed the Oilers-Panthers game instead A metres-long spread of food was mostly untouched by 9:30 p.m “It was a really good race for all teams,” Abu-Rayash said with a smile “I’m also grateful for all the people who went out to vote in this amazing election,” he said “Everyone just wanted to go out and give our government a new mandate.” Abu-Rayash said he’s thankful for the support he received from volunteers and his Canadian Armed Forces colleagues we will be continuing to fight for all Ontarians across the province,” he said Asked whether he plans to run again in the future who requested anonymity — saying he works in counter-terrorism — said questions must be focused on the campaign rather than specific issues with no debates and a limited social media presence because “the policies and proposed mandate for the coming term was already defined,” the campaign manager said Debates “just takes away from time for the candidates to be at the door meeting their supporters,” the campaign manager added an 18-year-old University of Ottawa student said “I think the Conservative party sees the value in spending money in the right places.” Dehane lives downtown but showed up to support the Ottawa West—Nepean PC candidate “I think we need a strong voice who’s already been in power and knows how the system works to fight Trump’s tariffs,” he said of Ford Abu-Rayash described himself as “a lifelong Conservative and community leader with over 10 years of political organizing and volunteering experience.” He has a bachelor’s degree in public administration and governance from Toronto Metropolitan University the social media platform previously known as Twitter describes him as “a proud father of four daughters and one son raising his children in Nepean” and a former reservist officer with the Canadian Armed Forces Abu-Rayash sought the PC nomination in the riding of Nepean But Abu-Rayash wound up running in the neighbouring riding of Ottawa West-Nepean Liberal candidate Szmul is a student at Carleton University pursuing a master’s degree in international affairs Both Abu-Rayash and Andrew-Joiner skipped the Rogers TV debate for Ottawa West-Nepean candidates Abu-Rayash also declined to answer an Ottawa Citizen questionnaire sent to all candidates she won a nail-biter when she beat Jeremy Roberts by a little more than 1,000 votes out of more than 91,000 votes cast it was Roberts who triumphed over Pasma by the narrowest of margins former Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli ran for the Liberals The back-to-back wins for Pasma and the NDP chart a new direction for Ottawa West-Nepean The provincial riding has voted Liberal for most of its 25-year existence Jim Watson held the seat from 2003 to 2010 after which the former Ottawa mayor was again elected as the city’s mayor from 2010 to 2022 who had been Ottawa’s mayor from 2001 to 2006 represented Ottawa West-Nepean provincially from 2010 to 2018 Two Progressive Conservatives have represented the riding — Gary Guzzo from 1999 to 2003 and Roberts from 2018 to 2022 Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld has held the seat for Ottawa West-Nepean since 2015 the riding was then home to 116,409 people of whom nine out of 10 are English speakers Bordered by the Ottawa River and Hunt Club Road Kanata and Bells Corners and the Rideau River It is home to the Queensway-Carleton Hospital and Algonquin College’s main campus phum@postmedia.com The northern border of the riding is the Ottawa River while the CN Rail Line constitutes the southern perimeter the northeastern boundary shifted to the east to Golden Avenue and then along Carling to Hwy 417 a move that brought McKellar Park and McKeller Heights into the Ottawa West — Nepean fold Another 2022 adjustment affected the southeast boundary and absorbing the entire neighbourhood of Carlington into the riding waterfront homes of Crystal Beach as well as pockets of public housing in places like Michelle Heights It has a large population of federal public servants and is home to the Queensway Carleton Hospital The National Capital Commission owns much of the green space With the extension of Ottawa’s light-rail system — Phase 3 will run to Moodie and the 417 — it is also the site of a massive amount of public infrastructure spending Observers say the biggest change in the last decade has been the growth and impact of new Canadians reflected by a sizeable population (close to 30 per cent) who have neither English nor French as a mother tongue it has been the political base of some heavy hitters such as former Foreign Affairs minister John Baird (in the Harper Conservative government) and The riding tends to stick with its incumbents until a national wind of change pushes them out Baird succeeded Liberal Marlene Catterall in 2006 and held the seat until Vandenbeld painted the riding red in the Justin Trudeau victory of 2015 She repeated the win in 2019 and again in 2021 although she lost about 1,700 votes over those two years has been good at building bridges to ethnic communities in the riding pays attention to constituency work and has a reputation on Parliament Hill for her work on women’s and international issues the federal ethics commissioner found Vandenbeld violated conflict-of-interest rules when she used her position to try to influence constituents to vote for her husband Dransfield was not elected and the ethics commissioner did not recommend punishment Vandenbeld caused a different furor last year when she derailed a meeting of the House of Commons status of women committee that had been convened Vandenbeld called for a debate on a motion related to abortion rights shifting attention away from the victims’ testimony and disrupting the meeting Advocates described the action as tone deaf and accused her of using the victims to score political points Vandenheld may not hold on to her seat in this election the riding has flipped a couple of times in the last decade with the NDP’s Chandra Pasma recently elected as MPP for a second term has a long resume in international development and women’s issues including work for the UN and stints in more than 20 countries she has never been appointed to cabinet but has served as the parliamentary secretary to the ministers of National Defence and International Development and has chaired the parliamentary women’s caucus NDP candidate Josh Bizjak describes himself as an NGO management professional who is well-versed on labour issues trade relations and stakeholder collaboration who’s lived in Ottawa for more than a decade worked closely with NDP legends like Jack Layton and Ed Broadbent Bizjak is promising to better represent constituents affordability and strengthening the country People’s Party candidate Glen Armstrong says he stands for freedom He believes Canada can “restore its prosperity and empower the people through bold convictions.” He is also the former Ottawa Catholic School Board trustee who was asked to resign and publicly apologize to the Muslim community for a social media post he made in 2021 Stay informed about your college community and sign up for the Algonquin Times email newsletter Algonquin Times Federal election candidates in Ottawa West-Nepean gathered at Ben Franklin Place on April 8 for a lively debate discussing everything from aging infrastructure to rising crime and disinformation within the riding Four candidates — Anita Vandenbeld (Liberal) Josh Bizjak (NDP) and Prashanta Dhakal (Green Party) — shared their views on key issues affecting the local community ahead of the April 28 federal election The Conservative Party candidate for Ottawa West-Nepean One of the key discussions of the night focused on the cities aging infrastructure and whether more federal funding should go to cities to help them modernize and there’s an opportunity for the federal government to upload some of those costs,” he said Bizjak emphasized that improving Ottawa’s transit system and expanding housing options should be at the top of the list Vandenbeld also supported more funding and emphasized her party’s successes in Ottawa West-Nepean we’ve invested over a billion dollars on infrastructure in Ottawa,” she said She specifically referenced the Housing Accelerator Fund which granted $176 million to help build 3,200 new units in the city a program she said the Conservatives would cut Dhakal agreed on the need for federal support but urged a more strategic approach “We need conditions attached to that funding,” Dhakal said “We shouldn’t encourage urban sprawl We should focus on cities that prioritize public transit.” Armstrong also voiced support for more funding but quickly pivoted to criticize the housing policies of other parties “Carney wants prefabricated homes… Poilievre wants Hong Kong-style high rises,” Armstrong said questioning whether either of these options would be affordable or built with rental units in mind When asked about improving access to federal services pointing out the current challenges constituents face when asking help from government offices Vandenbeld embraced the Liberal government’s creation of a minister dedicated to addressing casework highlighting her office’s efforts in solving over 4,000 issues since the last election “Three hard-working staff should not have to solve all these problems,” she said Dhakal proposed hiring more staff to improve efficiency “We need more resources,” he said Bizjak suggested MPs’ offices should be open and accessible to everyone a real person picked up the phone,” he said Armstrong used the question to criticize the exclusion of PPC leader Maxime Bernier from national debates wondering how a government that limits participation could effectively serve its constituents was another topic that brought strong reactions from the candidates Dhakal shared a personal story about a foreign student who was scammed out of $12,000 it happens to the most vulnerable,” he said Armstrong called for stronger legislation against robocalls and online scams recounting how his own mother had to change her phone number after being targeted “She had to just recently change her phone number after 25 years because of this,” he said Bizjak emphasized the need for accountability from financial institutions “The government has a responsibility to step in and work with banks… People who have been scammed should get their money back,” Bizjak said Vandenbeld pointed to the Liberal government’s mandatory regulations in the banking sector “Banks should be held accountable,” and she highlighted the importance of establishing public awareness campaigns especially marketed in stores like Shoppers Drug Mart The candidates also addressed concerns about rising crime “People are getting their cars stolen but they don’t even tell the victim,” he said saying addressing the root causes of crime “I believe every person has good intentions,” he said “We need to look at why these crimes are happening.” Vandenbeld pointed to the government’s firearms legislation “I don’t ever want to sit in a living room in our riding talking to a mother whose child was shot,” she said stressing the importance of stricter gun control Dhakal suggested reducing jurisdictional overlap in policing and improving rehabilitation programs “There have been several reports of a jurisdictional problem,” he said With the rise of disinformation and foreign interference the candidates were asked how they would protect Canadian democracy Bizjak called for stricter regulations on digital platforms to curb disinformation “These digital companies are given free range far too often,” he said “We need to regulate them more strictly.” Vandenbeld defended the Liberal government’s efforts to combat election interference pointing to the work of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Privy Council “Transparency is the best defence,” she said noting that any interference should be made public Dhakal also emphasized the importance of public broadcasting in fighting misinformation “This is why we need CBC,” he said “We need diverse sources of news to combat the lies.” “We have to question whether CBC is a truly independent and unbiased news source,” he said “There’s been a lot of talk about its reliability and we need to ensure that we’re not just relying on one source of information.” Visit Elections Canada for more information on your riding Check out our past newsletters The award-winning Algonquin Times provides the opportunity to effectively reach the Algonquin community Drop us a line if you have questions or comments is produced by Algonquin 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All rights reserved | Privacy Policy Nepean stretches from Bankfield Road in the south to Corkstown Road at its northernmost end encompassing the family-friendly suburb of Barrhaven The Rideau River forms the eastern boundary while Eagleson Road marks the western perimeter Among the landmarks within its borders are the Trail Road Waste Facility Nepean Sportsplex and many other sports arenas Nepean has been a Progressive Conservative stronghold since the John Baird era in the 1990s In keeping with the 2015 redrawing of federal boundaries which divided Nepean-Carleton into separate constituencies of Nepean and Carleton 2018 was the first provincial election for the modern riding of Nepean first elected in March 2006 in the former riding of Nepean-Carleton regained her seat by a large margin in 2018 although far less convincingly as Liberal candidate Tyler Watt missed the mark by just over 2,000 votes MacLeod held cabinet positions as minister of children MacLeod announced her decision not to run again last fall Liberal candidate Tyler Watt hit the campaign path like a seasoned pro not only knocking on doors and working the phones but also beefing up his content on social media The thirtysomething acute-care nurse has nearly 40,000 followers on X He’s also an Ontario Police College lecturer who instructs officers on 2SLGBTQ+ community relations Joining the race to represent the NDP is youthful Max Blair a recent Carleton University graduate who has been employed as a legislative assistant for the House of Commons Representing the Green Party is Shelagh McLean who previously ran in the 2018 provincial election in Ottawa-Vanier she’s a retired federal government human resources professional who remains active in her community as a volunteer and yoga teacher Carmen Charbonneau is running for the Ontario Party John Kovach is a 22-year-old filmmaker and candidate for the New Blue Party Kovach says he is “dedicated to promoting truth and freedom in an era of misinformation” and prioritizes economic freedom and the pursuit of happiness He supports education curriculum reform and more autonomy for small businesses who has operated a mobile bike repair business for over 40 years Westaway is focused on containing the Ottawa Greenbelt which he calls “a very short-sighted vision.” He seeks to reduce urban sprawl the Ottawa Citizen asked candidates from Ontario’s four main parties four questions each about how they would tackle transit and housing issues in Ottawa (and also what their favourite local restaurant is) Here is what we heard back from the candidates: How do you propose helping Ottawa to fix the housing crisis Ontario is building fewer homes than it did 50 years ago Ontario isn’t just falling short historically—it’s falling behind its peers Alberta is building double the homes per capita people are finding it impossible to purchase their first home and those looking to downsize often can’t afford to do so within their own neighbourhoods We have a plan to eliminate the provincial Land Transfer Tax for first-time homebuyers Development charges can add up to $170,000 on the price of a new home–by scrapping those costs on new middle-class builds we’ll eliminate a major barrier to increasing supply We will also bring back rent control to help address this crisis for those who are feeling it most How will you make sure everyone in Ottawa has a family doctor Doug Ford has overseen the worst healthcare system performance in our history One million more Ontarians don’t have a family doctor emergency rooms have closed 1,200 times in the past year and the number of people experiencing hallway healthcare has doubled I’ve seen the results firsthand—a growing number of acute and chronic conditions aren’t being diagnosed or treated in a timely manner Ontario Liberals will ensure everyone has a family doctor by 2029 including the 31,000 people in Nepean without one We will invest $3.1 billion to increase access through retention We will offer incentives to family doctors working in other medical fields or retiring soon end penalization when patients seek care at walk-in clinics double the spots in medical schools and residencies and accelerate the integration of 1,200 qualified internationally trained doctors How can the province be fairer to Ottawa with its transit and budget issues which has hurt the city’s ability to pay for much-needed services Ontario Liberals have committed to uploading Ottawa’s LRT system saving the city money and ensuring reliable funding for maintenance I will work to get the LRT out to Barrhaven and Kanata fulfilling the long-awaited promise of comprehensive rail transit for Ottawa’s growing communities I will also commit to finally getting the Barnsdale interchange built This long awaited piece of critical infrastructure has been promised for years by Conservatives and yet not a single shovel has hit the ground It’s long overdue and will meaningfully reduce commute times for people in the community We have also committed to uploading Highway 174 allowing for improved maintenance and potential expansion and a dedicated bus/HOV lane to Rockland to connect to the LRT enhancing transit options for the people of Ottawa What’s your favourite Ottawa restaurant and why This is an easy answer: San Marino Pizza in Barrhaven This pizzeria has been a staple of the community since 1987 and a family tradition of mine I love their pizza so much that I would bring an extra one back with me when visiting home from nursing school The Ontario NDP has a comprehensive plan to address the housing crisis and build homes that everyone can afford including closing the loophole that exempts units built after 2018 and ending above-guideline rent increases and midrise apartments in all neighbourhoods Limit short-term rentals to primary residences to protect the supply of long-term rental housing Build or acquire over 300,000 permanently affordable rental homes through non-profits and co-op housing I propose we stop treating housing as a commodity and start treating it as a human right and our provincial government should be leading the way in making that a reality Ottawa currently has 162,818 people without a family doctor across the entire city and this is expected to get worse as the majority of doctors in Ontario are expected to retire or leave their practice soon the first step to addressing this is to aggressively recruit more healthcare professionals into community-based teams so that people in the greatest need can be seen as soon as possible as well as working with the province to create a centralized referral system for our surgery backlog we need to expand licensing opportunities for internationally trained doctors and healthcare workers to grow our workforce And in the long term we need to encourage more local training and retention by leveraging our incredible post-secondary institutions and funding more residency seats with fair wages for healthcare workers so they choose to work here at home the province should be providing operating funding to make sure that our transit shows up on time and with it fares can drop as the budget constraints soften Any serious plan to fix our transit must include operations funding to support commuters in Ottawa Authentic Vietnamese Pho House in Barrhaven it truly lives up to the name and delivers on a delicious meal generous portion of Pho or any other delicious option on their menu solidifies this as one of the best restaurants in the city The Citizen invited Ottawa candidates from the four major provincial parties to explain why you should vote for them Those who met our deadlines and protocols will be published this week and next “Good things grow in Ontario” is more than a catchy Foodland slogan from a simpler time; it’s a feeling that things are getting better It’s that feeling when you can finally go on that family trip you’ve been saving for or that you can share a meal with a friend or neighbour many are wondering if they will be able to afford a meal for themselves Many family trips today are people travelling long distance in hopes of securing a family doctor and had to tell friends I can’t take the time to come see them I’ve missed family milestones because I simply couldn’t afford to go We’ve seen the average price of rent in Barrhaven skyrocket to $2,497 That’s 26 per cent higher than the national average I’ve lived through the stress of not knowing if I would make rent for the month and want to ensure no one else in our community experiences this I would prioritize lowering the cost of living using measures such as rent caps and rent control to make life more affordable Thousands in Ottawa are without a family doctor instead relying on online community groups that share tips and tricks for navigating our health-care system without one I know many people who drive back to Toronto or even further to see their doctor once or twice a year because they can’t find one here This lack of access is forcing people to be reactive with their health I will fight to ensure we get the doctors we need so that we can cut down on the 162,000 people without a doctor in Ottawa with more and more young families moving in — but transit funding has not kept up Giving up our transit to Metrolinx is not a solution I would work to secure operations funding for our city and school transit systems to make sure that regardless of whether it’s a school bus “How will we pay for it?” I suggest we start by redirecting taxpayer money to initiatives for Ontarians — instead of foreign-owned luxury spas in Toronto (to the tune of $400 per household) and stop trying to bribe voters with their own money Imagine what could be accomplished if $600 per household were directed towards local schools and hospitals I’ve lived paycheque to paycheque as a line cook and lumber yard worker and I’ve seen the policies that are ignoring our needs first-hand as a policy analyst and legislative assistant I am running now because we need real people After missing the mark by a little more than 2,000 votes in 2022 Liberal Party candidate Tyler Watt pulled off a sweeping victory for the seat in Nepean finishing nearly 5,000 votes ahead of Progressive Conservative candidate Alex Lewis “I’m so honoured to be a part of the Ontario Liberal Party going to Queen’s Park and adding another Ottawa seat in there for us,” Watt said The result in Nepean flipped what had been a PC stronghold represented by Lisa MacLeod since 2006 in what was then the riding of Nepean-Carleton but he said he felt more prepared this time “I was door knocking until about 7:30 tonight and every door was either ‘I’m about to go vote for you,’” Watt said so I feel people are more familiar with me this time.” Watt’s campaign team staked out the auto detailing shop MP Detailing for his election night party which drew more than 100 jubilant supporters He cited the short campaign window as a challenge to reaching more voters this time “We had such a limited amount of time in this election,” Watt said “My original plan was to take six months off from work to knock on every single door at least twice in this election because I know if I can have that personal connection with people that we could have a great chance at winning this election.” Watt said he was instead working at a hospital “just over four weeks ago.” He said he viewed that background as valuable in a province where “everyone has a health-care story and everyone agrees that we want it to be better.” I grew up here in the ’90s and I’ve seen how much has changed,” Watt said it was farmland … Now it’s like its own city “We just haven’t been given the investments needed to keep up with how much we’ve been expanding when it comes to road infrastructure when it comes to access to primary care and hospitals.” describing the campaign as one of the best experiences of his life At his election-night party at a Barrhaven pub appropriately called The Jolly Taxpayer Lewis said it was unfortunate that the “tide had turned” in Nepean He said he knocked on about 6,000 doors during the campaign and was well-received “The results at the door were not reflective of what we were seeing up there (on the results screen),” he said Lewis wasn’t disappointed about going back to his job as an Ottawa police officer “I get to go back to policing and ride a motorcycle for a living?” he said Former Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod sent Lewis off on a high note saying he did a great job in the short campaign and would have been a fine MPP She was one of the high-profile members of the community who endorsed his campaign along with former Ottawa police chief Vern White former MP John Baird and former city councillor Jan Harder “It was four hard weeks for a young man who I consider to be the future of the Ontario Progressive Conservative party,” MacLeod said Within the boundaries of Nepean is the family-friendly suburb of Barrhaven The riding stretches from Bankfield Road in the south to Corkstown Road at its northernmost end and from Eagleson Road in the west to the Rideau River in the east Over the years since she first won election in 2006 community and social services and minister of sports and tourism MacLeod announced last fall she would not run again He’s also an Ontario Police College lecturer who instructs officers on 2SLGBTQ+ community relations and previously was executive director of the Bells Corners BIA The Green Party candidate was Sheilagh McLean Other candidates included Peter Westaway (independent) John Kovach (New Blue Party) and Carmen Charbonneau (Ontario Party) Unofficial voter turnout was 45.49 per cent in the riding Nepean MP Chandra Arya has been barred from running for re-election in the riding he has represented for nearly a decade it does not diminish the profound honour and privilege it has been to serve the people of Nepean — and all Canadians — as their Member of Parliament since 2015,” Arya said in a social-media post Arya posted a letter from the Liberal Party of Canada The letter said the party had conducted a thorough review of Arya’s eligibility based on a review of new information … the national campaign co-chair is recommending the revocation of your status as a candidate.” The letter does not include what new information led to this decision Liberal party spokesperson Parker Lund did not specify why Arya had been removed as a candidate but said it was “in accordance with our national nomination rules.” He included a link to the Liberal’s 25-page rulebook for candidate selection saying the nomination process for a new candidate in the Nepean riding “will proceed in due course and be fully in line with our national nomination rules.” Arya’s official Liberal Party website was taken offline I have poured my heart and soul into this role I am immensely proud of the work I have done as a parliamentarian the unwavering service I have provided to the residents of Nepean the principled stands I have taken on issues that matter deeply to Canadians and the causes I have stood up for — even when it was difficult even when it came at a personal or political cost,” Arya said on social media Then, too, when Arya was barred from the leadership race, Lund wouldn’t say specifically why Arya wasn’t allowed to run. At the time, he pointed to Liberal Party rules for the race saying a potential candidate for leadership could be disqualified if it was deemed they were “manifestly unfit for the office of Leader of the Party” due to “public statements, past improper conduct, a lack of commitment to democracy, or other reputational or legal jeopardy.” 2 months agoDuration 2:52Nepean High School music teacher nominated for Juno Award 2 months agoNewsDuration 2:52Jeannie Hunter, who heads the music program at Nepean High School, is nominated for the Music Teacher of the Year Award. The awards will take place in Vancouver on March 30. An elderly man was seriously injured in a fire at a Nepean home early Friday A second resident of a home in the 100 block of Beaver Ridge called 911 at about 6:14 a.m The caller was calling from outside the home and reported one occupant was still inside Firefighters arrived within two minutes to discover heavy flames coming out of the living room window on the first floor at the front of the house who confirmed occupants had managed to get out of the home A secondary crew conducted a search through heavy smoke and zero-visibility conditions to confirm there were no other occupants inside Firefighters pulled down sections of the ceiling on the first floor to access flames that travelled into the ceilings of the home The fire was declared under control at 07:01 a.m Victim assistance representatives were called to assist five adults who were displaced by the fire An Ottawa fire investigator was dispatched to the scene The Beaver Ridge fire was one of three fires Friday morning No injuries were reported in the other fires on Wurtemburg Street and Carling Avenue The Ottawa Police Service is asking the public for information about a “vehicle of interest” in the investigation of a fatal shooting on April 6 officers were called to the 300 block of Craig Henry Drive in Nepean at around 9:30 a.m A 21-year-old man was also taken to hospital with injuries that were serious police released two photos of a vehicle they believed was at the scene of the shooting police did not provide details of the make and model of the car nor did they provide a licence plate number “Investigators believe that the vehicle depicted in the still images is the suspect vehicle,” the release read Anyone with information about the vehicle or the case was asked to contact the Ottawa Police Service homicide unit at 613-236-1222 extension 5493 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Liberal Leader Mark Carney will run in the riding of Nepean in the upcoming election, a party source confirmed Saturday evening. Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Carney, who won the leadership on March 9, will be running for the Ottawa seat held since 2015 by Liberal MP Chandra Arya. However, the party told Arya this past week that his candidacy for the next general election had been revoked. In a social-media post, Arya posted a letter from the Liberal Party of Canada that said it had conducted a thorough review of his eligibility, and “after careful consideration, based on a review of new information … the national campaign co-chair is recommending the revocation of your status as a candidate.” A former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, Carney has been a resident of the Rockcliffe Park community in Ottawa since returning to this country from England in 2020. Carney met Sunday with Governor General Mary Simon to ask that she dissolve Parliament, setting the stage for a general election. She agreed and the vote will be April 28. Nepean Progressive Conservative candidate Alex Lewis is the front-runner in the riding for the Feb according to a poll conducted by Mainstreet Research on Feb The poll of 507 adults in the Nepean district a seat that had been held by outgoing Ontario cabinet minister Lisa MacLeod since 2006 showed that Lewis had support of 33.5 per cent of respondents Liberal candidate Tyler Watt was favoured by 27.5 per cent followed by Max Blair of the NDP (6.9 per cent) and Shelagh McLeran of the Green Party (1.7 per cent) The Mainstreet poll was conducted via both landlines and cellphones across all age groups and economic backgrounds and carries a plus/minus error of 4.4 per cent The poll is roughly in line with party leanings across Ontario according to a Mainstreet survey of more than 1,200 respondents across the province That survey showed 32 per cent would support PC Leader Doug Ford and 23.5 per cent favouring Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie was favoured by 15 per cent of poll respondents The Nepean riding includes the ever-expanding Barrhaven and Bells Corners districts and boasts a population of 132,000 The breakdown of the poll in Nepean showed more commitment from voters 65 and above Lewis was supported by 44.5 per cent of that group followed by Watt at 38.1 per cent and Blair at 4.7 per cent but only 9.4 per cent of seniors were undecided where almost 39 per cent of poll respondents reported being undecided Watt by 17.7 per cent and Blair by 10.3 per cent MacLeod was first elected in 2006 in what was then the riding of Nepean-Carleton replacing John Baird after he jumped to federal politics including three times in Nepean-Carleton and twice in the redrawn riding of Nepean kwarren@postmedia.com Liberal Leader Mark Carney has chosen to run in one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada “I’ve been a resident in the Ottawa area for almost 20 years when I was quite honestly a resident in London when I was the governor of the Bank of England,” Carney said during Sunday’s formal announcement of the April 28 election at Rideau Hall So from Barrhaven to Bells Corners and in between Carney says the riding is representative of many aspects of the country in general “The median income is probably around $50,000-$55,000 so a little less than the national average It’s very diverse (and represents) both the opportunities and challenges that we face as a country and those are challenges that I’m looking to address.” Barbara Bal is running for the Conservatives and Yan Mo Maneechai is running for the People’s Party of Canada in the seat Candidates from other parties have yet to be announced in Rockliffe Park since returning to Ottawa from his stint in London Nepean is considered a relatively safe Liberal riding even if there’s a measure of controversy over how he landed in the spot to run in an election for the first time Chandra Arya won the seat relatively easily in the 2015 2019 and 2021 elections and had previously been nominated to run again in the riding the Liberal party told Arya that his candidacy for the election had been revoked Arya posted a letter from the Liberal Party of Canada that said it had conducted a thorough review of his eligibility Arya was disqualified for competing in the Liberal leadership race to replace Justin Trudeau Arya had argued that it wasn’t necessary for him to speak French in order to lead the party Carney subsequently won the leadership — and became interim prime minister — by a convincing margin on March 9 The Liberal Leader said Sunday there is a group within the Liberal party called the Green Light committee which does due diligence on candidates “I am not a member of that committee,” he said was disqualified from the leadership race for the Liberal Party There were certain factors that informed that decision It is my understanding that the Green Light recommended that he be disqualified as a candidate in Nepean.” Among the many intriguing elements of the upcoming election is the fact that Carney’s Nepean riding is bordered on the south and east by the Carleton riding where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is aiming to win an eighth consecutive election there had been considerable speculation that Carney could choose to run in Alberta giving rise to the idea that he may seek a seat somewhere in the province with a southern border extending beyond Barrhaven The Highway 416 serves as much of its western edge but an east-west railway line running between Baseline and West Hunt club roads serves as a divider to the neighbouring Ottawa West-Nepean riding Nepean is generally considered a family-centric riding the median income was $50,400 and average income was $62,200 Arya has had little trouble winning Nepean during the previous three elections compared to 33.7 for Conservative Matt Triemstra and 16.4 per cent for the NDP’s Sean Devine who currently serves on Ottawa City Council in the Knoxdale-Merivale ward Louis was favoured by 33.5 of Nepean voters followed by Zaff Ansari of the NDP with 13.1 per cent when the Nepean riding was reinstated by Elections Canada Arya was part of the wave of Justin Trudeaumania He captured 52.4 per cent of the riding’s votes well ahead of Andy Wang of the Conservatives (36.1 per cent) and Devine (8.2 per cent) of the NDP has gone through many changes over the years but it has remained a strongly Liberal throughout with the pieces redistributed between Nepean-Carleton and Ottawa-West Nepean Elections Canada reinstated Nepean in 2012 adding a chunk of the former Nepean-Carleton riding Sign in Join now, it's FREE! OTTAWA — The Canadian Press decision desk is projecting that Prime Minister Mark Carney has been elected in the Ottawa riding of Nepean Check out Village Report - the news that matters most to Canada, updated throughout the day.  Or, subscribe to Village Report's free daily newsletter: a compilation of the news you need to know Subscribe 4 did little to cool the heated debate about the city’s plan to build tent-like structures for asylum seekers a slapshot away from the Nepean Sportsplex We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Play VideoArticle contentBefore Knoxdale-Merivale Coun Sean Devine could get rolling to explain what the public information session at the Sportsplex was all about and to counter the many myths and misinformation about the project protesters sporting “No Tent in Ottawa” T-shirts and banners interrupted the show After Devine made several attempts to calm the waters — he patiently answered questions in small groups for 90 minutes after formal presentations were complete — police escorted the chief agitator out of the board room The man was later charged with trespassing and many of his followers left with him with security keeping the protesters and late arrivals from entering the room The site is on a rarely-used soccer field at 1645 Woodroffe Ave. behind an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board education centre formerly home to Confederation High School The city is also planning on constructing an additional structure near the Eagleson Park and Ride in Kanata when required and as needed will help solve some of the city’s homeless and housing crisis moving asylum seekers out of community centres where they’ve been housed for several years The aim is to have that building in place in late 2025 No federal money has yet been approved for the Kanata structure many of those opposed to the decision left the meeting unsatisfied with what they heard but they didn’t take on board any considerations except the ones important to the city,” said Bob Carberry spokesperson for the Merivale Gardens Residents for Appropriate Site Selection “We’re saying there are bigger issues here that nobody has asked us about We don’t think this is a good idea to put this in the parking lot of Ottawa’s biggest sports facility with 150 people stranded from all services that are going to need a place to walk every day and it’s going to be overwhelmed by (new) people walking through every day.” Carberry recognizes there is a housing crisis but insists that placing the structure in the Greenbelt — wooded areas separate the Sportsplex from the Merivale Gardens community — is not appropriate He says it’s a “Band-Aid on a sore that started to fester months ago” and there must be alternative areas that would have better access to services and would allow newcomers to better meld into the population where there’s some environmentally sensitive things around here as well very much stewards of in our neighbourhood.” which didn’t allow him to hear questions from fellow residents When the formal presentations were complete those wanting additional information were asked to approach Devine Taylor and Stantec for more detailed responses “Why can’t I hear other people’s questions?” Valois said “I don’t know what to ask the city people versus Stantec They’re just telling us that this was a decision made and a little bit of why it was made.” happens to the Sprung Structure when the need is gone “It just seems like it has been misstep after misstep from the city and now it’s a race to quell public opinion.” There were some spicy back-and-forth verbal confrontations between those against the structures and those who support them who lives two kilometres from the Sportsplex and helps mentor new Canadians on how to settle into the city and find jobs “I feel it’s very important to have a welcoming environment (for asylum seekers),” Moir said “I had (previously) heard a lot of misinformation from my neighbours so I’m just here to show support for newcomers.” Moir acknowledges there’s a not-in-my-backyard element to the topic but she also says the city originally fumbled the ball in getting information out when plans were first made public in early November “There were some gaps in knowledge at the beginning,” Moir said.”I think there was some misinformation that sprung up.” says she’s concerned that many residents of the city don’t recognize all the checks and balances asylum seekers must go through before being accepted in Canada As for the concerns that the structures are not appropriate or suitable for the Canadian climate They are designed to be only a temporary space with asylum seekers expected to stay only two to three months before finding more permanent housing She also suggests people simply look a few kilometres away at the Superdome at the corner of Greenbank and Hunt Club roads “The (Superdome) has been there for almost 20 years now,” Daley said “People use it year-round and there’s heat the hospital had an extra wing (that was similar) especially when you’re talking about speed in getting things built.” It’s doubtful whether the most passionate people at the meeting changed their opinions based on what they heard Many simply talked — and yelled — at Devine Taylor and Stantec representatives without waiting for answers His chief aim was to clear up as much misinformation as possible including several heated exchanges with residents who were against the project he believed it was an opportunity for people to be heard you need to understand that there is a plurality of opinions on this,” Devine said “Those who are adamantly opposed to this and think their voice is the only one they need to understand that people are stressed by this to do it in this kind of public forum where there’s a whole range of opinion.” Correction: Incorrect information appeared in an earlier version of this story. Stantec Consulting assessed the site for future construction. The site is on a soccer field.      OttawaNewsWho will replace longtime MPP Lisa MacLeod in Nepean?By Peter SzperlingPublished: February 20, 2025 at 10:29AM EST Liberal leader Mark Carney | CBC.ca LoadedNepean voters react to news of new candidate 1 month agoDuration 2:30Nepean voters react to news of new candidate, Liberal leader Mark Carney 1 month agoNewsDuration 2:30Liberal leader Mark Carney was announced as the new candidate in the Ottawa riding of Nepean. He's replacing a Liberal incumbent who had been disqualified from the party's leadership. 3 months agoDuration 2:47Ottawa West-Nepean pits NDP incumbent against new candidates3 months agoNewsDuration 2:47The hotly contested riding of Ottawa West-Nepean has attracted new challengers as the NDP candidate who won the last contest against an incumbent PC seeks a second term. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem OttawaNewsFinal push for votes begins in Ottawa West-Nepean with tight race expectedBy Tyler FlemingPublished: February 25, 2025 at 8:18PM EST