The 2003 Ottawa municipal election was a municipal election that was held in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

to elect the city's mayor,

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

, and school trustees for the city of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. The vote was held on November 10, 2003. The elections were held simultaneously with most other municipalities in Ontario. The mayoral election was won by popular incumbent and former

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Member of Provincial Parliament Member of Provincial Parliament is the title given to provincial legislators in two legislatures: * Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada) * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape) In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of Pro ...

Bob Chiarelli Roberto Chiarelli (born September 24, 1941) is a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who served from 1987 to 1997 and again from 2010 to 2018 who represented the ridings of Ottawa West and Otta ...

. His main competition was that of right-wing candidate Terry Kilrea.

Issues

The main issues of the race were a controversial

Smoking ban Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor employ ...

, the expansion of the

O-Train The O-Train is a light rail system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The O-Train system consists of three lines, all of which are fully Grade separation, grade-separated. As of March 2025, one line is currently being extended an ...

(Ottawa's

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

system), official

bilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

and the recent

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

. Chiarelli was in favour of the smoking ban, which had been implemented by the last city council. The ban was on smoking in all public places, which angered many bar and restaurant owners. Kilrea was against the smoking ban. He was also against putting money into expanding the O-Train, and official bilingualism in the city.

Controversy

One of the prominent fringe candidates for mayor was associated with

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

support. Donna Upson received contributions from the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

, and she voiced support for

racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

. She has also set up a Canadian branch of the

National Socialist Movement Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

. She finished in sixth place with 1,312 votes (0.71%).

Turnout

Turnout for the election was low, at 33%. The highest turnouts were in the rural areas, specifically in

Goulbourn Goulbourn Township, Ontario, was formed in 1818, roughly 20 km southwest of downtown Ottawa, with the first major settlement occurring in Richmond, Ontario, Richmond. Other communities in the township include Stittsville, Ontario, Stittsvil ...

, Rideau and the highest West Carleton (45%). The lowest turnout was in

Somerset Ward Somerset (Ward 14) is a city ward in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It covers the neighbourhoods of Downtown Ottawa, Centretown, Lebreton Flats and most of Centretown West. It is Ottawa's smallest and most dense ward. It is represented on Ot ...

at 25% turnout.

Results for mayor

Chiarelli won all but three wards and had his most strength in the city core region. Kilrea won three wards, all in the rural south and west.

Council results

No incumbents lost any races, and only two councillors had a decrease in the popular vote percentage from the 2000 election. Orléans Ward # Herb Kreling 7,182 (72.89%) (+31.93%) #Louise Malloy 2,671 (27.11%)

Innes Ward Innes () is a habitational surname of Scottish origin, derived from Innes in Moray. In some cases it may have originated as a shortening of MacInnes. Surname Finance * Chris Innes (born 1970), businessperson, former Global Head of Equities and ...

Rainer Bloess Rainer Bloess was a member of Ottawa City Council. He represents Innes Ward (Ward 2), covering some of the city's eastern suburbs. Bloess was originally a member of the city council of Gloucester, being first elected to that council in 1994 ...

5,925 (59.26%) (+7.25%) #J.-F. Claude 4,073 (40.74%) Bell-South Nepean Ward #

Jan Harder Janet Harder (born 1951 in Ottawa) is a former Ottawa City Councillor who represented the ward of Barrhaven. She was the appointed chair of the Ottawa Public Library board, which sets policy and has the ultimate say in decisions affecting the lib ...

11,678 (86.75%) (+25.86%) #John R. Palmer 1,784 (13.25%) Kanata Ward # Peggy Feltmate 12,260 (70.58%) #Richard Rutkowski 4,166 (23.98%) #Donald Leafloor 561 (3.23%) #Grant Johnston 384 (2.21%) West Carleton Ward # Eli El-Chantiry 2,738 (44.61%) #Adele Muldoon 2,709 (44.14%) #Daryl W. Craig 480 (7.82%) #Jim Jenkins 210 (3.42%) Goulbourn Ward #

Janet Stavinga Janet Stavinga is a former Ottawa City Councillor and a former mayor. She represented the Goulbourn ward covering what was once the independent Goulbourn Township, Ontario, Goulbourn Township, and was mayor of Goulbourn from December 1, 1997, unt ...

5,076 (64.15%) (+19.14%) #Michael P. O'Rourke 2,837 (35.85%)

Bay Ward Bay Ward or Ward 7 (French: ''Quartier Baie'') is a municipal ward in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada represented on Ottawa City Council. It covers much of the western portion of the old city of Ottawa as well as some portions of what was once Nepean. Th ...

# Alex Cullen 6,713 (56.74%) (+8.72%) #John Blatherwick 4,477 (37.84%) #Don Rivington 394 (3.33%) #Didar Mohamed 248 (2.10%) Baseline Ward # Rick Chiarelli (acclaimed)

Knoxdale-Merivale Ward Knoxdale-Merivale (Ward 9) is a city ward in Ottawa, Ontario. Located in the city's west end, the ward is bordered to the east by the Rideau River and Fisher Avenue, the northern boundaries of the community of Barrhaven to the south, Ontario Highw ...

Gord Hunter Gordon W. Hunter (born January 20, 1946) was an Ottawa City Councillor. He represented Knoxdale-Merivale Ward. On January 31, 2010, he announced that he would not be running re-election to city council in 2010. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, ...

7,029 (84.79%) (+13.17%) #Phillip Unhola 637 (7.68%) #Al Speyers 624 (7.53%) (-20.85%)

Gloucester-Southgate Ward Gloucester-Southgate Ward (Ward 10) is a city ward located in Ottawa, Ontario. Located in the city's south end, the ward includes Gloucester Glen east of the Rideau River, most of the Ottawa International Airport, CFSU Uplands, Blossom Park, Gre ...

Diane Deans Diane Elizabeth Deans (née Flaherty; September 16, 1958 – May 14, 2024) was a Canadian politician. A member of Ottawa City Council, she represented Gloucester-Southgate Ward, and its predecessor Southgate Ward in the city's southeast from 199 ...

6,166 (59.34%) (+10.64%) #Harold G. Keenan 3,917 (37.70%) #David Lamothe 308 (2.96%)

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Ward Beacon Hill-Cyrville Ward (Ward 11) is a city ward in Ottawa, Ontario. Located in the city's east end, the ward is bordered to the west by Blair Road from the Ottawa River to Ogilvie Road and St. Laurent Boulevard south of it, the south by the Via ...

Michel Bellemare Michel Bellemare (born July 10, 1967) is a Canadian politician and lawyer. Bellemare was a member of the City Council in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from 1994 to 2010. He served as the acting as mayor of Ottawa, while mayor Larry O'Brien faced charg ...

4,613 (61.04%) (+3.17%) # Frank Reid 2,812 (37.21%) #Osman Abdi 132 (1.75%)

Rideau-Vanier Ward Rideau-Vanier Ward is a ward in the city of Ottawa, designated as Ward 12 and represented on Ottawa City Council. It was originally created in 1994 as a Ward for the Regional Council of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. The ward cover ...

Georges Bédard Georges A. Bédard (born 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a former member of Ottawa City Council representing the ward (politics), ward of By-St. George's Ward, By-St. George's from 1974 to 1980 and Rideau-Vanier Ward, Rideau-Vanier from 2003 to 2010. ...

3,631 (41.52%) #Bruce McConville 2,355 (26.93%) #Angela Rickman 1,829 (20.91%) #Giacomo Vigna 582 (6.66%) #Abdillahi Omar Bouh 211 (2.41%) #Natasha Duckworth 137 (1.57%)

Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward is a city ward in Ottawa, Ontario. Located in the city's east end, the ward covers the neighbourhoods of New Edinburgh, Manor Park, Rockcliffe Park, Wateridge Village, Overbrook, Lindenlea, Viscount Alexander Park, Carso ...

# Jacques Legendre 6,070 (79.17%) (+15.29%) #James Parker 934 (12.18%) #Michel Binda 663 (8.65%)

# Diane Holmes 4,105 (61.62%) #Dawn Pickering 1,195 (17.94%) #David MacDonald 567 (8.51%) #William A. Ostapyk 366 (5.49%) #Steve Sweeney 189 (2.84%) #Sotos Petrides 132 (1.98%) #Bill Driver 55 (0.83%) #Mike Jung 53 (0.80%)

Kitchissippi Ward Kitchissippi Ward (Ward 15) is a city ward in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It gets its name from the Algonquin name for the Ottawa River, meaning ''Great River''. The ward is slightly west of downtown, and covers the neighbourhoods of Ch ...

# Shawn Little 2,907 (27.12%) (-19.92%) #Kris Klein 2,330 (21.74%) #

Gary Ludington The 2006 Ottawa municipal election was held on November 13, 2006, in Ottawa, Canada, to elect the mayor of Ottawa, Ottawa City Council and the Ottawa-Carleton Public and Catholic School Boards. The election was one of many races across the prov ...

2,217 (20.68%) #Linda Davis 1,540 (14.37%) (-26.07%) #Daniel Stringer 1,058 (9.87%) #David McConnell 625 (5.83%) #Les Gangé 42 (0.39%)

River Ward River Ward or Ward 16 (French: ''Quartier Rivière'') is a municipal ward located in Ottawa, Ontario. It is located in the south central portion of the city, and includes the communities of Carlington, Central Park, Carleton Heights, Mooney's Bay ...

# Maria McRae 5,600 (63.11%) #Todd Mattila-Hartman 1,654 (18.64%) #Richard Smith 1,619 (18.25%)

Capital Ward Capital Ward or Ward 17 (French: ''Quartier Capitale'') is a city ward located in the centre of Ottawa, Ontario. Situated just south of downtown Ottawa, the ward includes the communities of Old Ottawa East, Old Ottawa South, the Glebe, Heron Park ...

Clive Doucet Clive Doucet (born 1946) is a Canadian writer and politician. He served as the Ottawa City Councillor for Capital Ward from 1997 to 2010 and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Ottawa in the 2010 Ottawa municipal election, finishing third with 15 pe ...

5,785 (80.06%) (+9.67%) #C.R.L. Erickson 1,024 (14.17%) #Mike Salmon 417 (5.77%)

Alta Vista Ward Alta Vista Ward (Ward 18) is a city ward (politics), ward in the city of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada represented on Ottawa City Council. Alta Vista Ward was created prior to the 1966 Ottawa municipal election, 1966 election when Gloucester Ward ...

# Peter Hume (acclaimed) Cumberland Ward #

Rob Jellett Robert Jellett (born c. 1960) is a former Ottawa City Councillor. He represented the large Cumberland Ward, located at the city's eastern edge from 2003 to 2010. Jellett worked as a reporter, news anchor and Assistant News Director with local ra ...

2,957 (54.37%) #Garry Lowe 1,871 (34.40%) #Pierre E. Doucette 552 (10.15%) #David Whissell 59 (1.08%)

Osgoode Ward Osgoode Ward (Ward 20) is a municipal ward located in the rural southeast corner of the City of Ottawa. It mostly consists of the former Osgoode Township and parts of the former city of Gloucester and Cumberland. It has been represented on Ottawa ...

Doug Thompson Douglas Thompson was a councillor in the city of Ottawa for the Osgoode Ward. Thompson was also the former mayor of Osgoode Township prior to the amalgamation with the new City of Ottawa. Prior to being mayor of Osgoode, Thompson was a municipal ...

(acclaimed) Rideau Ward #

Glenn Brooks Robert "Glenn" Brooks is a Canadian politician who was mayor of Rideau Township and later Ottawa City Councillor representing the rural Rideau-Goulbourn Ward. He grew up on a dairy farm outside of Oshawa and became a science teacher, he and h ...

2,765 (62.68%) (-2.42%) #Paul Paton 1,646 (37.32%)

School trustee races

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board Trustees

Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board Trustees

Conseil des écoles catholiques de langue française du Centre-Est Trustees

Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario Trustees

Information on the candidates

*Giacomo Vigna (Rideau-Vanier ward) is a lawyer with the

Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the Government of Canada. It is empowered under the '' Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the ...

. He was a candidate in the

1991 Ottawa municipal election The city of Ottawa, Canada held municipal elections on November 12, 1991. Right wing Britannia Ward councillor Jacquelin Holzman defeated left wing St. George's councillor Nancy Smith and mayor Marc Laviolette. Holzman defeated Smith by just 3,0 ...

, though he withdrew from the contest before election day. In

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, he ran for a seat on the Saint-Leonard city council in suburban

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and narrowly lost to incumbent Robert Zambito. In the 2003 election, he focused on economic development issues and called for an expansion of the Ottawa Congress Centre. Vigna has argued cases before the

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal () is an administrative tribunal established in 1977 through the '' Canadian Human Rights Act''. It is directly funded by the Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, fed ...

against persons accused of

online hate speech Online hate speech is a type of speech that takes place online with the purpose of attacking a person or a group based on their race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, and/or gender. Online hate speech is not easily defin ...

. In 2010, he won a libel suit against right-wing pundit

Ezra Levant Ezra Isaac Levant (born February 20, 1972) is a Canadian media personality, political activist, writer, broadcaster, and former lawyer. Levant is the founder and former publisher of the conservative magazine, the'' Western Standard''. He is als ...

; a judge ruled that Levant had libelled Vigna with "reckless indifference" to the truth in various blog posts.Joseph Brean, "Judge orders Ezra Levant to pay $25,000; Charged with defaming human rights lawyer," ''Montreal Gazette'', 20 November 2010, p. 5.

References

External links

2003 Municipal Election Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottawa Municipal Election, 2003 Municipal elections in Ottawa 2003 Ontario municipal elections election, 2003