Ariel Troster (born 1979) is a politician 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 ...

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. She is the city councillor for Somerset Ward on

Ottawa City Council Ottawa City Council () is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents wards throughout the city. Council member ...

Background

Troster was born in Toronto, the daughter of former

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

finance writer Sheryl Smolkin and Joel Troster. She has a bachelor's degrees in journalism and history from

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

and a master's degree in

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

. Prior to being elected, Troster worked for the

Federation of Canadian Municipalities The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM, ''Fédération canadienne des municipalités'') is an advocacy group representing over 2000 Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence ...

Public Service Alliance of Canada The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC; , AFPC) is one of Canada's largest national labour unions. It is the largest union in the Canadian federal public sector. PSAC members work in every province and territory, and also work abroad in emb ...

, and

The Council of Canadians The Council of Canadians is a Canadian non-profit organization that advocates for clean water, fair trade, green energy, public health care, and democracy. The organization is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario with regional offices in Halifax, ...

. She was a writer and columnist for

Xtra Magazine ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former p ...

from 2005 to 2009 and sat on the board of various LGBTQ organizations including

Egale Canada Egale Canada is a Canadian charity founded in 1986 by Les McAfee to advance equality for Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) people and their families, across Canada. The organization's current executive director is former To ...

, the Ten Oaks Project and the Ottawa Dyke March. She is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Political career

Troster was elected in the

2022 Ottawa municipal election The 2022 Ottawa municipal election was held on Monday, October 24, 2022, to elect a Mayor of Ottawa, mayor, Ottawa City Council, city councillors, and trustees to the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, English and Conseil des écoles publiq ...

. She was endorsed by outgoing councillor and mayoral candidate

Catherine McKenney Catherine McKenney (born June 3, 1961) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent Ottawa Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) in the 2025 provincial election. McKenney previously s ...

. Troster received the majority of the vote, with her support being strongest in the neighbourhood of

Centretown Centretown is a neighbourhood in Somerset Ward, in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is defined by the city as "the area bounded on the north by Gloucester Street and Lisgar Street, on the east by the Rideau Canal, on the south by the Qu ...

. She is the second consecutive LGBT councillor to represent Somerset Ward. Throughout her campaign and subsequent term on city council, Troster has placed emphasis on homelessness, community safety, and expanding pedestrian infrastructure. In 2023/2024, she opposed the proposal for the City of Ottawa to spend over $400 million to subsidize the redevelopment of

Lansdowne Park Lansdowne Park is a urban park, historic sports, exhibition and entertainment facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by the City of Ottawa. It is located on Bank Street adjacent to the Rideau Canal in The Glebe neighbourhood of central Ott ...

. Ultimately, city council voted 16-9 in favour of the project, with mayor

Mark Sutcliffe Mark Sutcliffe (born July 14, 1968) is a Canadian politician who has been the 59th mayor of Ottawa since 2022. Before entering politics, he hosted ''Ottawa Today'' on 1310News radio. Sutcliffe is the first Chinese Canadian and person from a ...

voting yes. She also opposed cuts to

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 ...

frequency that were passed by city council in 2024. Troster has also advocated for the city to adopt bylaws to protect tenants from renovictions; as of 2025, her proposal is being studied by city staff.

Electoral record

, - !rowspan="2" colspan="2", Candidate !colspan="3", Popular vote !rowspan="2" colspan="2", Expenditures , - ! Votes ! % ! ±% , - , style="background-color:#ED396D;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Ariel Troster , style="text-align:right;" , 8,669 , style="text-align:right;" , 61.28 , style="text-align:right;" , – , style="text-align:right;" , $30,781.77 , - , style="background-color:#187B3E;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Stuart MacKay , style="text-align:right;" , 4,706 , style="text-align:right;" , 33.29 , style="text-align:right;" , – , style="text-align:right;" , $12,259.65 , - , style="background-color:#A10B0A;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Brandon Russell , style="text-align:right;" , 768 , style="text-align:right;" , 5.43 , style="text-align:right;" , – , style="text-align:right;" , N/A , - , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" colspan="2" , Total valid votes , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 14,137 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 95.31 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#c2c2c2;" colspan="2" , , - , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" colspan="2" , Total rejected, unmarked and declined votes , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 695 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 4.69 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#c2c2c2;" colspan="2" , , - , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" colspan="2" , Turnout , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 14,832 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 45.24 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , +6.14 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#c2c2c2;" , , - , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" colspan="2" , Eligible voters , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 32,787 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#c2c2c2;" colspan="3" , , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="6" , Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.)
and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates. , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="13" , Sources:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troster, Ariel Living people Ottawa city councillors Women municipal councillors in Ontario 21st-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people LGBTQ municipal councillors in Canada University of Ottawa alumni Concordia University alumni 1979 births Jewish Canadian politicians Jewish women politicians LGBTQ Jews 21st-century Canadian municipal councillors Politicians from Toronto