Homebuilder Alex Lawson plans to run for Ottawa mayor
He says transit, safety and affordability are getting worse and city should 'hit the undo button'
Arthur White-Crummey · CBC News
Posted: Jan 23, 2026 8:11 AM EST | Last Updated: 39 minutes ago
A candidate with the backing of some big political operators plans to enter this year's race to be Ottawa’s mayor.
Alex Lawson, who owns a local home framing company, said he voted for Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in 2022 but now feels like the city is in worse shape.
“There's a lot of potential in Ottawa, but there's also been a steady decline of services recently,” he said. “I mean, what's working better these days?”
That overlaps with the message of Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper, another declared candidate to challenge Sutcliffe in October.
But unlike Leiper, an urban councillor who champions progressive causes, Lawson lives in Dunrobin and had a foot in Conservative politics — previously serving on the board of the Kanata-Carleton Conservative Association.
Even so, Lawson said he doesn't view himself as a conservative candidate.
“The nice thing about municipal politics is it's not partisan, because solutions to different problems are going to come from different places,” he said.
Lawson said he plans to bring a "solution-oriented attitude" to priorities like housing, affordability, transit, traffic and public safety.
He said he wants to take Ottawa back to a time where the city worked better.
“Let's get back to the old Ottawa. Let's take a step back. Let's hit the undo button. Let's revert to the saved file of Ottawa, where the transit got you where you needed to go,” he said.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/alex-lawson-ottawa-mayor-race-2026-9.7057326
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