Osgoode councillor Darouze takes Carleton riding for PCs amid low turnout
Longtime Ottawa city councillor George Darouze will now serve the residents of Carleton in a different capacity — this time, as their MPP. Elected in 2014, Darouze was a three-term councillor for Osgoode Ward. Previously he was the president of the Osgoode Carleton Snowmobile Trail Club and a telecommunications manager. Darzouze became the Progressive Conservative party’s nominee in December following...
‘The only wrong vote is a no vote’: Citizens have their say on casting a ballot in the Ontario election
Fewer than half of all eligible voters across Ontario — and in each of Ottawa’s nine electoral districts — turned out to vote in the recent provincial election. A team of Capital Current reporters captured the views of local residents about why they did or didn’t cast a ballot in the 2025 Ontario election. Some — ultimately representing the minority...
Voter turnout drops as Liberal wins tight race in Kanata-Carleton
Despite seeing the second-highest voter participation in the city, Ottawa’s Kanata-Carleton riding still showed a lower voter turnout in the recent Ontario election than in the previous provincial vote in 2022. Only 48.56 per cent of eligible voters showed up to the polls, lower turnout for the west-end Ottawa riding than in the 2022 election, when 45,695 voters or...
Intersectional art exhibits showcased resilience in Black History, Winter Pride
Black and queer communities flooded Arts Court in downtown Ottawa last month to celebrate intersectionality with two multidisciplinary art exhibits. The early February vernissage, an ode to Black History Month and Ottawa’s Winter Pride festivities, spearheaded the undercurrents theatre festival organized by the Ottawa Fringe Festival. In one room, Capital Pride and the Ottawa Trans Library curated a colourful display...
Historic first: Fewer than half of eligible voters cast ballots in Ottawa Centre
For the first time ever in Ottawa Centre’s history, those who didn’t cast a ballot in the Feb. 27 provincial election made up the majority of the riding’s eligible voters. Out of 116,980 eligible voters in Ottawa Centre, just more than 58,300 people or 49.85 per cent made the trip to a polling station. With a provincial voter turnout of...
Tories hold Glengarry-Prescott-Russell as voter turnout stays below 50 per cent
Voter turnout in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell was up slightly in last week’s election compared with the previous provincial vote in 2022. But for the second straight time, fewer than half the eligible voters in the riding cast their ballots — a significant drop from the 2018 Ontario election. Even with an election called in response to Ontario and Canada’s high-profile clash over...
Liberal keeps hold on Ottawa South in Ontario election that generated low voter interest
It’s no shock Ottawa South stayed red in the recent Ontario election. Liberals have held the riding steadily since 1987, with this vote marking the fifth consecutive win for John Fraser. What is shocking, however, is, despite Fraser taking half the ballots cast, only 22.6 per cent of eligible voters in Ottawa South put an X next to his name....
NDP keeps Ottawa West-Nepean as turnout matches provincial average
With a voter turnout of 45.02 per cent, the riding of Ottawa West-Nepean closely mirrored province-wide participation rates of 45.4 per cent in the recent Ontario election. Ottawa West-Nepean’s NDP incumbent Chandra Pasma dramatically expanded her support across the riding in last week’s vote, taking 49.33 per cent of the ballots — an 11.79-point increase from the last provincial election...
After strong push to get out the vote, student group laments PC victory
After making a strong push to get young people to the polls on Feb. 27, the federation representing 350,000 college and university students in Ontario is lamenting the re-election of a Progressive Conservative government that it believes “will not prioritize post-secondary education and students.” The Ontario branch of the Canadian Federation of Students worked hard to motivate and mobilize postsecondary...
Tories renew mandate in election that majority of eligible voters sat out
Ontario Premier Doug Ford secured a historic third straight majority government after winning a snap election on Feb. 27. In a vote that saw the second-lowest voter turnout in provincial history, Ford’s Progressive Conservatives won 80 of 124 seats in the legislature, the NDP captured 27, the Liberals 14 and the Green Party two. One independent MPP was elected. Ford...
Neighbourhood health hubs playing key role in city immunization efforts
Any Ottawa parent with a child who’s missing immunizations should be expecting mail soon — if they haven’t already received it. Since December, Ottawa Public Health has mailed about 11,000 incomplete immunization advisory letters to families with children missing one or more vaccines on their health record. Soon, the agency will send school suspension notices to those who have not...
Can I Skate? Ottawa couple develops app tracking Rideau Canal ice conditions
Skating on the Rideau Canal Skateway was always a family affair for the Owens. Every February, Stephen and Leslie Owens would drive more than four hours from Caledon, Ont. to visit their son Tyler in Ottawa. The couple, their sister and their two sons would spend Family Day on the Canal. “That’s been a tradition since I arrived (in Ottawa),”...