Meet the candidates in Ward 6 – Stittsville

Stittsville

There are four candidates running for councillor in the west Ottawa ward of Stittsville, including incumbent Glen Gower.

• 2018 municipal election voter turnout: 46.37 per cent
• Projected 2022 population – 41,058
• Projected 2026 population: 50,391

CTV News Ottawa invited all registered candidates to answer a questionnaire and submit a video introducing themselves to voters. (Some candidates submitted the requested 280 characters to describe their platform, while others submitted 280 words – CTVNewsOttawa.ca accepted both).

Mathew Duchesne 

Political experience: None, I’m an outsider who’s running for change

Professional experience: Urban Planning, Real Estate, Project Management, Engineering and Entrepreneur  

How long have you lived in Ottawa? Over 8 years 

Favourite Ottawa location/landmark? The Trans Canada Trail

Describe your platform in 280 words or fewer:

I am running to bring a voice back to the people of Stittsville, make sure we are heard again - intensify our area wisely, keeping our current residents in quite peaceful suburbs with low traffic, safe streets. Removing school portables from the community, building proper schools, ending Waste and Corruption at Council and planning for a smart path forward. We need a loud champion who will bring our tax dollars and focus back to Stittsville and the suburbs and bring back Community safety, healthcare and city beautification. Let’s build Robert Grant correctly this fall and keep high density for areas well serviced like the CTC area and near LRT stations. Bring back walkability and small scale shopping to new suburbs. Brining the people's interest over builders. Revitalization Main Street correctly! 

Glen Gower 

Political experience:I have been the City Councillor for Stittsville since 2018.

Professional experience:  I've had a successful career in marketing and communications including roles with the Ottawa 67’s and Ottawa Senators. Before becoming councillor, I was the director of Marketing and Communications for Iceberg Networks, an Ottawa-based company providing management consulting and professional services in governance, risk management & compliance.

How long have you lived in Ottawa? My entire life, 44 years.

Favourite Ottawa location/landmark?  Poole Creek in Stittsville. It meanders from west to northeast, crossing through neighbourhoods old and new, and is home to an incredible array of flora and fauna.

Describe your platform in 280 words or fewer:  

My platform includes 10 priority projects that I am committing to working on over the next four years:

1. Revitalizing Stittsville Main - Improving cycling and pedestrian safety and attracting more small, independent businesses to the street.
2. Investing in transportation infrastructure, including Robert Grant Avenue, Carp Road, Fernbank Drive, and transit investments.
3. A "Health Hub" for Stittsville - bringing health care services closer to our community, including an urgent care centre and family clinic.
4. Tree planting. Set a goal of 2,000 new trees yearly in our community.
5. Fernbank District Park.  Finish construction within the next 2-3 years to serve the growing Fernbank area.
6. Welcoming newcomers. Stronger support and resources for people moving into our community, especially immigrants and new Canadians.
7. Pedestrian & cyclist safety. Improving sidewalks and pathways and more police enforcement, especially in school areas.
8. A dog park at Shea Woods. Ensure that this cedar forest remains a protected natural area and continues to be used as an off-leash dog park
9. Affordable housing. Identify public land and secure funding for an affordable housing project in Stittsville. Support more city funding and policies to build more social housing in our city.
10. Rethinking transit. Respond to changing ridership by improving local service, frequency and reliability of transit. More focus on off-peak service outside of rush hours.

My full platform is available at voteglen.ca.

Tanya Hein 

Political experience: This is my first time running for office, although I have volunteered before. I also served seven years as president of Stittsville Village Association, which advocates for residents on city matters. My primary focus has been on planning and development.

Professional experience:  I started my career in community news before moving to a legislative position on Parliament Hill. I also owned and operated a small business and served as an office administrator.

How long have you lived in Ottawa?  Aside from about three years spent in Carleton Place and Winnipeg, I’ve been in Ottawa since I was 19 years old (I’ll be 46 by Election Day). I moved to Stittsville in 2005 and it immediately felt like home. I absolutely love it here.

What's your favourite Ottawa landmark? I love biking with my kids on the Trans Canada Trail, but my favourite specific landmark is Parliament Hill.

Describe your platform in 280 characters or fewer: My platform is about community, liveability, accountability & speaking up for residents. Stittsville is growing fast, and that’s positive, but it has to be thoughtful: we need smart housing, strong city services, green space, functional transit & connected multimodal roads/paths.

Kevin Hua 

Political experience: Served as the federal NDP candidate for the community in 2019 and 2021 federal elections

Professional experience:

Worked in co-op placements in the public service with Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and currently with Service Canada, volunteered with before subsequently working as an Office Secretary in the OCSB's Indigenous and International Languages Program, and volunteered with Around the Campfire, an organisation that provide a socialisation group for kids with mental and developmental disabilities.

How long have you lived in Ottawa? My whole life, I was born and raised in Ottawa.

Favourite Ottawa location/landmark?  Jimmy's Waffle World food truck on Hazeldean.

Describe your platform in 280 words or fewer:

My platform is about bringing passion and political will to bold and ambitious ideas to City Council to achieve a transformative vision for improving Stittsville and Ottawa.

Oppose the use of Public-Private Partnerships (P3S) for public procurement and instead use community benefits procurement strategies and bring projects with vested public interest that provide community benefits and are invested with public money under the public purview to ensure that they serve the public.

Run more local routes through Stittsville to increase the coverage of the transit network, bring a bus station to serve as a vital transit hub and the foundation of the local transit network, and freeze the constant fare increases in order to revamp and improve transit services in Stittsville to what residents deserve.

Fill in the connectivity gaps in our community like abruptly ending and missing sidewalks and much needed protected cycling lanes and designing our roads with traffic calming designs and pursuing street reclamation to build a safe, accessible, and well-connected community that empowers active transportation.

Deliver amenities like more splash pads and an outdoor pool for kids and families to enjoy, more park and sporting spaces like basketball courts and skateparks for youth and residents to use, and improving the quality of our existing public spaces with amenities like public toilets, benches, bike racks, bandstages, and micro-theaters.

Preserve more greenspace for residents to enjoy, expand the tree canopy to protect from the heat, pursue green initiatives like building retrofits, and provide viable alternative transit options in public transit and active transportation to build a green and sustainable community to pass to the next generations.