Ottawa mayor speaks on transit funding, federal turmoil in year-end interview

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe speaks with CTV's Matt Skube in a year-end interview. (CTV News Ottawa)

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says Ottawa will have to be promised funding from upper levels of government for transit by early next year or face "tough decisions" to keep buses and trains running.

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In a year-end interview with CTV News Ottawa, Sutcliffe spoke on a wide-ranging number of issues, including transit, the city budget and the political turmoil on Parliament Hill.

Sutcliffe says that while he has heard promising signs from senior members of the federal Liberal Party regarding a bailout for OC Transpo, no commitments have been made.

"I am a little bit concerned about the volatile state of politics on Parliament Hill right now, so that commitment has got to come soon. I don't want that to be trumped by an election or a leadership change," he told CTV's Matt Skube.

"I think we need to know what's happening by the end of January, mid-February or we're going to have to start looking at other options."

Perhaps the most contentious and difficult issues on the agenda for this year's term of council was about how to fill a $120 million hole in the transit budget. OC Transpo has faced significant challenges with ridership struggling to return to pre-pandemic norms. The transit service has responded with fare hikes, service cuts and layoffs this year to cut costs and improve revenue.

Unlike federal and provincial governments, municipal councils in Ontario are required by law to pass balanced budgets. To avoid significant service cuts and greater transit fare hikes, the city put in place a $36 million placeholder for possible funding from upper levels of government for public transit in next year's budget, though that money has not been confirmed.

Sutcliffe says the provincial government has agreed to put forward the money only if the federal government will. He says time is running out for the funding to come as questions over the stability of the prime minister's leadership peaked this week.

"If we don't get support from the other levels of government, we'll face some tough decisions in 2025, but I don't want to cross that bridge until I come to it because I'm still hopeful that the other levels of government will do the right thing and support us," Sutcliffe said.

Sutcliffe reiterated his "Fairness for Ottawa" campaign in the interview, calling on upper levels of government to give the city its "fair share" of funding for transit services in the amount of $140 million over three years. OC Transpo is projecting a $120 million funding shortfall in 2025, $131 million in 2026, $145 million in 2027 and deficits of $150 million in 2028 and 2029.

Sutcliffe would not get into specifics about whether service cuts or additional transit fare hikes could happen if the money doesn't come, but said "all options are on the table."

"We have an $8 billion deficit in our long-range financial plan for public transit so we're doing everything we can do address that deficit. We're not getting any help form the other levels of government on that," he said.

"If people are concerned about the rising cost of transit or the rising cost of the transit levy, then they should talk to their provincial MPPs and federal MPs. We need sustainable funding from transit form the other levels of government or were going to have to continue to raise transit fares and transit taxes."

The city faced heavy blowback last month after the draft budget proposed raising monthly senior bus passes by 120 per cent and eliminating monthly youth passes altogether. After debating the issue at transit commission and council, councillors settled on a more modest increase of $9 and kept youth transit passes in place.

Asked if he regretted how the debate over senior fare hikes played out, Sutcliffe said he is grateful the draft budget was able to give the public time to provide input and feedback before the final version was passed.

"That's the great thing about our budget process is we put a draft budget in front of Ottawa residents and then we go out in the community and consult with them, and we listen to them," he said. "We listened to the community, we heard the feedback, and we responded to it, and I think that shows the system works."

The 2025 City of Ottawa budget was passed on Dec. 11, which will see residents pay a 2.9 per cent increase in property taxes and an eight per cent hike in the transit levy, resulting in an overall increase of 3.9 per cent for most residents. Transit fares for an adult single ride will go up five per cent to $4, the fourth highest in the country.

OC Transpo's budget is increasing $88 million to $856 million in 2025. Sutcliffe added the city will be conducting a comprehensive fare review next year to simplify the discounts and cost categories for riders.

2025 marks a pivotal year for the transit system, as the city prepares to open the Trillium Line in January and the eastern extension of the Confederation Line later in the year.

Sutcliffe said one of his proudest accomplishments this year is not passing on the burden of the city's financial issues onto taxpayers. Next year's budget has found more than $208 million in efficiencies, or about $400 per resident, according to the city. Sutcliffe says the savings were found through a variety of administrative efficiencies, without cuts to services or programs.

"Families all over the city are grappling with the rising cost of food and other products and services. They're making tough decisions with their household budgets, so we did the same at city hall. We went through the budget line by line, we looked at every department and we continue to do that work," he said.

The increase in property taxes will be one of the largest Ottawa residents have seen in years, but lower than many large municipalities across the country. Other cities placed higher tax burdens on their residents next year, including Vancouver: 3.9 per cent, Edmonton: 6.1 per cent, Hamilton: 6.9 per cent and Calgary: 3.6 per cent.

Sutcliffe added the city is putting in millions of dollars for high priority areas, including funding for police, emergency services, homeless and shelter systems and food banks.

This is part one of the mayor's year end interview with CTV News Ottawa. Part one is airing Dec. 23. Part two will air Tuesday, Dec. 24.