Last year brought sweeping change to the Kitchissippi area — from long-awaited transit milestones to shifting political landscapes at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill. With even bigger transitions expected in 2026, the Kitchissippi Times sat down with representatives from all three levels of government to reflect on their accomplishments in 2025 and share what they’re preparing for in the year ahead.
Jeff Leiper – Kitchissippi Ward Councillor
After years of construction delays and commuter frustration, 2025 was the year trains finally began rolling again on the expanded Trillium Line, stretching from Bayview Station to Limebank Road in Riverside South and the Ottawa International Airport.
“It was a big win for our ward,” Leiper said in a year-end interview. “People tend to think of the line and its service to south end communities, but for residents of the ward, and certainly students of Carleton University, it’s a major improvement and replacement of bus service that had been running for many years.”
Leiper also highlighted neighbourhood beautification efforts, noting the renewed potential of the Hintonburg Pump House — a space he says is perfect for wedding photos, firework views, or simply taking in some urban greenspace.
In late November, he cut the ribbon on a new park at Spencer Street and Heron Avenue. The former residential property, purchased with cash-in-lieu funds, has been transformed into a compact green space complete with ping-pong tables. Another similar project is scheduled to begin next year: two adjacent lots near Ladouceur and Armstrong will be converted into an expanded neighbourhood park.
“That’s the doubling of the size of that neighbourhood park,” Leiper said.
This will also be Leiper’s final term as city councillor. He plans to run for mayor in next fall’s municipal election, saying the decision stems from a growing dissatisfaction with how city services are being delivered.
“I heard today in the mayor’s budget speech that he considers it his role to focus on stability. And when I hear stability, what I think is status quo,” said Leiper. “And the status quo, I’m hearing from residents right across the city in every part, is not acceptable. We’re not getting the services that we deserve.”
Yasir Naqvi – MP for Ottawa Centre
The federal political landscape shifted dramatically in early 2025. Rumours of an election were followed by Justin Trudeau’s resignation in January, setting the stage for Mark Carney to assume party leadership. The Liberals surged in the polls, ultimately securing a minority government in late April.
For Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi, the election delivered a strong second mandate. He captured over 62 per cent of the vote, far outpacing NDP candidate Joel Harden — the former MPP for the riding — who finished with 19.5 per cent.
“I think nobody really knew what the outcome of the election was going to be. Mark Carney brings incredible credentials when it comes to building an economy,” said Naqvi. “I feel very privileged that the Prime Minister has appointed me as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade and to the Secretary of State for International Development. I’m a trade lawyer by profession, so I feel very much at home in doing this important work.”
With a renewed mandate, Naqvi spent much of the past year focused on downtown revitalization. Several elements of the Downtown Revitalization Taskforce came to life in 2025, including Metcalfe Plaza and new “Uncommon Spaces” throughout Centretown.
To address safety concerns, Naqvi secured federal funding for Somerset West and Centretown Community Health Centres to provide outreach services for men experiencing mental health struggles. Additional funding was granted to Operation Come Home to support youth facing homelessness.
Looking ahead, Naqvi says 2026 will be a crucial year for housing construction. Major projects are already underway, including the two-tower, 601-unit Dream LeBreton development at Albert and Booth Street. Gladstone Village also launched Phase 2 this year, adding more than 1,000 new affordable homes — a project Naqvi and Carney toured together last month.
“We have to keep building. We have to keep getting new projects done,” said Naqvi. “In my riding, we also have Confederation Heights and Tunney’s Pasture. When both are done, they will provide about 20,000 new homes in our community.”
Catherine McKenney – MPP for Ottawa Centre
It was little surprise to Kitchissippi voters when Catherine McKenney won the 2025 Ontario Provincial Election. With two terms as a city councillor and a mayoral bid behind them, McKenney secured 55 per cent of the vote to become the area’s new MPP.
Adjusting from municipal concerns to the more rigid world of provincial politics has been an ongoing learning curve, McKenney said, but the priority remains clear: improving the lives of residents in Ottawa Centre.
“I’m not involved in looking at new park spaces or things like determining where development goes in a community or where recreation centres are built,” said McKenney. “But provincially, we are still responsible for housing, homelessness, transit, and climate issues — things that really matter to municipalities.”
Much of McKenney’s first year at Queen’s Park has been spent opposing what they described as “poor legislation” introduced by the Doug Ford–led Progressive Conservatives, including Bill 60 — the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act — which makes it easier for landlords to evict tenants.
They also pointed to Bill 9, the Municipal Accountability Act, which would give municipalities the power to remove councillors found guilty of wrongdoing. The bill was partly inspired by the multiple misconduct allegations made against former College Ward Coun. Rick Chiarelli.
While McKenney supports the concept, they argue the bill’s design makes removal nearly impossible.
“Let’s say, you’ve got 23 councillors and a mayor sitting around the table. The councillor in question is removed from that. But you would need every single one of those other councillors to vote in favour, but also to attend,” said McKenney. “If one got up to go to the washroom, if one decided they had a cold that day and couldn’t come in to work, that vote would fail. After that, there is no second choice. You can’t withdraw pay or penalize in any way.”
McKenney also continues to push forward a private member’s bill that would cap maximum apartment temperatures at 26°C. Ontario landlords are currently not required to provide air conditioning, although Bill 97 — still awaiting passage — would require landlords to allow tenants to install their own units.
Heading into 2026, McKenney says their focus will turn to addressing the toxic drug crisis and related social-service pressures affecting the Chinatown neighbourhood. They hope Ontario will approve the use of Injectable Opioid Agonist Treatment (IOAT), a therapy already used in other provinces.
“What it does is it provides an alternative to fentanyl, to the strong opioids that people are addicted to. It provides a strong enough alternative that they’re able to take it as a treatment,” said McKenney. “It’s injected on site, so it takes away the diversion that we’re seeing in the community, which is causing a lot of concern for people and rightfully so.”