Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Fri. May 1st, 2026

Believe it or not, it’s the first day of May, which means the municipal election cycle is officially underway. As of this morning, councillor and mayoral candidates were allowed to submit their candidacy paperwork, as opposed to just verbally declaring their intentions to run for office. Kitchissippi councillor Jeff Leiper will be trading in his ‘councillor card’ for a shot at becoming the Mayor of Ottawa. However, he will have to dethrone his colleague Mark Sutcliffe in order to complete his mission, as the former CFRA host intends to run again in 2026. We assemble a special edition of the Municipal Heat Panel in Hour 1. But first, we bring you up to speed on today’s top headlines.