Mayor announces plan to make Ottawa 'most housing-friendly city in Canada'

20-Sep-2025

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Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has released a housing plan that he says will make Ottawa the most housing-friendly city in Canada by making it faster and cheaper to build homes.

The plan would waive or pause several fees the city charges developers, while aiming to make regulations more flexible.

Sutcliffe called it "the biggest overhaul of our planning progress ever."

The centrepiece of his announcement on September 19 was a housing acceleration plan with 53 recommendations that will come to council in early October. 

"The housing acceleration plan is a generational effort to fundamentally change our approach to housing," he said. "It's the most ambitious municipal housing plan in Canada. It's how we move from being part of the problem to being part of the solution."