Ottawa mayoral candidate vows to remove paid on-street parking

Mayoral candidate Alex Lawson poses for a portrait on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Photo by Spencer Colby /POSTMEDIA

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After watching local businesses lose out on revenue due to evolving street-parking regulations across the city over the past few years, Lawson said he was inspired to think outside the box.

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“If you go to a small business on Wellington, Somerset, Bank Streets and you get a ticket, you’re probably going to avoid going to that business again,” Lawson told the Ottawa Citizen. “(Paid parking is) really a tax on shopping local.”

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Ottawa currently has 4,337 paid on-street parking spaces mostly concentrated in the downtown area, and Lawson is promising to turn every one of them into free parking.

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Paid parking brought in $19.62 million in 2025, but most of the revenue went to cover the $17.13 million cost of the parking program. The result was a $1.3 million profit margin, with the money going to a reserve fund to pay for future parking infrastructure.

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The profits equate to the city getting just seven cents on every dollar, according to Lawson.

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“We’re only getting seven cents for it, and then it’s not even going into general revenue – it’s going into a reserve fund to pay for more parking metres down the road,” he said.

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Looking just at on-street parking, the city reported a $2.36 million surplus last year, bringing in $9.78 million in revenue amid $7.42 million in operating expenses, according to the city’s 2025 parking services annual report.

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The city earned an average of $95 from each on-street parking space in 2025, each bringing in $1,986 in revenue on average, while costing an average of $1,891 to operate.

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City-owned parking lots and garages will continue to charge for parking under Lawson’s plan.

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No-stopping zones, rush-hour clearances, school zones, loading zones, accessible parking spaces and winter overnight parking bans will all stay the same.

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Lawson acknowledges the plan is something that may be a new and innovative idea for any major Canadian city. But he said that’s part of the appeal.

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“Maybe it’s just innovative. Maybe it’s newer. Maybe other jurisdictions just haven’t even thought about it. Maybe they haven’t dug into their books. Maybe we’re just operating it incredibly inefficiently,” he said.

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Mayoral candidate Alex Lawson poses for a portrait on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Photo by Spencer Colby /Postmedia

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Mayoral opponents aren’t on board

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Others also vying for Ottawa’s mayoral role voiced strong opposition to Lawson’s plan.

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Mark Sutcliffe, who is seeking re-election as Ottawa’s mayor, said “it’s bad for taxpayers and it’s bad for business.”

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Instead, Sutcliffe said he’s “taking a balanced approach to parking,” according to a statement from his campaign team.

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“We charge for it where appropriate and it’s free in other areas,” Sutcliffe said. “That balanced approach needs to continue to protect taxpayers and business owners.”