Mayoral candidate Alex Lawson is pledging to make paid on-street parking a thing of the past in Ottawa if he’s elected in the fall.
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
The profits equate to the city getting just seven cents on every dollar, according to Lawson.
“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.
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.
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.
City-owned parking lots and garages will continue to charge for parking under Lawson’s plan.
No-stopping zones, rush-hour clearances, school zones, loading zones, accessible parking spaces and winter overnight parking bans will all stay the same.
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.
“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.
Mayoral candidate Alex Lawson poses for a portrait on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026.
Mayoral opponents aren’t on board
Others also vying for Ottawa’s mayoral role voiced strong opposition to Lawson’s plan.
Mark Sutcliffe, who is seeking re-election as Ottawa’s mayor, said “it’s bad for taxpayers and it’s bad for business.”
Instead, Sutcliffe said he’s “taking a balanced approach to parking,” according to a statement from his campaign team.
“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.”
Mayoral candidate and Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper acknowledges no one likes to pay to park, but said “paid parking manages demand,” adding he supports reviewing rates regularly so they are only in place where demand outpaces supply.
“It keeps spaces turning over so the person driving to the store at two o’clock can actually find a spot out front, and the fees fund the parking system, including garages, instead of putting that cost on everyone’s tax bill,” his campaign team wrote in a statement.
Meanwhile, according to mayoral candidate and economist Neil Saravanamuttoo, “Lawson is showing that he doesn’t understand basic economics.
“When something like a parking space is in high demand, the only way to make it available is to put a price on it,” Saravanamuttoo said in a statement. “No one likes to pay for parking, but this would prevent customers from finding parking anywhere near the business they are trying to reach.”
Instead, Saravanamuttoo suggests taking parking revenue and reinvesting the money directly back into improving the communities where paid parking is enforced.
Two hours minimum
As well as removing all on-street parking metres, Lawson is also promising to ensure all on-street parking has a posted time limit of at least two hours, effectively eliminating one-hour parking zones.
He said he’s heard from local churches whose congregation can’t park on nearby streets with a one-hour posted limit. Others worry their relatives can’t come over and use the on-street parking in front of their houses.
“My mother can’t come and visit (in an hour),” he said. “This is what we’re doing to people.”
Amid concerns that drivers may not follow the posted time limits and allow for proper turnover without paid enforcement, Lawson said he’s confident that behaviours won’t change.
“We’ve had signs for 100 years, right?” he said. “People understand if they go over the limit, that they’re risking getting a ticket … and I don’t think this is going to change habits in a negative direction.”
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