Leiper says LRT upload windfall would be 'swallowed up' by existing budget gaps

OC Transpo will be running a deficit of $12.35 million by the end of the calendar year, according to staff projections set to be tabled at the Tuesday, Sept. 1, meeting of the finance and corporate services committee.

That number is significantly less than the $52 million deficit OC Transpo posted in 2025, but the 2026 projections also come with an “anticipated” windfall of about $47 million from the expected provincial upload of the city’s LRT system to Metrolinx.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has repeatedly called the deal a “game-changer” for Ottawa taxpayers that would save $85 million per year that could be re-allocated to other transit priorities.

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But Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper, who is challenging Sutcliffe in the mayoral race and who serves on both the transit committee and the finance and corporate services committee, cautioned that any provincial windfall would likely be “swallowed up” by other operational gaps.

The report cites the memorandum of understanding signed by Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria in April that “re-affirmed” the province’s commitment to take on the LRT’s operating and maintenance costs .

Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower, who chairs the transit committee, said at the time that the upload would put the LRT under the ownership and control of Metrolinx — the agency that runs most of the commuter rail service in southern Ontario — which would bring its “scale, leverage and experience” to Ottawa.

Gower said there is no firm timeline on when the upload could be finalized, however, and he said in April that a time frame of 12 to 18 months would be a “safe bet.”

Sutcliffe said the upload is a “complicated” transaction with the province and declined to provide a firmer timeline when asked by reporters in mid-August.