I recently conducted an independent, non-partisan survey of Ottawa’s 2026 municipal candidates on telework, workplace flexibility and the future of work.
24 candidates completed the survey — 23 council candidates and 1 mayoral candidate — representing a 39.3% response rate among the 61 candidates invited.
A few of the strongest findings:
- 100% agreed workers should generally be evaluated based on performance and results rather than where they perform their work.
- 95.8% said they would publicly advocate for evidence-based workplace flexibility where appropriate.
- 75% selected either remote or hybrid work as the general default when duties can effectively be performed remotely while maintaining operational requirements and service delivery.
- 87.5% selected either general access to telework or a hybrid default as the position that best reflected their overall view.
- No respondent selected in-person work as the general default for remote-capable jobs.
- 95.8% identified reduced traffic congestion as an important benefit of telework, while 83.3% identified lower greenhouse-gas emissions.
There were also meaningful differences between candidates on whether remote work, hybrid work, employer discretion or employee/employer decision-making should determine workplace arrangements.
I’ve published the full findings report and the underlying public dataset here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LotJQH0bE6ExSxgUUV_W7CsMjujh6AqX?usp=drive_link
The report includes a candidate-by-candidate comparison, detailed findings, methodology, limitations and the full questionnaire.
One important caveat: this was not a representative poll of every candidate or of Ottawa voters. The findings describe the 24 candidates who chose to participate, and only one mayoral candidate completed the survey.
Thanks to every candidate who took the time to respond. My goal was simply to put their positions in one place so Ottawa voters can compare them for themselves.
