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Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you
Read by hand. We read Ottawa's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.

Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Ottawa is run by an elected council of 25 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the city day to day.

Current council

Names and official email addresses from the city's council page. None of the members lists a public social media account there.

How open is Ottawa?

What a resident can find online without asking, as of October 3, 2026.

  • Yes
    Auditor General reports posted

    The Auditor General’s site lists audit, investigation and follow-up reports with a highlights sheet for the recent ones. We opened the November 2025 to June 2026 reports used in this pack. Source

  • Yes
    Audited financial statements

    The 2024 consolidated statements and the 2024 Annual Report are posted. The auditor’s report is dated June 27, 2025. We did not look for the 2025 statements. Source

  • Yes
    Adopted budget book

    The 2026 Adopted Budget (condensed book, 352 pages) is posted with operating and capital summaries by committee. Source

  • Unknown
    Council agendas and minutes

    Council uses the eScribe portal. Our automated download of its agenda files was stopped by a browser check, so we could not check how current the minutes are. We did not get around the check. Source

  • Partly
    Council expense disclosures

    Councillors’ office expenses are published, but the Auditor General found they are shown net of budget credits, so some are understated. The city agreed to publish gross amounts from expenses filed in 2026. Source

  • Partly
    Cash-in-lieu of parkland reporting

    The Auditor General found the 2023 yearly report came out in December 2024, after the policy’s first-quarter deadline, and the 2024 report lacked project details the policy requires. Source

How to raise a concern

From the gentlest step to the most serious. Start at the top.

  1. Auditor General of Ottawa

    An independent office that audits the city, its boards and its agencies, and runs the city’s fraud and waste hotline. Reports go to the Audit Committee and are posted with short plain-language highlights. The office works under Auditor General By-Law No. 2021-05. In 2025 it issued six audit, two investigation and four follow-up reports.

  2. Integrity Commissioner

    Handles complaints that a council member broke the Code of Conduct for Members of Council (By-law No. 2025-99). The city’s page blocked our automated reader, so this pack does not report on any commissioner’s findings.