The City’s Election-Related Resources Policy (ERRP) and its procedures prohibit Members of Council who are seeking re-election in a municipal election from using City resources such as office budgets and staff for newsletters and general communications from August 27, 2026, up to and including October 26, 2026 (known as the “blackout period”). As a sitting Member of Council, I must adhere to the City’s ERRP, meaning that this website will not be updated during the blackout period.
My office remains open to deal with day-to-day constituency matters.
On Thursday May 2nd, 2024, Councillor Plante hosted a hybrid Lunch and Learn Event on Soft Conversions. Soft Conversion is defined as an intermediate step in the transformation of older buildings into affordable housing, that focuses on the urgent need to provide shelter to some of those most in need. Ottawa, like most cities in Canada, is in a housing and affordability crisis. Supply simply cannot keep up with demand. With a Federal Public Service shortened in-person work week, there is under-used potential to increase the supply of affordable and deeply affordable housing, while sitting on the verge of a great opportunity to entice all Ottawans of all socio-economic backgrounds back to living in the urban core of the city.
A proud resident of Ward 12, Denise Lepage, who works in this space, connected with Councillor Plante and introduced us to CSV Architects, Anthony Learning and Darryl Hood. Their firm focuses on the sustainable design of institutional, commercial, and multi-unit residential projects. Their vision is to create healthy, inclusive communities through architecture, collaboration, and innovation. This vision includes expertise in adaptive re-use of existing establishments for which they have completed projects within the urban core that you can view on their website.
Their presentation: summarized the challenges of delivering affordable housing in Ottawa; why the need for more tools in the toolbox is necessary; why soft conversion can be another tool in the toolbox for adaptive re-use; and why some older office buildings in the City are well suited for conversion to affordable, deeply affordable and/or mixed-use housing.
This post is also available in French.
The City is taking a citywide approach to mobility as we prepare for a change in commuting patterns, with up to 65,000 additional weekly trips downtown anticipated by fall 2026. The focus is on keeping Ottawa moving as travel patterns continue to change. Below are all...
Investing in Ottawa’s Future Through Three Scholarships In late 2025, I launched the Community Builders Scholarship – Rideau-Vanier, creating three $1,000 grants to support students pursuing careers in skilled trades and early childhood education. That means a total...
On July 28, I was proud to host the inaugural ceremony for Herbert and Estelle Brown Park at 612 Besserer Street. Together with the Brown family and Black History Ottawa, we officially unveiled the park’s permanent educational storyboard celebrating the Browns’...
One of the issues I heard about over and over again during my first term was traffic safety, especially around our schools. Ward 12 has about 8 schools and 1 high school, so we have a lot of kids walking, cycling, or scootering during the week. Getting to school...
In addition to getting a new playground and splash pad, Carillon Park in Vanier will be turned into Ottawa’s first Sponge Park thanks to a Ward 12 CIL investment of $860,000. A Sponge Park is designed to better absorb and manage rainwater where it falls. “Sponge”...
Ottawa, ON – Shepherds of Good Hope (SGH) plans to transform its current emergency shelter into a health and supportive housing facility designed to better serve people experiencing chronic homelessness, while creating lasting benefits for the broader community. The...
From June 9-11, my office, in collaboration with the University of Ottawa’s Pop-Up Lab on Housing and Homelessness (housed within the Office for Research and Public Policy Outreach and the Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation), the Centre for Research...
The Embassy of Switzerland in Canada, the Vanier Community Services Centre (CSCV), the Vanier BIA, the Association Communautaire Francophone d’Ottawa (ACFO), and my office are pleased to invite residents to a free community watch party for the FIFA World Cup match...
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