Ottawa's upcoming school board trustee election has a twist: eight candidates for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) are running individual campaigns for their respective wards, but doing so under a shared banner of values, even though the board they hope to join was placed under provincial supervision back in 2025.
Why the board is under supervision
The OCDSB made headlines last year when the Ontario government stepped in and placed the board under provincial supervision, a rare and serious move that effectively sidelined the elected trustees and handed day-to-day governance decisions to a provincially appointed supervisor. For Ottawa families, that meant watching the people they'd normally hold accountable at the ballot box lose much of their formal power over decisions affecting local schools.
Strength in numbers, not in a single ticket
Rather than forming a formal slate or party-style ticket, the eight candidates are keeping their campaigns technically separate, each running in their own ward, while publicly aligning around shared priorities. It's a strategy that lets each candidate speak to the specific needs of their neighbourhood, whether that's a school in Barrhaven, Kanata, or the city's east end, while still signalling to Ottawa voters that they're not operating in isolation.
The candidates argue that presenting a united front, even an informal one, gives them a better shot at being heard once they're in office, especially if the board is still finding its footing after supervision. A single trustee voice can be easy to sideline; eight trustees pushing similar priorities are harder to ignore.
What this means for Ottawa parents
For parents and guardians across Ottawa, the OCDSB trustee race is about more than local school politics, it's about who will help steer the board back toward full local control after a turbulent stretch. The board oversees dozens of schools across the city, and trustees are typically the main point of contact between the community and the institution making decisions about everything from school boundaries to program funding.
With the province still holding significant sway over board operations, the incoming trustees will need to prove they can rebuild trust and demonstrate the board is ready to responsibly manage its own affairs again. Candidates say that's part of why they're leaning into shared values now: it signals a board that could function more collaboratively going forward, rather than repeating whatever friction contributed to the supervision order in the first place.
Ottawa residents who want a say in the direction of their local schools will want to keep an eye on how this race develops, particularly as candidates lay out their specific plans for helping the OCDSB regain full local governance.
Source: Ottawa Citizen
