Ottawa mayoral candidate Neil Saravanamuttoo sat down with the Ottawa Business Journal this week to walk through his thinking on housing, downtown revitalization, tariffs and the city's defence-tech sector, adding new detail to a platform that has been taking shape over the summer.
Who is Saravanamuttoo
Saravanamuttoo is an economist making his first run for public office. He previously worked as an executive at the Department of Finance Canada and served as chief economist of the G20's Global Infrastructure Hub, credentials he's leaning on as he pitches himself as a numbers-first alternative at city hall.
Housing: looking to Paris and Vienna
On housing, Saravanamuttoo pointed to European cities as a model for Ottawa. He noted that in Paris and Vienna, roughly one-quarter of the population lives in city-owned housing, often for their entire lives, and suggested Ottawa should be looking at that scale of public housing stock rather than smaller-scale interventions.
Tariffs: an emergency roundtable with business
On trade, Saravanamuttoo proposed setting up an emergency roundtable with Ottawa business leaders so the city can communicate quickly and directly about how tariffs are hitting local companies, rather than reacting after the fact.
Defence sector: faster permits, smarter procurement
Saravanamuttoo also focused on Ottawa's defence-tech sector, calling for the city to expedite permitting, zoning and other land-use decisions that could speed up development tied to the industry. He wants the city to use its own procurement power more deliberately, asking whether city contracts could help local tech firms grow into what he called "world champions." He also wants Ottawa to work with local universities and colleges to build up specialized talent for defence innovation work.
Tech talent: Ottawa's basic services problem
Asked why Ottawa isn't landing more tech talent, Saravanamuttoo argued the issue isn't just salaries or opportunity: it's that when companies try to recruit people to Ottawa, the city isn't scoring well on basic services, making it a harder sell than it should be given the strength of the local tech sector.
What led here
The interview builds on policy positions Saravanamuttoo has been rolling out for months. In early September he pitched transitional tiny homes and a review of police spending as part of a broader platform (ottown's earlier report), and days later proposed federally run park-and-ride shuttle buses to ease downtown congestion (ottown's earlier report). His campaign launched in June around a promise to "shake things up" at city hall (ottown's earlier report).
With the 2026 municipal election approaching, Saravanamuttoo continues to frame his candidacy around economic credentials and specific, city-level fixes rather than broad promises, adding housing, defence-sector growth and downtown revitalization to the list of issues he's staked out a position on.
Sources: Ottawa Business Journal
