2000 Ottawa municipal election
The 2000 Ottawa municipal election was a municipal election that was held on November 13, 2000, in Ottawa. The elections were held for mayor of Ottawa, Ottawa City Council and a number of school trustees. These elections were the first for the amalgamated city, which added 10 former municipalities to Ottawa. The amalgamation occurred on January 1, 2001.
Mayoral race
The race for mayor only had two major candidates, that of the Chair of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, Bob Chiarelli and the mayor of the City of Gloucester, Claudette Cain. Cain did very well in her native Gloucester, as well as in the more francophone areas like Cumberland and Vanier. Bob Chiarelli won most of the other wards, including one that was partly in Gloucester. His strongest showing was in Kanata and Kitchissippi Ward.The election had few major issues surrounding it, with Chiarelli's main debate issue being a plan to recapitalize Hydro Ottawa to help finance infrastructure projects. Chiarelli was seen as a "solid, no-frills and experienced politician who quietly gets the job done", running an "amorphous, centrist" campaign. Cain was the underdog in the campaign and campaigned on cutting taxes and a "go-slow approach" to infrastructure in contrast to Chiarelli.
City council
The city council elections were very fierce, because many wards faced incumbents against each other because of the amalgamation. In the rural areas, some mayors ran for city council.Results: