Mayoral candidate Jeff Leiper is promising to reverse the City of Ottawa's five-day office mandate as part of his campaign platform.
The proposal targets a central tension in the city's workforce—the balance between traditional office attendance and the flexibility of remote work. Leiper said that returning to rigid schedules increases costs for employees and places unnecessary strain on urban infrastructure.
Under current rules, the City of Ottawa maintains a five-day office mandate [1]. Leiper said he intends to roll back this requirement to provide workers with more flexibility. He also plans to lobby the federal government to reverse its own return-to-office policies for public servants.
Leiper said that greater flexibility would save workers both time and money. Beyond the individual impact, he said reducing the number of daily commuters would ease pressure on Ottawa's roads, and public transit system.
The issue has become a focal point as the municipal election campaign intensifies. Other candidates in the race include Neil Saravanamuttoo and Alex Lawson.
This policy push comes as the next round of Ontario municipal elections is approximately seven months away [2]. The debate reflects a broader struggle within Canada's capital to redefine the role of the physical office in a post-pandemic economy.
Leiper said that the city's current approach to office attendance is outdated. By challenging both the municipal and federal mandates, he is positioning workplace flexibility as a key quality-of-life issue for the city's residents.
“Leiper is promising to reverse the City of Ottawa's five-day office mandate.”
This campaign pivot suggests that return-to-office policies have shifted from internal human resources disputes to significant political liabilities. By linking office mandates to transit congestion and worker affordability, Leiper is framing administrative policy as a broader urban planning and economic issue for the Ottawa electorate.
