Kanata—Carleton

Kanata—Carleton spans the western edge of Ottawa, bridging the suburban technology hub of Kanata and the rural communities of West Carleton, including Carp, Fitzroy Harbour, and Kinburn. The riding underwent a dramatic political shift during the 2022–2025 term. Progressive Conservative MPP and cabinet minister Merrilee Fullerton, who had won re-election in 2022, abruptly resigned both her seat and her post as Minister of Children, Community and Social Services in March 2023. The resulting byelection in July 2023 was won by Liberal Karen McCrimmon, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Canadian Forces who had previously served as the federal Liberal MP for the area from 2015 to 2021. McCrimmon’s byelection victory, by approximately 650 votes, broke decades of conservative representation in the riding and made her the incumbent heading into the 2025 general election.

McCrimmon brought a distinctive profile to the legislature. She was the first female navigator in the Canadian Forces and the first woman to command a Canadian Forces flying squadron during her military career. Her transition from federal to provincial politics gave her experience with both levels of government.

Candidates

Karen McCrimmon (Liberal) — A retired lieutenant colonel with a thirty-one-year military career, McCrimmon served as the federal Liberal MP for Kanata-Carleton from 2015 to 2021 before winning the 2023 provincial byelection. As MPP, she focused on healthcare access, education, and protecting greenspace in the riding.

Scott Phelan (Progressive Conservative) — A trustee with the Ottawa Catholic School Board and a business executive with more than twenty-five years of experience in the information technology sector, Phelan had been actively involved in local organizations including the Stittsville Minor Hockey Association, where he previously served as president. His campaign emphasized healthcare, family affordability, and tariff protection.

Dave Belcher (NDP) — Born and raised in Stittsville and a Kanata resident since 2009, Belcher worked as an educator with the Ottawa District School Board since 2008. He holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of Ottawa and advocated for improved transit and locally controlled public services.

Jennifer Purdy ran for the Green Party, Elizabeth Watson for the New Blue Party, and Frank Jakubowski for the Ontario Party.

Local Issues

Transit infrastructure was a central concern for commuters in Kanata—Carleton. Ottawa’s Confederation Line LRT did not extend to Kanata, leaving residents dependent on buses and cars to reach downtown Ottawa. During the campaign, both the Progressive Conservatives and the Liberals committed to funding Phase 3 of light rail out to Kanata and Stittsville, acknowledging the bottleneck that suburban growth had created. Rural residents in West Carleton had virtually no public transit options.

Healthcare access resonated deeply across the riding. A proposed Kanata-Stittsville Health Hub on Maple Grove Road became a focal point of debate, with candidates discussing how to address the shortage of family physicians and reduce wait times at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, which serves much of Ottawa’s west end. The rapid pace of residential development in Kanata and Stittsville raised questions about whether healthcare, school, and community infrastructure was keeping up with population growth.

The riding’s rural-suburban character created a distinctive set of tensions. Suburban voters in Kanata were focused on transit, school capacity, and access to services, while rural residents in West Carleton faced different priorities, including internet connectivity, agricultural land preservation, and infrastructure for small communities. The 2023 byelection had demonstrated that the riding was now genuinely competitive, and all parties treated it as a battleground seat in 2025.