Ottawa West—Nepean

Ottawa West—Nepean entered the 2025 election as one of the few NDP-held seats in the Ottawa region. Chandra Pasma had won the riding in 2022 by roughly 1,100 votes over the Progressive Conservatives, marking the first time the NDP had ever captured this west-end suburban constituency. During her first term, Pasma served as the Official Opposition’s shadow minister for education and introduced private members’ bills on issues ranging from school air quality to emergency power requirements for apartment buildings. Premier Doug Ford’s decision to call a snap election in January 2025, sixteen months ahead of schedule, set up a rematch in which Pasma sought to defend her narrow mandate.

The riding, which spans parts of Nepean, Barrhaven, and Centrepointe, has a large population of federal public servants and health-care workers. Between 2022 and 2025, the riding’s residents continued to grapple with a shortage of family physicians, long emergency department wait times at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, and the rising cost of housing across Ottawa’s suburban communities.

Candidates

Chandra Pasma (NDP) — A public policy researcher who previously worked for the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Pasma was first elected in 2022 after narrowly losing in 2018. During her term as MPP, she served as the NDP’s shadow minister for education, advocating for smaller class sizes and improved school funding. She introduced bills to improve air quality in schools and to require apartment buildings to have emergency generators, the latter inspired by the devastating May 2022 derecho that left hundreds of thousands of Ottawa residents without power.

Husien Abu-Rayash (Progressive Conservative) — Abu-Rayash holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration and governance from Toronto Metropolitan University. A former reservist officer with the Canadian Armed Forces, he brought over a decade of political organizing and community volunteer experience to his candidacy.

Brett Szmul (Liberal) — Szmul was pursuing a master’s degree in international affairs at Carleton University, where he also worked as a teaching assistant. He described himself as a policy and legislative researcher with a background in public policy and governance.

Sophia Andrew-Joiner ran for the Green Party, and Rylan Vroom ran for the New Blue Party.

Local Issues

Health-care access remained a pressing concern in Ottawa West—Nepean throughout the 2022–2025 term. Many residents reported difficulty finding or retaining a family doctor, and the Queensway Carleton Hospital continued to face capacity pressures. The provincial government’s repeal of Bill 124, the wage-restraint legislation for public-sector workers, in late 2022 following a court ruling addressed one longstanding grievance of health-care workers, but staffing shortages across the system persisted. The Ford government’s moves toward expanding the role of private clinics in delivering publicly funded surgeries also generated debate in a riding with a large health-care workforce.

Housing affordability was a growing challenge. Ottawa’s suburban west end experienced rising home prices and rental costs during the term, and the city’s planning process for increased density in suburban areas sparked local discussions about infrastructure capacity, transit service, and the character of established neighbourhoods. The province’s housing legislation, including the More Homes Built Faster Act and changes to development charges, drew scrutiny from municipal leaders concerned about the impact on local services. Education funding and class sizes were also prominent issues given Pasma’s role as the NDP’s education critic, with parents and teachers raising concerns about the adequacy of provincial investments in public schools.