In Ottawa's 2006 municipal election, newcomer Larry O'Brien defeated former city councillor Alex Munter and then-incumbent Bob Chiarelli in an election largely based on the expansion of Ottawa's light rail transit system.

A Léger Marketing poll published by the Ottawa Sun on May 26, 2007 put O'Brien's approval ratings at 24%, and reported that if an election were held that day, he and Munter would have been tied with 35% of the vote of those surveyed.

[1] Terry Kilrea, who had dropped out of the previous mayoral race on August 30, 2006, accused O'Brien of offering him up to $30,000 and a political appointment if Kilrea would withdraw from that race and support O'Brien.

[2] On August 5, 2009, Larry O'Brien was acquitted of bribery charges stemming from this accusation.

[5] An Ottawa Citizen poll conducted in June 2010 showed public transit to the most important policy issue among city voters, ahead of taxes and the Lansdowne Park redevelopment.

[6] The race featured the largest number of candidates for mayor and for city council in the history of Ottawa.

His strongest wards were in the city's East end, despite having never represented the area (except as mayor).

[1] He was the owner and director of Mundo en Espanol', a Spanish language newspaper in the Ottawa-Gatineau area.

In 2006, he ran for the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in Ottawa Centre, but lost.

Before being elected, he served as a public servant both on a provincial and federal level.

[3][permanent dead link‍] [4] [5] [6] He was endorsed by the New Democratic Party while running for City Council.

He ran as an independent in the 2003 provincial election in Ottawa West—Nepean, receiving 0.4% of the vote.

He also ran as an independent in the 2004 federal election in Ottawa Centre, receiving 0.2% of the vote.

Hayden announced his candidacy on September 10, 2010 on the final day of registration for candidates for the election.

He also planned to reform OC Transpo management by having a group of elected representatives taking control of the transit commission.

He was an unknown candidate who never returned phone calls, didn't show up to all-candidate debates, and the press was unable to find out who he was.

There was some news when he reportedly used strong, sometimes racist language whilst emailing other candidates during the election.

[13] Libweshya, 25, was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and claims to be a distant relative of Barack Obama.

In 2003, he won the Canadian Alliance nomination for the 2004 federal election in Nepean—Carleton, but the party merged with the Progressive Conservatives, nullifying it.

Scharf, 57, is a longtime political activist in Ottawa who has fought against the Safe Streets Act and other government legislation which she sees as being anti-homeless.

He attended Lisgar Collegiate Institute and Algonquin College and has claimed to have had "about 50 jobs" over 11 years in 45 different countries.

In the summer time, he drives a truck for the sound and light show on Parliament Hill.

Prior to being mayor, Watson served on Ottawa City Council from 1991 to 1997, representing Capital Ward.

He also sat on Ottawa City Council from 1991 to 1994 representing Richmond Ward.

After working as a policy analyst with the federal government, he was elected to serve as a public school trustee in 1982.

Between 1999 and 2001 he served as an executive director of the Council on Aging, a United Way agency and lobby group for seniors.

* Dropped out Incumbent Shad Qadri had announced his intention and filed his papers for re-election.

[35] Richard Eveleigh, an unemployed Downtown Ottawa resident was his only challenger.