Jenna Sudds, the sitting councillor for Kanata North, has officially resigned her seat at Ottawa council after a successful run in the federal election, according to the city clerk.
Sudds, who was elected as a first-time city councillor in the 2018 municipal election, was acclaimed by the Liberal Party of Canada to run as a candidate in Kanata—Carleton in August when incumbent MP Karen McCrimmon announced she would not seek re-election.
She was ultimately successful, earning 41.8 per cent of the vote in the riding and defeating her closest challenger, Conservative Jennifer McAndrew, by just over 2,000 votes. The campaign for Kanata—Carleton ended up being the most tightly contested of the election in Ottawa.
Sudds went on unpaid leave from city council during the 36-day campaign, though she continued to occasionally attend committee meetings.
City clerk Rick O’Connor confirmed the outgoing councillor’s resignation in a memo to council Thursday afternoon.
Council will have to declare the seat vacant at its next meeting on Oct. 13, at which point it will also be presented with two options to fill the seat: hold a byelection — likely costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars — or appoint a representative.
Two byelections have already been held in this term of council: once when Tobi Nussbaum left the table to become CEO of the National Capital Commission shortly after the 2018 election; once in 2020 after Stephen Blais left his seat to represent the Liberals provincially.
Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Rawlson King and Cumberland Coun. Catherine Kitts secured their seats in those byelections.
But a third byelection would cut it close to the municipal election, which is scheduled for October 2022.
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