Ottawa taxpayers are concerned with spending half a billion dollars to demolish and rebuild the Lansdowne Park stadium.

Proceeding with Lansdowne would be equivalent to a property tax increase of 1% for every Ottawa resident.

Residents are calling for a binding city-wide referendum to decide if we should spend $493 million on this stadium reconstruction.

Our city has far more important needs that require immediate attention. Housing, reliable transit, fixing our crumbling roads – to name just a few.

Yet Mayor Sutcliffe is proposing to upgrade a sports stadium, which the City says can be maintained for another 40 years. Sutcliffe proposes to tear down and replace it with a new stadium that doesn’t even have a roof.

Is this the best use of our limited tax dollars? Would it worth the equivalent of a 1% property tax increase?

Residents should have a say in how our money is spent. The half billion dollars in spending could fund $20 million worth of projects in each ward across Ottawa.

This petition calls on the City of Ottawa to hold a referendum before approving a Lansdowne stadium demolition and rebuild. We demand transparency and public participation in decisions that impact our lives and our city’s future so profoundly.

Other Canadian cities have held referenda on major investments in sports facilities, including Calgary bidding for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Montreal West building a new sports complex in 2023, Victoria expanding a swimming facility in 2024, and Langford, B.C. expanding its soccer stadium in 2024.

Sign this petition if you believe taxpayers should decide whether we spend $493 million on a sports stadium reconstruction.