Submitting a petition to Council

Recognizing that petitions play an integral role in the communication between residents and elected officials, on December 8, 2010, City Council adopted a Petition Policy that established procedures for the submission and recognition of public petitions.

Before you begin

Please review the City's Petition Policy to make sure your petition conforms to the required standards to ensure presentation to Council.

All petitions that meet the standards set out in the Petition Policy will be presented to Council and listed as a Communication on a Council agenda. Petitions on matters that are solely within the decision-making authority of the Transit Commission are routed directly to the Commission rather than to Council.

Petitions deemed to be in non-compliance will not be formally accepted by Council or the Transit Commission. However, they will be listed as “other correspondence received” on the appropriate Standing Committee or Council agenda, if applicable.

A petition is considered a public document at the City of Ottawa and the information contained in it will be subject to the scrutiny of City Council (or the Transit Commission) and the general public. Your petition must include a disclosure statement on each page of the petition so that those who sign the document agree to, and are aware of, its public availability.

For more information, please contact petitions@ottawa.ca or the City Clerk at the following mailing address:

City Clerk
110 Laurier Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1J1

For information on the Petition processes for changes to traffic and parking regulations, please consult the Traffic Service Catalogue [PDF - 1 MB], contact  3- 1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or email 311@ottawa.ca.

What you need

A completed Petition Form [PDF - 794 KB].

If you experience difficulties accessing the form or require an accessible format or communication support, please contact petitions@ottawa.ca.

Request

There are several ways to submit a petition. Information on each method is described below.

By Mail

Petitions containing original signatures should be sent to the attention of the City Clerk by mail at the following address.

City Clerk
110 Laurier Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1J1

In-person

Petition containing original signatures can also be delivered, in-person, at one of the City's Client Service Centers.

The following service will be provided in person between 8:30am and 4pm. 

  • Laurier Client Service Centre, 110 Laurier Avenue West
  • Nepean Client Service Centre, 101 Centrepointe Drive
  • Kanata Client Service Centre, 580 Terry Fox Drive (open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays only)
  • Orleans Client Service Centre, 255 Centrum Boulevard (open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays only)
  • Metcalfe Client Service Centre, 8243 Victoria Street (open Tuesday)
  • West Carleton Client Service Centre, 5670 Carp Road (open Wednesday)
  • North Gower Client Service Centre, 2155 Roger Stevens Drive (open Thursday)

By email

Electronic petitions may be submitted to the attention of the City Clerk at petitions@ottawa.ca.

Other

Petitions may also be submitted to the Mayor or any member of City Council.