Brian Paquette for City Council
Who Am I ?
I am not a career politician.
I am a citizen of Ottawa.I am an Ottawa native, a father, an entrepreneur, a martial-arts instructor, a personal trainer and a leadership-development coach.
For years, I have worked directly with children, youth, adults and families not from behind a desk, but directly in the community.I have spent most of my life in Ottawa. I know this city not simply as a political district divided into wards, but as a community where people live, work, raise their families, build businesses, face challenges and create opportunities for one another.
My work has taken me into community centres across the region, including the Dalhousie Community Centre, Smiths Falls Youth Centre, Routhier Community Centre and Lowertown Community Centre. I have offered free programs to children and self-defence programs to people of all ages.
I was also honoured to be recognized as a Youth Ambassador in Smiths Falls for my community work.
These experiences have taught me something important: real change starts with people.It starts with showing up.It starts with listening.It starts with creating opportunities.
And sometimes, it starts with simply being there when someone needs help.
But my experience goes beyond coaching.
I am a father of two children in the LGBTQ+ community and a stepfather to two others.
Being a parent has taught me that the decisions we make today shape the community our children will inherit tomorrow.I understand the responsibility that comes with helping young people grow into confident, capable adults.
I know what it means to create opportunity, build confidence, protect people and help someone get back on their feet.
I have coached people.
I have mentored youth.
I have worked in community centres.
I have provided free programs.
I have taught self-defence.
I have built businesses.
I have raised a family.
And I have worked with people from many different backgrounds.
For me, leadership has never been about having a title.It has been about showing up, listening, helping people grow and taking responsibility for the results.
That is why I don't see public service as a career.I see it as a responsibility.
Before I am a candidate, I am a citizen.
A citizen who cares about this city.
A citizen who sees both its strengths and its challenges.
A citizen who believes we can do better.And a citizen who is ready to put his experience, energy and commitment to work for the people of Ward 12.
That is the experience I want to bring to City Hall.
Not as a career politician. But as a citizen, a neighbour, a father, a coach and someone who believes that together, we can build:
SAFE STREETS.STRONGER PEOPLE.A STRONGER COMMUNITY.
My Values
My approach is built around three simple ideas:
Safe Streets. Stronger People. A Stronger Community.
I believe a strong community requires both compassion and accountability.
We can care about people experiencing homelessness or addiction while still expecting our public spaces to be safe.
We can believe in recovery while demanding that recovery programs actually help people move forward.
We can support police while also expecting measurable results and responsible use of resources.
I don't believe we have to choose between compassion and safety.
We can believe in both.
People struggling with addiction deserve help.
People experiencing homelessness deserve dignity.
But violence, assault, robbery, trafficking and threatening other people cannot simply be ignored.
Residents deserve safe streets, businesses deserve safe places to operate and vulnerable people deserve a real pathway toward recovery.
I also believe that every person deserves dignity, respect and safety.
That includes LGBTQ+ residents, newcomers, seniors, people with disabilities, families, young people, people experiencing homelessness and everyone who calls Ward 12 home.
Inclusion means creating communities where people feel that they belong not communities divided against one another.
And I believe in accountability.If public money is being spent, residents deserve to know whether it is producing results. If a policy isn't working, we should be willing to change it.
That's not just politics.That's leadership.
WHY I DECIDED TO RUN
I've spent years working with people, and that experience has changed the way I see leadership.
I've seen what happens when a young person has a coach, a mentor, a positive peer group and a place where they belong. I've also seen what happens when those opportunities aren't there.
That's why I've spent years creating opportunities through martial arts, fitness, self-defence, mentorship, leadership development and community programs.
I've worked with youth.
I've worked with families.
I've provided free programs.
I've worked in community centres.
I've built businesses. This isn't theoretical for me.
I've already been doing this work. But I also see challenges in Ward 12 that require more than individual effort.
Our neighbourhoods need safer streets.
People struggling with addiction need real pathways to treatment and recovery. Young people need opportunities before the street becomes their community.
Local businesses need an environment where they can succeed.
Residents need to know that when they raise a concern, someone is actually listening.
That's why I'm running.
I'm not running because I want to become a career politician. I'm running because I believe the experience I've gained building people, businesses and community can be put to work for Ward 12.
I want to bring a practical, community-based approach to City Hall: listen, act, measure the results and be accountable.
And that's ultimately what I believe a councillor should do.Not simply make promises.
Listen. Act. Adjust. Deliver.
MY PRIORITIES FOR WARD 12
1. SAFE BYWARD MARKET & LOWERTOWN
The ByWard Market and Lowertown should be places where families want to live, businesses want to invest and visitors want to spend time. Residents shouldn't have to choose between living in their neighbourhood and feeling safe in it.
I will fight for visible and consistent policing in identified crime hotspots, better coordination between police, By-law, transit, outreach workers and emergency services, targeted enforcement against repeat and violent offenders, cleaner and better-lit public spaces and faster responses to chronic disorder.
And I want residents and business owners involved through regular community safety meetings and public reporting of measurable results.
2. RECOVERY & HOUSING
Our goal cannot simply be to permanently manage people in crisis.
We need a pathway:
OUTREACH → TREATMENT → HOUSING → RECOVERY → WORK → INDEPENDENCE
That means better access to detox and treatment, mental-health services, supportive and transitional housing, outreach, recovery programs, employment and skills training, entrepreneurship and continued support after treatment.
And we need to measure outcomes.
How many people were housed?
How many entered treatment?
How many completed treatment?
How many moved into employment?
How many remained housed?
Residents deserve to know whether the programs we fund are actually helping people move forward.
3. SMARTER POLICING & COMMUNITY SAFETY
Public safety isn't simply about saying "more police."
It's about putting the right resources in the right places at the right times.
I will advocate for intelligence-led policing, high-visibility patrols during peak crime periods, stronger enforcement against repeat violent offenders, improved transit safety, better coordination with outreach and social services and data-driven deployment of resources.
And we should measure whether those strategies are actually working through crime, violence, robberies, theft, emergency response, disorder complaints and residents' perception of safety.
A policy isn't successful because we announced it. It's successful when people can feel the difference.
4. YOUTH LEADERSHIP & OPPORTUNITY
This one is personal.
I've seen firsthand what happens when young people have something positive to belong to.
I want Ward 12 youth to have access to martial arts, fitness, mentorship, leadership development, conflict resolution, self-defence, entrepreneurship, employment skills, after-school programs, recreation and volunteer opportunities.
Where possible, programs should be free or affordable for families who couldn't otherwise afford them.Before the street becomes a young person's community, let's make sure they have a better community to choose.
5. SMALL BUSINESS, ENTREPRENEURSHIP & TOURISM
A thriving Market needs thriving businesses.
The ByWard Market should be one of Ottawa's great economic and tourism destinations but that means creating an environment where entrepreneurs can actually succeed.
Safer commercial streets, cleaner public spaces, better lighting, stronger communication with businesses, faster responses to property problems, support for independent businesses and local entrepreneurs, and tourism initiatives that benefit the businesses already here.Safety is economic development.When people feel safe, they stay longer. When they stay longer, businesses benefit.
When businesses succeed, they employ people.
6. AN INCLUSIVE WARD 12
Everyone deserves to feel that they belong.
My experience as a father of two children in the LGBTQ+ community makes this particularly personal for me.I want Ward 12 to be a community where people are treated with dignity and respect regardless of their background, age, ability or circumstances.Inclusion means safe public spaces, protection from discrimination and violence, youth mentorship, community participation and equal opportunity.
7. THE FIRST 100 DAYS
I don't want to wait four years to start delivering.
If elected, the first 100 days would be about listening, acting and reporting back.I would bring residents, businesses, Ottawa Police, By-law, OC Transpo, Ottawa Public Health, paramedics, outreach organizations, housing providers, treatment organizations, tourism representatives, youth organizations and community groups together.
Not rumours.
Not politics.
Data and lived experience.
Then we identify the biggest problems, create specific action plans and publicly report the results through a Ward 12 Community Safety & Community Wellbeing Scorecard.If something isn't working, we change it.
That's what a coach does.You don't blame the players.
You don't pretend the score doesn't matter. You look at the results, identify the problem and adjust the plan.
’m not asking Ward 12 to elect another person who knows how to make promises.
I'm asking Ward 12 to elect someone who knows how to build people, build businesses and build community.
I've coached people.I've mentored youth.
I've worked in community centres.
I've provided free programs.
I've taught self-defence.
I've built businesses.
I've raised a family.
I've worked with people from many different backgrounds.
I've been an Ottawa resident for most of my life.
And I believe Ward 12 deserves a councillor who will listen, act and be accountable.
SAFE STREETS.STRONGER PEOPLE.A STRONGER COMMUNITY.
That's the Ward 12 I want to build.