The Anglican diocese of Ottawa has elected Archdeacon Kathryn Otley, currently the incumbent at All Saints’ Anglican Church Westboro, as its 11th bishop.
Otley succeeds Archbishop Shane Parker, the previous bishop of Ottawa now serving as primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Parker tells the Anglican Journal he has known Otley since he taught a class she was in at St. Paul’s University, where her intelligence, confidence and inquiring spirit were immediately evident.
“After her ordination we served together in various contexts, and I consistently saw her as a capable, positive, and articulate leader who engendered trust and respect. When I became bishop, she was a valued archdeacon and advisor,” the primate wrote in an email.
Otley is the first woman to serve as bishop of Ottawa, though she tells the Journal she hopes that will not be what people see as the defining characteristic of her election at a time when Canada has 12 female bishops. It’s less of an exception than it once was, she says.
“Having said that, I’m in no way dismissing the honour, and I would just say that I stand in solidarity and the strong foundation of leadership of all genders,” she says.
Asked what gifts she brings to the role, Otley names a calm leadership style, which she believes can set a tone of calm during a period of change and anxiety for the church.
The 2026 diocesan election was Otley’s second time letting her name stand for election as bishop, the first being when she ran alongside Parker. As a result, she says, she found herself much more at peace with the process this time.
Where previously she might have tailored her answers to make herself sound like the best fit for the office, Otley says, in this election she felt empowered to simply describe the gifts she had to offer and let the diocese decide whether they were the right ones.
“I felt really at peace, not because I thought I would be elected, but just because I felt I had given a fair sampling of who I am and was quite at peace with whatever synod would decide,” she says.
Those gifts also include a talent for encouraging and raising up others’ ideas; experience forging partnerships with non-profit, ecumenical, government and other organizations; and experience mediating conflict, she says.
Born in Montreal, Otley moved to the diocese of Ottawa in her 20s and has family ties to the Maritimes, with her mother and siblings living in Nova Scotia. She holds a degree in classics from Carlton University and returned to her studies when her children were in school to become a postulant at St. Paul’s University. She was ordained in 2006 and has served in the parishes of St. John the Evangelist, Ottawa; Fitzroy Harbour and Christ Church Bells Corners.
Otley describes her ministry interests as heavily focused on social justice, with special emphasis on homelessness and affordable housing. She chairs General Synod’s Public Witness for Social and Ecological Justice Committee and has served on several working groups and boards, both within the church and with outside partners, addressing housing and homelessness issues.
The key to effective outreach and social responsibility for the church is to communicate with partner organizations and communities, finding ways to support and enhance their work, Otley says.
“We forget to look outward and there’s lots of people who want to work with us. Sometimes as Anglicans, [we’re] almost afraid, if we say what we’re doing, that we’re boasting” she says. “We are often the world’s best-kept secret.”
