Who is Mark Sutcliffe? Ottawa’s mayor stumps Jeopardy! champ

Ottawa·NewMark Sutcliffe might be a household name in Ottawa, but when he appeared in a Jeopardy! clue Thursday evening, the reigning champion was stumped.Sutcliffe named Thursday in clue under ‘capital city mayors’CBC News · Posted: Dec 12, 2025 12:05 PM EST | Last Updated: 15 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Mayor Mark Sutcliffe’s name appeared in a Jeopardy! clue on Thursday under the category ‘capital city mayors.’ The contestant, returning champion Will Riley, mistakenly guessed Chicago. (Olivier Plante/CBC)Mark Sutcliffe might be a household name in Ottawa, but when he appeared in a Jeopardy! clue Thursday evening, the reigning champion was stumped.The mayor’s name came up when Will Riley, an engineer originally from Houston, chose the category “capital city mayors” for $1,600. Riley, back for his fourth night after accumulating more than $54,000 in winnings, drew a daily double and wagered $3,000. “Mark Sutcliffe, who studied political science at Carleton University there,” host Ken Jennings read.After pondering a moment, Riley guessed: “What is Chicago?””Sorry, no. It’s a national capital — Ottawa in this case,” said Jennings.Oh Will 🤷🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/r4Borqghtz—_MarkSutcliffeEven with the $3,000 hit, Riley enjoyed a comfortable lead and ended the night with $23,000, well ahead of opponents Francis Boyle, a playwright and teacher from Ohio, and Jennifer Foote, a lawyer from Albuquerque, N.M.Riley will return for a fifth round on Friday’s show with total winnings of more than $77,000.The long-running trivia game show is broadcast from the Alex Trebek Stage at Sony Pictures Studios. Trebek, the longtime Jeopardy! host who died in 2020, graduated from the University of Ottawa with a philosophy degree in 1961, and also worked for CBC Radio at the broadcaster’s former studios in the Château Laurier.