Neil R. Ellis (born 1962) is a Canadian politician, currently serving as the mayor of Belleville, Ontario. He is a former Liberal Member of Parliament, who was elected to represent the riding of Bay of Quinte in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election. In the 2019 federal election, Ellis was reelected as the Member of Parliament for the Bay of Quinte. He was defeated in the 2021 federal election.
Background Ellis holds a bachelor's degree in law and psychology from Carleton University in Ottawa. In 1984, he became the proprietor of Doug's Bicycle, a bicycle store in Belleville which his brother had operated for five years. Ellis relinquished control of the store in 2012 after twenty-eight years of ownership.
Political career
Mayor of Belleville
During the 2003 municipal elections in Ontario Ellis ran against Belleville's incumbent mayor Mary-Ann Sills, losing by only 202 votes. Nevertheless, Ellis would run again in 2006, defeating Mary-Ann Sills to become mayor of Belleville. He would serve two terms as mayor, being reelected in 2006, and leaving office in 2014.Meet Neil Ellis, Liberal.ca. As mayor, Ellis guided city council through the Build Belleville initiative, which involved pursuing twenty-two infrastructure projects worth $91 million. He was elected again in 2022, defeating incumbent mayor Mitch Panciuk.
Member of Parliament
In 2015, Ellis became the Liberal nominee in the newly created Bay of Quinte riding, and won the subsequent election.Ellis takes Bay of Quinte, The Intelligencer, October 19, 2015. He would go on to win reelection in 2019. From 2015 to 2019, Ellis served as the chairman of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, until being appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in December 2019.Ellis Named Parliamentary Assistant, "Quinte News", December 12, 2019.
Electoral record
Federal
Municipal 2022 Belleville Mayoral Election 2022 Belleville mayoral election Mayoral Candidate Vote %Neil Ellis9,19459.3Mitch Panciuk5,65436.4Kyle Thompson6684.3 2010 Belleville Mayoral Election 2010 Belleville mayoral election Mayoral Candidate Vote % Neil Ellis 10,081 75.09 Mitch Panciuk 2,825 21.17 Lonnie D. Herrington 350 2.62 Graham K. Longhurst 149 1.12
2006 Belleville Mayoral Election 2006 Belleville mayoral election Candidate Vote %Neil Ellis 10,427 61.8Mary-Anne Sills 3,957 23.5Doug Rollins 2,483 14.7
2003 Belleville Mayoral Election 2003 Belleville mayoral election Candidate Vote %Mary-Anne Sills 5,945 39.7Neil Ellis 5,707 38.1Doug Parker 3,256 21.7Trueman Tuck 57 0.5
References
External links Neil R. Ellis www.ourcommons.ca