Amanda Robertson is running in the 2024 Bay of Quinte byelection as the candidate for the Ontario New Democratic Party.
Before being named the candidate, she was Vice-chair of Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board (HPEDSB) representing Belleville/Thurlow. She is a board member and treasurer for the John Howard Society of Belleville and coaches in the Belleville Spirits Boys Basketball organization.
Amanda Robertson lives in Belleville with her husband Drew Robertson, a physician with the Queen’s Family Health Team in Belleville – and 3 children ages 11, 9, 5. Between her own experience and that of her partner, she brings first hand knowledge of health care.
She grew up on a dairy farm outside of Stratford with 3 sisters. She met her husband while completing her BA in Psychology at the University of Guelph, and lived in both Toronto and Hamilton during their post grad training. She is a 4H Ontario Alum and was part of the Ontario Fair Ambassador Program.
Education
- Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto (2012)
- BA in Psychology at the University of Guelph
Community involvement
- Re-elected to Vice-chair of the Board November 20, 2023
- Elected to Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board Trustee (2022 Municipal Elections)
- Served on various committees, including Chair of the Audit Committee
- Chair of Queen Victoria School (QVS) Council for 4 years
- HPEDSB’s Parent Involvement Committee
- Parents Reaching Out Grant Committee
- 1st Annual Parent Symposium
- Board of Director of John Howard Society of Belleville for 6 years and is currently the Treasurer of the board
- Coaches in the Belleville Boys Spirits Basketball player development program
- Board of Directors of Bay of Quinte NDP Riding Association
Career
- Freelance writer and community capacity builder
- Emergency supply teacher at QVS
2024 Bay of Quinte by-election
Reason for running
As a mother, a school board trustee, and an active community member, I’ve witnessed the struggles firsthand — from overcrowded emergency rooms to the skyrocketing cost of living and a dire shortage of affordable housing.
Amanda Robertson to The Quinteist
People in Bay of Quinte deserve health care they can rely on, homes they can afford and schools that set kids up for success
I’m running to bring our local solutions to the table, give our communities a stronger voice and get results for working people.
Amanda Robertson
I’m not a career politician, I don’t have a background in politics. I’ve been a trustee for all of two years. What I do know is I know people. I know working people. I have worked in and worked with people from all industries.
Whether that’s growing up on a dairy farm and seeing first hand the blood, sweat, and tears that go into that lifestyle. Or working in health care, or living alongside a family doctor who’s currently working in this crazy crisis, in the underfunded system that we all deserve so much better from.
From my work on the school board, I’ve talked to numerous parents, hundreds of hours, and thousands of people, hearing concerns they have with schools. I feel like what makes me a good candidate is that I understand the people of the Bay of Quinte. I understand people from all walks of life, of all political stripes. We are all feeling that squeeze and we’re all feeling that pressure and I get that and I hear them.
Amanda Robertson to Quinte News
Issues and views
Robertson held an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit on September 18, 2024. In it, she answered questions including:
- What can be done about bringing Family Doctors to the area? How can we make it more attractive for them to want to come here?
- What in your mind makes you the superior candidate to others? What things stick out to you that you will fight for?
- What would be your first steps if you win the election?
- What solutions do you and the NDP offer individuals experiencing homelessness?
- What are the biggest misconceptions held by voters?
- What approach would you support to resolve this inequality in primary care access?
- Would you support an application for a HART hub or help fund Belleville’s Bridge Integrated Care Centre project?
- If you are not successful in this by-election, will you seek the nomination to run in the next general election?
Provincial-municipal funding responsibilities
NDP’s are really focusing on tenable municipal taxes and reuploading provincial responsibilities back to the province, not municipalities.
This is so we don’t have to resort to things like speed cameras on Sidney Street to cover the cost of doctor recruitment or funding the hub, because that is healthcare, that is housing, those are provincial responsibilities,
An NDP government would come to the table and be a more reliable and stable partner for municipalities by reuploading a lot of those services.
Amanda Robertson to QNet News
Health care
ER wait times are among the worst in Ontario, and too many people lack a family doctor. As the elected official for Bay of Quinte, I will fight to improve this situation by not only recruiting and training more doctors but also ensuring we retain our existing family doctors and support them properly so they can continue to serve our communities effectively.
Amanda Robertson to The Quinteist
Housing affordability and homelessness
Housing should be a basic right, not a luxury. Yet, so many in the Bay of Quinte are being priced out of their homes or forced to live in tents. As the elected official for the Bay of Quinte, I’ll work to make housing more affordable by increasing investments in co-op and supportive housing, and encouraging smart development.
Amanda Robertson to The Quinteist
Education
As a school board trustee and a parent, I’ve consistently fought to improve conditions in our local schools, and as your MPP, I’ll continue that fight. I’ll push for more funding to reduce class sizes, hire more teachers and educational assistants, and ensure every child has the support they need to succeed.
YourTV debate
Chamber of Commerce debate
Endorsed by Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation District 29 (Hastings-Prince Edward County)
So Amanda has experience with the school board so she understands locally the education issues that we have. She knows that we have a school board locally that’s working very hard to do the best thing they can for the students that we have, but the resources just aren’t there
Andrew Wachner, President
Endorsed by the Quinte Labour Council
She is passionate about the community, currently sits on the HPE District School Board as a trustee and vice chair. She is also involved in the John Howard Society of Belleville and is coach of the local Spirits Boys Basketball organization
She will fight for safe staffing levels in healthcare, education and other public services. After many years of us facing cutbacks to our public services, it is time for us to stand up and fight to maintain and improve public services
Margaret Bourgoin, President of the Quinte Labour Council
A lot of what I heard echoed through all types of voters. People are hurting. People are being squeezed. People are being ignored. There’s a disconnect at Queen’s Park because their issues and their voices aren’t making it there
Amanda Robertson to the Picton Gazette
We’ve seen cuts to public institutions, privatization, untenable funding that just isn’t meeting the needs for the people who live and work here.
My work on the board of the John Howard Society of Belleville, we have been actioning this and acting on this, and advocating for homelessness, for the people who are at risk of being homeless, for people who are currently living on the streets.
Quinte News
2023 elected to Vice-Chair of HPEDSB
Over the past year I’ve developed strong working relationships with many of you through my work on committees and at the Board table. I’ve developed efficiency and effectiveness skills, and an ability to resolve conflict and problem solve. My experience as an OPSBA director has provided big picture strategic thinking, as well as meaningful and valuable trustee and education system connections.
Amanda Robertson on being re-elected
2022 municipal election
From ontarioschooltrustees.org:
Amanda is a freelance writer and community capacity builder focused on making communities more accessible for everyone who lives in them. She completed her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto in 2012; and since graduating, became a mom to three, now public-school students, completed a professional communications certificate, and started her own freelance writing business. Amanda works predominantly with clients who aim to break down barriers for people to participate fully in their communities. She strongly believes in the importance of engaging individuals, especially youth, in meaningful activities and understands the urgency of (re)engaging HPEDSB students with learning as we emerge out of the pandemic.
Amanda has chaired Queen Victoria School (QVS) Council for four years and has participated on various subcommittees of HPEDSB’s Parent Involvement Committee, including the Parents Reaching Out Grant Committee, and the 1st Annual Parent Symposium. She has also worked as an occasional emergency supply teacher at QVS, providing classroom support and delivering curriculum to students in kindergarten to grade 6. Amanda has been on the John Howard Society of Belleville’s Board of Directors for 6 years and is currently the Treasurer of the board. As the treasurer of a sizeable non-profit, she is no stranger to overseeing limited and ever-changing program funding. She also coaches in the Belleville Boys Spirits Basketball player development program.
Amanda and her family moved to Belleville six years ago. Prior to that, she grew up on a dairy farm outside of Stratford, met her husband while completing her BA in Psychology at the University of Guelph, and lived in both Toronto and Hamilton during their post grad training. She is a 4H Ontario Alum and was part of the Ontario Fair Ambassador Program.
How will Amanda help strengthen publicly funded education in HPEDSB?
Ontario School Trustees
- Prioritize student achievement and wellbeing
- Ensure evidence-based policy and decision-making
- Advocate for robust funding of public schools
- Ensure schools, board policies and programs are accessible for all students
- Support extracurricular programming
Issues and views
Unlike almost every other candidate in the 2022 municipal school trustee election, Amanda put a lot of thought, time and effort into publicly providing voters with her priorities and programs she would like to start or expand as trustee:
Socially-Charged Issues
As a parent of 3 elementary school-aged children, I can appreciate how scary it is sending them off into the world without you. However, I strongly believe in the value of children learning from and alongside others who share different worldviews and perspectives.
I offer reassurance to those who may be fearful of exposing their children to ideas/perspectives they don’t share, that although it may not always feel like it, families are (and will always be) the biggest influence on the values, beliefs, and understanding of the world for our children. Discussing perspectives that don’t align with our values/beliefs allow us more opportunity to share with our kids why we have the beliefs we do.
For those who don’t know me, I am left leaning and consider myself progressive. I do NOT believe abortion, homosexuality, gender identity, climate change, or contraception should be considered “controversial” topics. Rather, I believe including them within public education helps make safer, stronger, and more tolerant communities. I believe that children of all ages MUST learn about the atrocities of residential schools, and the challenges Indigenous people continue to face in Canada. I believe there is a role for schools and school boards to promote harm reduction strategies when it comes to substance use and addictions and to reduce the stigma associated with both.
Blog
Extracurriculars
As a trustee, I would advocate for bolstered extracurricular programming paired with more support for the individuals running school-based extracurriculars. Organizing, supervising, & facilitating school-based extracurriculars, takes a major investment in time and personal resources. If we could lighten the load for our school staff, it would make providing these opportunities more doable for them. I would also work with community organizations offering extracurriculars, and agencies offering financial assistance to families to explore how we can best support and facilitate HPEDSB students’ participation in those.
Blog
- 5 Priorities for Public Education
- Dog Therapy Reading Programs
- International Student Programs
- Food Insecurity
- Community Partnerships
- Playgrounds
- Connecting with Youth at risk
- Busing
- Bullying
Personal life
Robertson is married to Andrew, a family doctor in Belleville and has 3 children who attend public school.
Growing up, I played competitive softball & basketball, I did step-dancing, participated in our local youth choir, took singing lessons, & showed cows in 4H. In high school, I was a Queen of the Furrow, Fair Ambassador & was valedictorian of my graduating class. I attended The University of Guelph where I did a BA in Psychology, met my husband, played on their softball team, & worked a bunch of jobs including serving, administrating, reasearch/lab tech, retail, & helped out at the farm when I was home. I then attended the University of Toronto to do my Masters in Occupational Therapy. While in Toronto, I performed in 2 med school musicals, got married, & had our eldest son. From there, we moved to Hamilton for my husband’s residency, & I had my daughter & began coaching youth basketball.
In 2016, we moved to Belleville, bought our first home and I joined the John Howard Society’s Board of Directors and the BTG, & acted in their production of Little Shop of Horrors. I completed a certificate in professional communication and started my freelance writing business. In 2017, my oldest started school & I joined school council. I had my youngest in 2018 & got more involved with HPEDSB through PIC. Last year, I started coaching youth basketball again. In my spare time, I like to explore Quinte region, listen to COOL 100.1, drink drip coffee, watch HGTV, & blog.
Amanda Robertson’s website
Support
Contact
- NDP website
- NDP email, Email
- Campaign office: 200 Front St N, Belleville
- Campaign Instagram
- X
- Past accounts
Over to you
What do you think of Amanda Robertson as a candidate for Bay of Quinte?
