Donna Skelly

Skelly felt compelled to enter provincial politics because of the mess the previous Liberal government made of the hydro file. She could no longer sit on the sidelines and watch soaring costs and deepening debt chase away businesses and jobs.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Skelly launched a website called Relief Within Reach to connect local small businesses with available provincial and federal support programs. The initiative was praised by members of Hamilton City Council.[1]

In March 2023, Skelly announced that Carmeuse Lime Limited would not proceed with its application to burn Alternative Low-Carbon Fuels at its Dundas operations. Skelly had been meeting regularly with the company and listening to the concerns of the community regarding the project.

Skelly was re-elected by a wide margin in the 2022 Ontario general election.[2]

Skelly has been a member of several committees throughout her time in office. Most recently, Skelly was appointed Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee of Public Accounts (2022-Present). Skelly has also served on the Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight (2021-2022), the Standing Committee on Justice Policy (2021-2022), the Standing Committee on Estimates (2020-2021), the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly (2019-2021), and the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (2018-2020).

In 2023, Skelly was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) represents Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from over 180 national, state, provincial and territorial Parliaments and Legislatures across the Commonwealth through its network. Its mission is to promote the advancement of parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance, youth engagement in democracy, gender equality and equal representation. 

In 2016, Skelly won a by-election to represent Ward 7 on Hamilton City Council. During her time as a councillor Skelly developed a reputation for battling wasteful spending at city hall.

Skelly entered politics after a successful 30-year career in broadcast journalism. She produced and hosted Square Off, a widely acclaimed, current affairs program at CHCH Television. Skelly anchored daily regional newscasts and reported on local, provincial, and national news events. She held leadership roles as President of the local union employee bargaining unit. She also stepped up to advocate before the CRTC and parliamentary committees for the value in supporting local news. Skelly began her broadcast journalism career at CHIP-FM Radio in Fort Coulonge, Quebec. She then moved on to CHRO-TV in Pembroke, Ontario where she anchored the local newscasts. Skelly spent many hours reporting on the activities at the Canadian military base in Petawawa, which later prepared her for an assignment covering the Canadian troops stationed at Doha, Qatar during the first Gulf War.