# Jessica Bell (politician)

Jessica Bell is a Canadian politician who has represented University—Rosedale in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2018, as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP).
Bell is the Opposition Housing Critic in the legislature. Prior to being elected, she was the founding executive director of TTCriders, an advocacy group campaigning for improvements to the Toronto Transit Commission.
Bell has also been a lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University, and director of the California Food & Justice Coalition.
She has a long history of community organizing and grassroots activism. Bell has been arrested twice at peaceful demonstrations, including at a 2004 environmental demonstration in Seattle. At the time of her arrest, her legal name was “Jessica Bell Markham”.

## Politics

In 2018, Bell was named the Ontario NDP's critic for transit. The same year, she introduced a private member's bill, Bill 62, Protecting Vulnerable Road Users Act. The bill proposed increased penalties for vehicle drivers who injure or kill pedestrians, cyclists, or first responders. Bill 62 was not voted on by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario before it was dissolved for the 2022 Ontario general election. Bell proposed two further related bills in 2019 and 2020; one which required the reporting of dooring accidents and another which would have established a Vision Zero strategy in Ontario, respectively. Neither bill was considered by the Legislature.
Bell was reelected in the 2022 Ontario general election. After the election her critic portfolio changed to housing.
In 2024, Bell criticized the Progressive Conservative government for ordering the demolition of bike lanes in Toronto and removing legal protections for injured cyclists.
Bell is a dual U.S./Canadian citizen and publicly announced that she had voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 US Presidential Election.

## Electoral record

vte2025 Ontario general election: University—Rosedale :
| The 2025 general election will be held on February 27. |||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Jessica Bell | | | |
| | Liberal | Pam Jeffery | | | |
| | Green | Ignacio Mongrell | | | |
| | Progressive Conservative | Sydney Pothakos | | | |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | |
vte2022 Ontario general election: University—Rosedale :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Jessica Bell | 13,961 | 37.55 | −12.11 | $96,148 |
| | Liberal | Andrea Barrack | 10,172 | 27.36 | +5.30 | $120,103 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Carl Qiu | 6,535 | 17.58 | −3.53 | $43,740 |
| | Green | Dianne Saxe | 5,904 | 15.88 | +10.51 | $118,893 |
| | New Blue | James Leventakis | 469 | 1.26 | | $47 |
| | Stop the New Sex-Ed Agenda | John Kanary | 140 | 0.38 | | $0 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 37,181 | 99.49 | +0.45 | $121,100 |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 189 | 0.51 | −0.45 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,370 | 43.20 | −13.43 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 86,192 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | −8.71 |
| Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023."Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. |||||||
2018 Ontario general election: University—Rosedale :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Jessica Bell | 24,537 | 49.66 | +25.39 |
| | Liberal | Jo-Ann Davis | 10,898 | 22.06 | -26.04 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Gillian Smith | 10,431 | 21.11 | +2.98 |
| | Green | Tim Grant | 2,652 | 5.37 | -1.69 |
| | New People's Choice | Daryl Christoff | 284 | 0.57 |
| | Independent | Doug MacLeod | 220 | 0.45 |
| | Libertarian | Ryan Swim | 206 | 0.42 |
| | Go Vegan | Paulo Figueiras | 106 | 0.21 |
| | Special Needs | Hilton Milan | 78 | 0.16 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 49,412 | 99.04 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 480 | 0.96 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,892 | 56.63 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 88,097 |
| | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||