Jessica Bell is a Canadian politician who is the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for University—Rosedale. Bell was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

in 2018 as a member of the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

(NDP). She is currently the Official Opposition critic for

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

and Treasury Board.

Advocacy

Bell was a community organizer and was involved with advocacy groups across North America. She was a member of the

Rainforest Action Network Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, and first gained national prominence with a gra ...

, where in 2004, she and a group of nine demonstrators were arrested after climbing a crane in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and displaying a banner against

old-growth An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

logging. Her trespassing charge was later withdrawn. Bell has also been arrested as part of a protest over mercury contamination in the Grassy Narrows First Nation. Bell founded TTCriders, an advocacy group campaigning for improving the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

(TTC). She was the group's first executive director. Bell has also been the director of the California Food and Justice Coalition, and was a lecturer at

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

Political career

Bell was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. Bell was named the Opposition critic for transit. Bell introduced a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

, 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 The 2022 Ontario general election was held on June 2, 2022, to elect Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada), Members of the Provincial Parliament to serve in the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. The governing Progressive Conservative Party of Ont ...

. 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. In 2021, she became the Opposition critic for housing issues. Bell has criticized the Progressive Conservative government for ordering the demolition of bike lanes in Toronto and removing legal protections for injured cyclists. Bell was re-elected in the 2022 provincial election, remaining as Opposition housing critic. She was re-elected in the 2025 provincial election, later becoming the Opposition critic for finance and Treasury Board.

Personal life

Bell is an American-Canadian and is a citizen of both countries. She voted for

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

in the

2024 United States Presidential Election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

Electoral record

References

21st-century Canadian women politicians Australian emigrants to Canada Living people Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs Politicians from Melbourne Politicians from Toronto Women MPPs in Ontario Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario {{Ontario-MPP-stub