Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis struck an upbeat tone during his speech at the 2026 New Year’s Levee at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre.
During the annual celebration, he took the time to reflect on the achievements of 2025. Chief among them was the success of the doctor recruitment program. During 2025, Belleville was able to recruit a record-breaking 14 new family doctors to practise in the area.
“In 2024 we signed 11 doctors. We thought this was a record that would stand for years, but in 2025 we didn’t match that record. We shattered it,” said Mayor Ellis. “These aren’t just numbers on a page. These are 1000s of residents who can finally stop worrying about where to turn when a loved one falls sick.”
Mayor Ellis also announced that coming up this year, the city would be launching a family physician appreciation fund, in an effort to show local doctors how much they are appreciated and retain them rather than see them move to other communities.
Despite the city’s progress in attracting and keeping doctors, Mayor Ellis said that healthcare is not a municipal responsibility, but that action is needed to ensure thousands of residents are not left without primary healthcare.
The mayor also touched on a number of other achievements in building up Belleville, such as progress on a new west-end sewage pump station to enable more home building, bridge repair projects, sidewalk extensions, and funding community resources such as The Bridge.
The mayor ended his speech on an optimistic note regarding the coming year.
“We look towards a new horizon for 2026. I do not see a year of uncertainty. I see a year of empowerment. I see a year where we continue to treat each other with mutual respect,” said Mayor Ellis.
The speech was followed by mingling among guests and skating at one of the Wellness Centre’s ice surfaces.
