The City of Belleville to Attend ROMA Conference

Mayor Neil Ellis and Councillors Lisa Anne Chatten, Barbara Enright-Miller, Sean Kelly, Chris Malette and Margaret Seu will join more than 1,600 participants from across the province at the 2025 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Conference. The conference is being held in downtown Toronto, from Jan. 19 to 21.

Key presenters include Ontario Premier Doug Ford, opposition leaders, and provincial ministers. Keynote speakers at this year’s event include political columnist Chantal Hébert who is passionate about Canadian politics, public policy, and matters of national interest, and Jordan Simmons, Co-founder and CEO of Nominee, discussing democracy and Canada’s path forward after the 2024 US election. ROMA Chair Christa Lowry and Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) President Robin Jones will also speak.

During the conference, the Belleville delegation will sit down with Deputy Premier and Minister of Health the Hon. Sylvia Jones to discuss important issues our community is facing.

Concurrent sessions will focus on topics that are top-of-mind in rural communities, like fostering healthy local democracy, cyber security, community benefit agreements for energy and broadband projects, and managing municipal waste.

Interviews with Mayor Ellis can be accommodated by contacting Jenna Leslie, Communications Coordinator, by phone at 613-967-3200 ext. 3261 or by email at jleslie@belleville.ca. All media attending the conference are required to register in the VIP Room on the Concourse Level at the Sheraton Centre.

About ROMA: ROMA takes pride in promoting, supporting and enhancing strong and effective rural governments. About 270 of Ontario’s 444 municipalities have populations of less than 10,000, while scores more are rural in character. The rural arm of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, ROMA advocates for policies and programs that will help build thriving rural Ontario communities. Follow the conference on LinkedIn and on X at @ROMA_Ont, hashtag: #ROMA2025.