Donna Skelly MPP
Skelly in 2019
Parliamentary Assistant to the Attorney General
In office October 21, 2021 – June 1, 2022
Minister	Doug Downey
Preceded by	Lindsey Park
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
In office June 29, 2018 – October 21, 2021
Minister	Vic Fedeli
Succeeded by	Jeff Yurek
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Flamborough—Glanbrook
Incumbent
Assumed office June 7, 2018
Preceded by	Riding established
Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Incumbent
Assumed office August 23, 2022
Hamilton City Councillor
In office March 22, 2016 – June 7, 2018
Preceded by	Scott Duvall
Succeeded by	Esther Pauls
Personal details
Born	(1961-10-23) October 23, 1961 (age 62) Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Children	2
Residence(s)	Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Politician journalist

Donna Skelly is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. Skelly, who is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, represents the riding of Flamborough—Glanbrook.

She currently serves as the Deputy-Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Chair of the Committee of the Whole House, and Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. In 2023, Donna was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Skelly previously served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Attorney-General and when first elected in 2018, she served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Prior to being elected as a member of provincial parliament, Skelly represented the residents of Ward 7 on Hamilton City Council.

Donna entered politics following a 30-year career in broadcasting. Donna co-hosted and produced the popular daily current events program Square Off, anchored local and regional television newscasts, and reported on regional and international news events at television and radio stations across Ontario and Quebec.

Provincial politics

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 was re-elected 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. 

Municipal politics

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.

Media career

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.

Election results