Bay of Quinte

Bay of Quinte is a federal electoral district in southeastern Ontario that stretches along the north shore of Lake Ontario from Prince Edward County through southern Belleville to parts of Northumberland County. The riding takes in the city of Belleville, the municipality of Quinte West including the community of Trenton, Canadian Forces Base Trenton -- one of Canada's busiest military airfields -- and the rural communities and wine country of Prince Edward County. Under the 2022 redistribution, the riding's boundaries shifted, with portions of northern Belleville reassigned to the neighbouring riding of Hastings--Lennox and Addington--Tyendinaga. The seat was won by Conservative Ryan Williams in 2021 and flipped to the Liberals in 2025.

Candidates

Chris Malette (Liberal) unseated the Conservative incumbent to win the riding. A retired journalist with 36 years at the Belleville Intelligencer, where he served as reporter, editor, columnist, and photographer, Malette later managed a group of Metroland Media community newspapers across the Quinte region. He entered municipal politics as a Belleville city councillor, serving for six years as chair of several committees including the Green Task Force, and sat on the Quinte Conservation Authority board as past chair and current vice chair.

Ryan Williams (Conservative) was the incumbent, first elected in 2021. A graduate of the University of Guelph with a commerce degree, Williams spent his early career working on cruise ships and managing hotels before becoming president of Williams Hotels and a Belleville city councillor. He served on several parliamentary committees, including Health, International Trade, and Science and Research, and championed a private member's bill on open banking.

Kate Crothers (NDP) is a small-business owner from Picton who founded Crothers and Co., an interiors, garden, and floral studio. A mother of four who grew up in Campbellford, she studied history with a focus on Indigenous studies at Trent University and ran on a platform emphasizing affordable housing and childcare.

Erica Charlton (Green Party) is a school board trustee with the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board and an operations coordinator for a local retail business. A resident of Corbyville near Belleville, she previously ran as a Green candidate in the 2021 federal and 2022 provincial elections and focused on poverty reduction and housing affordability.

About the Riding

Bay of Quinte's identity is shaped by its military presence, its agricultural base, and the cultural economy of Prince Edward County. CFB Trenton is the hub of the Royal Canadian Air Force's air mobility operations and a major local employer, lending defence and veterans' affairs policy particular weight in the riding. Prince Edward County, meanwhile, has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past two decades, evolving from a quiet agricultural community into a nationally recognized destination for wine, artisanal food, and tourism.

Belleville and Quinte West form the riding's commercial core, supporting retail, services, and some light manufacturing. The Bay of Quinte itself -- a long, sheltered inlet of Lake Ontario -- supports recreational boating and fishing that contribute to the tourism economy.

In the 2025 campaign, affordability and cost of living were dominant issues, reflecting the economic pressures felt across small-city Ontario. Housing costs in the Belleville-Quinte West corridor rose sharply in recent years, while Prince Edward County's tourism-driven property market made homeownership increasingly difficult for local residents. Health-care access, including physician shortages and hospital capacity, was a persistent concern. The race was closely watched as a bellwether for the Liberals' ability to reclaim seats in eastern Ontario.