Five years after Rebecca Schillemat moved back to Peterborough with her husband and city native Patrick to raise their two daughters, she’s arrived at an inescapable conclusion that now anchors her ambition to be elected city mayor come this October.
On Friday (May 1) at Peterborough City Hall, the first-time candidate launched her bid for the city’s top elected seat official by filing her nomination papers with the city clerk’s office. In doing so, she entered the mayor race alongside Traill College principal Dr. Michael Eamon and longtime city councillor Keith Riel, who both also filed Friday.
For Schillemat, much has transpired in Peterborough over the past five years, and not all of it for the better. That includes the continued lack of affordable housing, increasing homelessness, aging city infrastructure, and the loss of local jobs as businesses such as Siemens and Lufthansa InTouch have decided to pull up stakes and leave the city.
‘I’m ready to jump in with both feet’
“It’s not quite the city we remember,” Schillemat said during a recent chat with kawarthaNOW.
“I want to make this a city that has a future for my children and for future generations. The mayor has an outlook on the whole city and long-term planning. I think that’s something that has been missing.”
The former executive officer of the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Home Builders’ Association (PKHBA), Schillemat said she is seeking the job of mayor “to help my kids, and their kids, and future generations be in this thriving community.”
“I’m ready to jump in with both feet,” said Schillemat. “I’m putting my career aspirations on pause to focus on this because I think this will have a better impact in the long run for my kids and the community.”
Not unlike many, Schillemat has watched, with some dismay, the performance of the current city council. She says “more collaboration, communication, and respect needs to be brought back to the council chamber.”
“Anyone who runs for a council seat is doing so to help our community, so finding out where that aligns so we can have progress instead of disagreements would be wonderful.”
Affordable housing and economic development among top priorities
As PKHBA executive officer from 2021 to 2025 and co-founder of a local housing continuum group endeavouring to see social housing organizations and private sector developers work together, Schillemat is unsurprisingly targeting development and the provision of affordable housing as her priorities.
“Things are all connected,” said Schillemat.
“I know home building the most. There are a lot of strides that can be taken in home building that support long-term sustainability and different housing types for different people, and active transportation. If one person is on council is passionate about something and another is passionate about something else, let’s figure out where the overlap is so we can together the best plan for the community as a whole.”
A graduate of Trent University in 2010, where she attained a Bachelor of Arts degree, Schillemat has held roles that she says have positioned her well for this moment.
Along with her four years with the PKHBA, her experience includes teaching at Fleming College and serving as the marketing and communications director with a local real estate association. At present, she is a principal with Hardpoint Consulting Services, an IT, risk management, and security solutions business founded by her and her husband Patrick in 2022.
However, it was Schillemat’s time with the PKHBA where she has had the most influence on the community. Under her leadership, the association engaged in advocacy around municipal building codes, permitting, sustainable home building, and the housing supply and affordability challenges at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. That work led to the PKHBA being named the Local Association of the Year by the Ontario Home Builders’ Association.
In addition, Schillemat played a key role in the PKHBA’s launching of its Women in Trades mentorship and ambassador programs aimed at encouraging women and female-identifying individuals to enter, and stay, in the skilled trades.
Just this past March, she completed terms as a board member with the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce and the Peterborough Folk Festival and has, with husband Patrick, remained active with Wounded Warriors Canada, a national organization supporting first responders.
“In both roles, I heard what business owners have been struggling with in terms of the skills gap and their frustrations with expansion,” say Schillemat of her time with PKHBA and the Chamber, adding she “looks forward to having more conversations with business owners about what they’re facing.”
“Both organizations are fairly involved with the other levels of government and trying to get people to work together to get stuff moved forward. That comes out the most with housing. Housing is not any one level of government’s responsibility — each level has a different piece. Knowing how to connect with the right people and figuring out what grant fits the project we’re doing is important.”
Helping people experiencing homelesness realize their worth and leveraging cultural tourism
Speaking to homelessness, Schillemat said “there’s a million reasons why someone would be in that situation,” adding “We need to look at the individual and see what the individual needs.”
“Peterborough has a Housing First policy but it’s not really happening. Everyone needs a safe place they can call home, but they also need purpose — something to do. One City used to have a really great outreach program where people would pick up garbage, do some gardening, shovel downtown sidewalks in the winter. It would be great to have that program back so we have opportunities for people experiencing homelessness to realize their worth.”
Schillemat also has views on Peterborough as a tourism destination and the threatened erosion of what has historically been a vibrant “cultural scene.”
“We have so much opportunity — we having amazing venues,” she said. “Arts and culture tourism brings in 10 times more money in economic impact than sports tourism. We have a really great base here for sports tourism, but it would nice to have a bit more balance.”
As for broader economic development, Schillemat said having that in-house at the municipal level is a good thing in terms of closer collaboration with city departments and other organizations. In short, she feels the city’s economic development efforts will bear more fruit with time.
Pressing issues aside, Schillemat said, speaking from experience, she knows full well the value of immersing one’s self in the community, as a newcomer or as a longtime resident.
“We really need to promote those opportunities are here,” she said.
Leading council with open communication and respect
Before committing to her election run for mayor, Schillemat consulted with a number of people, including some past city councillors. The result, she says, has been a level of support she admits she wasn’t wholly expecting.
“It’s hard to prepare for a job like this,” she said of the mayor’s position. “Even if you think you know what to expect, something will come up that’s very unexpected. I’ve got my core plan and my core values, but things will need to change as things come up. I prefer to plan, but I know reacting is going to be a big part of the job.”
Asked if she’s ready for inevitable barbs and criticisms that will come her way as mayor, Schillemat said that, as she watched more closely how politicians carry themselves and say, she experienced a perspective shift.
“It’s like ‘Oh, I understand now why they answered that way.’ There’s always going to be something I don’t know. I have a pretty good idea — I’ve on the planning advisory committee for the city since 2022, so I see a little bit, but there’s always something I don’t know. A lot of reactions people have (to politicians), it’s not like they’re reacting to the individual; it’s more of a reaction to a situation. Realizing that, I see giving myself some distance to process how much of this is serious that I need to address and how much of this is someone’s reaction to something, or perception.”
Still, for all her views on city priorities and on what areas she feels require a new focus, Schillemat said any success will come back to the dynamic of council as a group.
“I had a business leadership coach and I remember talking to her about how sometimes things are difficult on this board, but on the other board things seem to work really well,” recalls Schillemat. “Every board is different with different personalities, but there’s always overlap; there’s always alignment.”
“Having open communication and respect makes a big difference. A good board meeting is when everyone at the table has the opportunity to speak and be heard, so bringing that back to the council chamber is important. Let’s look for the hope. Let’s look for the wins and what we can do together.”
Schillemat is inviting the community to attend the public launch of her mayoral campaign from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on Monday (May 4) at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough.
