Zack Card Quinte West City Councillor

05/04/2026

Big Announcement! 🗳️ ✅ (Please share to spread the word)

Today, I officially submitted my nomination papers for the office of Mayor of Quinte West. I enter this race with determination, enthusiasm, and a full heart, ready to tackle our challenges and realize our opportunities.

I ran for Quinte West council three and a half years ago to bring new ideas, passion and private sector experience to City Hall. I have learned so much and worked with folks from every corner of our city along the way. It has been a great honour serving as a city councillor and working to deliver positive change. But there is much more work to do.

Quinte West residents are struggling with an affordability crisis, a lack of family doctors, and struggling to manage road and infrastructure costs. I believe that now is the time for the next generation of leaders to step forward to address these issues head on. My campaign will be a positive one built on proven ideas and a strong vision for our future.

I believe we need a pragmatic leader with private sector experience who can champion our city, attract investment, communicate effectively with residents, build consensus and deliver results. I believe that I have proven that I can be that leader. I look forward to sharing my affordability agenda, and the rest of my platform, with you over the course of the campaign

Quinte West is a great city with wonderful businesses and organizations, an invaluable hospital and one of Canada’s most strategically important military bases, incredible natural beauty and a strong sense of community. Despite our challenges, I believe that today, more than ever, the best for Quinte West is yet to come.

(PS I appreciate all of the encouragement from friends and community members over the past weeks as I weighed this decision. Thank you to my wonderful wife Brenna and son Julian for going on this crazy journey with me. Please share the post to help me spread the word!)

12/19/2025

What's your "go to" store in downtown Trenton/Frankford during the Christmas season 🌲?

12/03/2025

Congratulations to Jessica Smylie on her new role leading our Physician Recruitment and Retention (PRR) program. She has a great vision for the program and has hit the ground running.

​This term, Council adopted key new PRR initiatives to make Quinte West more competitive with our neighbours. This is vital as we compete for limited health care staff like family doctors and nurse practitioners with other cities across the region and province.

​However, much more work remains. Recent in-depth data from the Hastings-Prince Edward Ontario Health Team reveals the urgent scope of the challenge:

-Almost ​7,000 residents (about 16% of our population) are currently unattached to a primary care physician.

-​Thousands more rely on physicians located outside the region.

-​This number risks rising as older physicians with large patient loads reach retirement age.

​Having 1 out of 6 people in our community without a family doctor isn't acceptable. We must continue to invest in this program, demand accountability from higher levels of government, work with our local and provincial partners, and seek bold solutions.

​

CITY OF QUINTE WEST ANNOUNCES NEW PHYSICIAN RECRUITMENT AND ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST

Today, the City of Quinte West announced the appointment of Jessica Smylie as its new Physician Recruiter and Engagement Specialist.

The Physician Recruiter and Engagement Specialist will focus on advocating for unattached residents and supporting their connection to a primary care physician.
Jessica will officially assume the Physician Recruiter and Engagement Specialist position on Dec. 1, 2025.

More info https://quintewest.ca/blog/quinte-west-announces-new-physician-recruiter-and-engagement-specialist/

06/01/2025

I'm always happy to show future medical students around our city. It's a great opportunity to show off what life is like here and how attractive it is to work, play or raise a family in Quinte West. Here's hoping they return when they are licensed physicians!

01/15/2025

The temporary free parking program has been made permanent: free parking in all city lots and up to 2 hours free on street parking in downtown Trenton and Frankford.

This is a great policy update that I was happy to advocate for and support, after input from DBIA members and residents.

Removing cost barriers are a great way to ensure convenient access for customers visiting our amazing local businesses and services.

ENJOY FREE DOWNTOWN PARKING IN TRENTON AND FRANKFORD 🚗

Visitors can now enjoy free two-hour on-street parking in downtown Trenton and Frankford, and unlimited free parking in municipal lots in Quinte West.

The City’s new parking program aims to help move short-stay, on-street traffic through the City’s downtown areas while providing in-lot parking options for those who plan to stay longer at businesses and restaurants.

Residents are encouraged to plan ahead and review the City’s parking map and information online.

For more information about parking in Quinte West, visit quintewest.ca/parking.

10/28/2024

Congratulations to all of the nominees and winners at last Friday's QBAA's & thank you to the three Chambers' of Commerce for another wonderful finish to small business week!

Quinte West had 7 winners:

✨Afiya Beauty, Young Sustainable Business
✨Brandon O'Quinn, Young Professional of the Year
✨Fearless Wellness Centre, Health and Wellness
✨GlobalMed Inc., Trailblazer
✨Hitchon's Centre, Regulated Professions
✨Kraft Village, Retail Business of the Year
✨Zone Athletics, Specialized Services

It was heartening to see so many growing businesses, industries represented & young entrepreneurs in attendance: the future of business is bright for our community.

✨2024 QBAA✨

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners of the 2024 Quinte Business Achievement Awards! Your hard work and dedication to your industry deserves to be recognized, and it was our honour to celebrate you tonight. Thank you for investing in our community and for continuously demonstrating that the Quinte region is a great place to live and work.

2024 Quinte Business Achievement Award Winners:

Retail Business of the Year: Kraft Village
Hospitality / Tourism Business of the Year: Meyer’s Creek Brewing Company
Regulated Professions Business of the Year: Hitchon’s Hearing Centre
Specialized Services Business of the Year: Zone Athletics
Trades/Construction Services Business of the Year: Luke Joseph Carpentry
Manufacturing Business of the Year: JBS Foods Ontario
Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Brandon O'Quinn
New Business of the Year: Base31
New Business of the Year: Mike and Lori's Garden
Not-for-Profit of the Year: The Alzheimer Society
Tech Sector Business of the Year: Rillea Technologies Inc.
Business Person of the Year: Tim McKinney
Agribusiness Business of the Year: Cheer Farms
Health and Wellness Business of the Year: Fearless Wellness Centre
Sustainability of the Year: Afiya Beauty
TrailBlazer of the Year: GlobalMed Inc. D.B.A. APTYX
Business Excellence: McDougall Insurance

Photo: Quinte Studios

06/08/2024

City Of Quinte West had a win on healthcare at Wednesday's council meeting. I was pleased to move a package of incentive proposals, which are aimed at lowering the estimated 4000 residents that lack primary care access.

It received unanimous support from council after previously gaining the support of the Physician Recruitment & Retention committee.

Two Key Takeaways:

- The creation of a nurse practitioner incentive program to recruit nurse practitioners to practice in Quinte West.

- Offering cash to existing doctors in the community who agree to take on extra patients from the 'Healthcare Connect' list (and keep them rostered for a minimum of 5 years).

It is no secret that many in our city lack a family doctor or nurse practitioner. It was a common topic at doorsteps in 2022 and a key goal of mine, and shared by many on council, to explore new ways of getting more care providers in QW this term. I requested a spot on the PRR committee to work on this issue, and I've learned how complex it is over the past 18 months.

As delivering healthcare is a provincial responsibility, municipalities lack the tools, finances, or mandate to address the underlying issue - a lack of physicians choosing to practice primary care medicine. In an effort to address this shortage, many cities have worked to attract more physicians and nurses to their communities with financial incentives.

Though not a complete solution, these two new programs will work, alongside our excellent team Docs By The Bay Physician Recruitment and Retention and our medical building, to help deliver much needed primary healthcare resources to our city's residents.

01/17/2024

I was happy to join Ty Zapletal for an episode of his fledging podcast "The Ty that Binds". He was a good sport and let me ramble on 😄 but when I wasn't filibustering, he was a thoughtful and engaging host.

We touch on everything from generative AI to holiday decoration aesthetics to the story of the effects of German brewer's yeast on the 19th century US beer landscape.

As brewery owners, my brother and I received so much support from the arts community. I owe the universe a debt of gratitude and will always try and support independent artists when asked to participate. Thanks for listening and check out his other episodes with Sean Scally and Buzz Collins too.

Listen to this episode from The Ty that Binds on Spotify. Hi friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Ty that Binds Podcast. Thank you for tuning in! This go-around, we have local politician and co-founder of Wild Card Brewing here: Zack! Zack and I discuss government, good government, th...

12/14/2023

I'm happy to see another successful family physician landed by Paula Mason & Docs By The Bay Physician Recruitment and Retention. Paula and her student ambassadors actively recruit from both North American and overseas undergrad and medical schools. Paula even scouts Canadian high-schoolers whom plan to follow a med school path.

She does a great job within a challenging system: Ontario has a chronic family physician shortage - especially in rural areas. This has left municipalities like Quinte West to fund recruitment staff and offer monetary incentives for the services of family doctors.

Though delivering/funding healthcare is not a municipal responsibility, the community's medical needs have lead us to be aggressive in our recruiting efforts: purchasing a medical building in 2022 to provide more space for docs, and providing a competitive cash incentive to compete with other rural municipalities, locally and across the province.

If you lack a family doctor, please sign up on the Health Care Connect list. It has a lengthy wait period but it is the only tool the province provides to those lacking a doctor to queue for one ⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://www.ontario.ca/page/find-family-doctor-or-nurse-practitioner

Docs by the Bay Physician Recruitment and Retention is pleased to announce that Dr. Maka Shoniwa has signed Medical Service Agreements with both the City of Quinte West and the Municipality of Brighton. Dr. Shoniwa will begin practicing family medicine in both communities starting in late 2024.Originally from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Dr. Shoniwa is currently completing her final year of residency in Syracuse, NY. She obtained her Medical Degree from St. George’s University in Grenada W.I. and also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Chemistry with a Minor in Classical Languages from Ave Maria University, in Ave Maria, FL and a Masters of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from SUNY Upstate Medical University, in Syracuse NY."Joining Docs by the Bay is an incredible opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the health and well-being of Quinte West and Brighton residents," said Dr. Shoniwa. "I am eager to work alongside this exceptional team and serve the community with personalized and comprehensive family medicine."In her free time, Dr. Shoniwa enjoys yoga, running, tennis and hiking. “We chose Quinte West because my partner and I were looking for a town we could call home and a clinic in which I could feel at home. Additionally, Presqu’ile Provincial Park is a plus,” she remarked.Dr. Shoniwa's recruitment marks the 17th family physician that Docs by the Bay have secured since its inception in late 2017, highlighting its ongoing commitment to addressing the healthcare needs of the region. “Special thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Evans and Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Kaladeen for their hospitality and assistance during the recruitment process,” commented Paula Mason, Manager of Recruitment and Retention for Docs by the Bay."We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Shoniwa to our family at Docs by the Bay," said Phil Wild, Committee Chair, "Her passion for family medicine and commitment to patient-centered care perfectly align with our values, and we're confident that her presence will significantly benefit our communities."More information about Dr. Shoniwa’s practice will be forthcoming later next year.