Executive Briefing with Minister Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade of Ontario

Minister Fedeli will speak on:

• Steps his government is taking for economic development post-COVID-19, and the deliberations of the Jobs and Recovery Committee;
• Particular support for and collaboration with the tech sector, including multinationals and SMEs; and
• Ways in which TECHNATION members can support the Ontario government through procurement processes, collaboration, and beyond.

The Minister will speak for fifteen minutes, and then will participate in a fireside chat, hosted by a senior TECHNATION leader, to engage further with his work.

Bio

Minister Vic Fedeli was born and raised in North Bay. His grandparents chose to come to Ontario from Italy with ambitions of a far better life and more opportunity for their young families.

In his 20s he opened Fedeli Advertising, the first ad agency north of Toronto. As a young entrepreneur, he developed the company into a global agency doing work all over the world, from their base in Northern Ontario. One of the proudest moments of his business career was when Fedeli Advertising was named 34th in the Top 50 Best Places to Work in Canada.

In 1992, Vic sold the firm and devoted the next 11 years to managing three non-profit ventures. He founded Air Base Property Corporation, a local development agency that took over the airside assets of CFB North Bay. Vic used his business experience to write the business plan that attracted Voyageur Airways, which now employs over 350 people involved in repair and overhaul of aircraft from around the world.

In 2003, Vic ran for mayor of North Bay and as a first-time candidate was elected with 75% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2006 in another landslide. As mayor, Vic transformed the city, restoring both hope and solvency. Moody’s Investors Service took notice, increasing the city’s credit rating five times to their highest possible rating – substantially reducing the city’s debt interest payments.

Internationally, Vic was one of only two North American mayors invited to the prestigious Government Leaders Forum hosted by Bill Gates and had the pleasure to discuss a municipality’s role in governing, with former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeline Albright.

He made news on both sides of the border when he successfully launched a grassroots campaign to reverse the U.S. ‘Buy American’ provision, earning special acknowledgment from then U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David Jacobson.

In 2011, after keeping his promise to step down as mayor after serving two terms, Vic was elected to serve the people of Nipissing at Queen’s Park. In 2014, Vic was re-elected as Nipissing MPP. He served as Energy and Finance Critic in the Official Opposition shadow cabinet.  He was re-elected in 2018 and was appointed as Ontario’s Finance Minister and Chair of Cabinet by Premier Doug Ford.  In 2019, he was named Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Event Details