The Honourable Vic Fedeli ECO MPP
Fedeli in 2014
Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
Incumbent
Assumed office June 20, 2019
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Todd Smith
Chair of Cabinet
Incumbent
Assumed office June 29, 2018
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Helena Jaczek
Ontario Minister of Finance
In office June 29, 2018 – June 20, 2019
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Charles Sousa
Succeeded by	Rod Phillips
Leader of the Official Opposition
In office January 26, 2018 – June 29, 2018
Preceded by	Patrick Brown
Succeeded by	Andrea Horwath
Interim Leader of theProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario
In office January 26, 2018 – March 10, 2018
Preceded by	Patrick Brown
Succeeded by	Doug Ford
Member of theOntario Provincial Parliament forNipissing
Incumbent
Assumed office October 6, 2011
Preceded by	Monique Smith
43rdMayor of North Bay
In office December 1, 2003 – November 30, 2010
Deputy	Peter Chirico
Preceded by	Jack Burrows
Succeeded by	Al McDonald
Personal details
Born	Victor Anthony Fedeli (1956-08-08)August 8, 1956 (age 69) North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Patty Kelly
Residence(s)	Corbeil, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Businessman politician

Victor Anthony FedeliECO MPP (born August 8, 1956) is a Canadian politician who has been the Ontariominister of economic development, job creation and trade since 2019 andchair of Cabinet since 2018. He is themember of Provincial Parliament (MPP) forNipissing, and has held his seat for theProgressive Conservative (PC) Party since 2011. Fedeli has previously served as the province'sminister of finance,leader of the Official Opposition, and interim leader of the PC Party. He was mayor of North Bay from 2003 to 2010. He stood as a candidate in the2015 Ontario PC leadership race, but ultimately withdrew and endorsedChristine Elliott.

Prior to his entry into politics, Fedeli founded the advertising company Fedeli Advertising in his hometown ofNorth Bay. He was on thepolice services board, and in the localchamber of commerce.

Fedeli was born and raised in North Bay, to Lena (née Fava) Fedeli and Albino Rodolfo “Hub" Fedeli.^[1] He is of Italian ancestry. He studied visual communications atConestoga College and business atNipissing University.^{[citation needed]}

Fedeli and his wife Patty (née Kelly) reside inCorbeil, Ontario.^[2] They have no children.^[3]

In 1978, Fedeli returned to North Bay and opened Fedeli Advertising, which, in 1989, theProfit ranked his firm as one of 50 best places to work in Canada. Fedeli was also recognized as one of Canada's Most successful entrepreneurs in an episode ofMoneyMakers. Fedeli Advertising was sold in 1992.^[2]

Fedeli served ten terms on the board of the North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce, including as president in 1986. He has also served on the area's police board, health board, and conservation authority.^{[citation needed]}

Fedeli was recognized for his work in North Bay with the non-profit Air Base Corporation (ABPC), where he served as chairman from inception until 2002.^[4] His time there included a lawsuit against the federal government which resulted in a $3 million award to ABPC. Fedeli was named North Bay's Citizen of the Year in 1999.^[5]

Fedeli received theRotary International Paul Harris Fellowship in 1999, theQueen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, and theQueen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.^[6] He was appointed honorarylieutenant colonel ofThe Algonquin Regiment in 2010, and honorarycolonel in 2013.^{[citation needed]} Internationally, Fedeli served as a director with Global Vision.^{[citation needed]}

Fedeli served as chair of several local fundraising campaigns and has provided nearly $2 million in area donations. His donations toCanadore College include $250,000 to fund the Vittorio Fedeli Business Centre (named after Fedeli's grandfather), $100,000 to construct a lecture hall named after his father, and $100,000 for the Centre for All Media.^[2] Subsequently, Canadore College enlisted him to serve as chair of their campaign to fund a School of Aviation.^{[citation needed]}

He funded the Critical Care Unit at the North Bay Regional Health Center with a $150,000 donation,^[2] and funded the Family Center at the Nipissing Serenity Hospice with a further $150,000 donation.^[7] Area libraries and other educational facilities also feature Fedeli rooms.^{[citation needed]}

As mayor of North Bay, Fedeli chose to donate his annual salary to various charities.^[8] He provided the media with an auditor's statement each year, outlining the $350,000 in donations.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Fedeli ran for mayor of North Bay, and was elected with 75% of the vote.^[9] In office, he focused on fiscal prudence that led him into frequent conflict withLiberal MPPMonique Smith. Fedeli and Smith sparred over the level of funding the city received from theProvince of Ontario, specifically its share of the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund.^[10]

To raise revenues and increase residential development in the city, Fedeli undertook the sale of surplus publicly owned lands. This led to 115 parcels of property being sold, bringing in about $8 million, and greater housing construction, including the gentrification of many areas of the city.^[11]

In the 2006 mayoral election, Fedeli was challenged by Stan Lawlor. Despite Lawlor's high profile as a former mayor and candidate for the Liberal Party of Ontario, Fedeli was re-elected with more than two-thirds of the vote.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, Fedeli successfully launched an effort to win an exemption for Canadian businesses from theBuy American provision of theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.^[12] He championed a mayor-to-mayor campaign, calling U.S. mayors of cities exporting to his hometown.^{[citation needed]}

Fedeli's time as mayor was also marked by investments in social housing, the only municipality to do so, and the development of a methane-powered generation facility at the municipal landfill, also unique among communities the size of North Bay.^[13] Total building starts hit a record of $92 million in 2009, compared with a 10-year average of $35 million before Fedeli was mayor. Before the end of Fedeli's term, the city's credit rating withMoody had jumped five levels to AA1, their highest possible rating.^[14]

On February 1, 2010, Fedeli announced he would not seek a third term as mayor in the October municipal election, keeping his promise from his first campaign in 2003 that he would only serve two terms. Fedeli stated "his work was done; his Council had restored hope and restored solvency."^[15]

On January 13, 2011, Fedeli announced his candidacy to be the Progressive Conservative candidate in the2011 provincial election. The only other candidate at the time was Bill Vrebosch, mayor ofEast Ferris, who had run against then-MPP Monique Smith in the2007 Ontario election. Vrebosch dropped out of the race soon after, citing family health concerns, and Fedeli was acclaimed the PC candidate on February 26, 2010.^[16] He won the seat on election day over Liberal candidate Catherine Whiting, New Democratic candidate Henri Giroux and Green Party candidate Scott Haig with more than half the valid votes cast.^[17] Fedeli was re-elected in the2014 election, in the2018 election,^[18] in the 2022 election, and again in the 2025 election.

Following the 2011 election, PC LeaderTim Hudak named Fedeli as Energy critic and the Northern Development and Mines critic.^[19] However, afterFrank Klees abandoned his bid for Speaker, Hudak assigned him the Transportation critic portfolio, which was previously the responsibility ofNorm Miller. Miller was then appointed critic for Northern Development and Mines.^[20] On September 10, 2013, it was announced that Fedeli would be replacingPeter Shurman as PC Finance critic.^[21]

Fedeli's coverage of the energy portfolio coincided with growing opposition in rural Ontario to the governing Liberals'Green Energy Act, and the controversy over the Liberal's cancellation of gas-fired electricity generating stations in Oakville and Mississauga. Fedeli was named PC lead on the Standing Committee on Justice Policy, investigating the circumstances surrounding the gas plant cancellations. On June 6, 2013, Fedeli and fellow Progressive ConservativeRob Leone wrote toOntario Provincial Police CommissionerChris Lewis asking him to order an investigation into "theft of taxpayer property and breach of public trust" in relation to the deletion and removal of emails from government computers.^[22] The scandal contributed to the resignation of PremierDalton McGuinty and Energy MinisterChris Bentley. It also led to the arrest and conviction of David Livingston, McGuinty's chief of staff.^[23]

On March 23, 2012, the province announced it would be selling theOntario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).^[24] The ONTC is headquartered in North Bay, and several hundred workers employed within Nipissing would have been directly impacted by the move. The divestiture announcement was largely unanticipated as then-Liberal leaderDalton McGuinty had signed a pledge in 2002 to not privatize the corporation.^[25]

In April, Fedeli revealed that the ONTC pension plan was underfunded by $150 million^[26] and challenged Northern Development and Mines MinisterRick Bartolucci to clarify the status of ONTC retirees' pensions and benefits.^[27]

One of the charges levelled at the government over their handling of the ONTC file was that there had been a lack of consultation.^[28] In an effort to draw a contrast with this, Fedeli and his caucus colleague Norm Miller undertook a tour of northern communities to meet with various stakeholders in June 2012.^[29] The same month, Fedeli claimed the government would realize 'no savings' with the divestiture of the ONTC.^[30]

With the election ofKathleen Wynne as Liberal leader and premier, a new cabinet was sworn in on February 11, 2013.Michael Gravelle took over the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines file and soon announced there would be no dramatic change in direction for the ONTC.^[31] On March 6, 2013, at Fedeli's request the Standing Committee on Public Accounts asked the auditor general to investigate the divestiture of the ONTC.^[32] On May 1, Fedeli claimed he had numbers showing the ONTC divestment would cost the government $530 million more than earlier estimates.^[33] Soon thereafter, Gravelle disclosed to a meeting of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities inParry Sound that "[w]e need to be open to options other than divestment", a shift in direction that he attributed to feedback he had received since taking over the northern development and mines portfolio.^[34]

On September 18, 2013, the Standing Committee on Estimates approved a motion brought forward by Fedeli ordering the release ofMinistry of Finance Documents relating to the ONTC in the months prior to the 2011 election.^[35]

FollowingPatrick Brown's ouster as PC leader and leader of the official opposition, Fedeli assumed these positions on an interim basis.^{[citation needed]}

On June 29, 2018, Fedeli was sworn in asfinance minister under newly the elected premier,Doug Ford.^[36] He was also appointed chair of Cabinet.^[36][37]

After less than a year in the finance portfolio, Fedeli shuffled into theeconomic development, job creation and trade portfolio on June 20, 2019. The PCs had been slipping in the polls, partly due to spending cuts in Fedeli's April 2019 budget.^[38]

• Member, Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
• PC lead, Standing Committee on Justice
• Critic, energy (October 26, 2011 – September 30, 2013)
• Critic, finance (September 10, 2013 – January 30, 2018)
• Leader of the Opposition in Ontario (January 26, 2018 – June 29, 2018)
• Minister of finance and chair of Cabinet (June 29, 2018 – June 20, 2019)
• Minister of economic development and chair of Cabinet (June 20, 2019 – present)

• Official website
• Campaign website
• Victor Fedeli – Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archive)

• 1956 births
• Canadian people of Italian descent
• Conestoga College alumni
• Ministers of finance of Ontario
• Living people
• Mayors of North Bay, Ontario
• Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
• Nipissing University alumni
• Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
• Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
• 21st-century mayors of places in Ontario
• 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

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