Victor Anthony Fedeli (born August 8, 1956) is a Canadian politician who has been the Ontario minister of economic development, job creation and trade since 2019 and chair of Cabinet since 2018. He is the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Nipissing, and has held his seat for the Progressive Conservative (PC) party of Ontario since the 2011 provincial election. Fedeli has previously served as the province's minister of finance, Opposition leader, and interim PC party leader. He stood as a candidate in the 2015 Ontario PC leadership race, but ultimately withdrew and endorsed Christine Elliott.
Prior to his entry into politics, Fedeli founded the advertising company Fedeli Advertising in his hometown of North Bay. He was active in the local community, serving on the municipal police board, and in the local chamber of commerce. Fedeli was mayor of North Bay, Ontario from 2003 to 2010.
Background
Personal life
Fedeli was born and raised in North Bay, to Lena (née Fava) Fedeli and A.R. "Hub" Fedeli. He is of Italian ancestry. He studied visual communications at Conestoga College and business at Nipissing University.
Fedeli and his wife Patty (née Kelly) reside in Corbeil, Ontario.
Fedeli Corporation
In 1978, Fedeli returned to North Bay and opened Fedeli Advertising, which, in 1989, the Profit 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 of MoneyMakers. Fedeli Advertising was sold in 1992.
Community service
Local service
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.
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. 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.
Fedeli received the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship in 1999, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. He was appointed honorary lieutenant colonel of The Algonquin Regiment in 2010, and honorary colonel in 2013.
Internationally, Fedeli served as a director with Global Vision.
Philanthropy
Fedeli served as chair of several local fundraising campaigns and has provided nearly $2 million in area donations. His donations to Canadore 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. Subsequently, Canadore College enlisted him to serve as chair of their campaign to fund a School of Aviation.
He funded the Critical Care Unit at the North Bay Regional Health Center with a $150,000 donation, and funded the Family Center at the Nipissing Serenity Hospice with a further $150,000 donation. Area libraries and other educational facilities also feature Fedeli rooms.
As mayor of North Bay, Fedeli chose to donate his annual salary to various charities. He provided the media with an auditor's statement each year, outlining the $350,000 in donations.
Political career
Mayor of North Bay
In 2003, Fedeli ran for mayor of North Bay, and was elected with 75% of the vote. In office, he focused on fiscal prudence that led him into frequent conflict with Liberal MPP Monique Smith. Fedeli and Smith sparred over the level of funding the city received from the Province of Ontario, specifically its share of the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund.
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.
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.
In 2009, Fedeli successfully launched an effort to win an exemption for Canadian businesses from the Buy American provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. He championed a mayor-to-mayor campaign, calling U.S. mayors of cities exporting to his hometown.