Vic Fedeli is seeking a fifth term as the MPP for Nipissing.
"I'm enjoying what I'm doing and I think we're being successful," Fedeli shared with BayToday.
Fedeli is also the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade in Premier Doug Ford's Ontario Progressive Conservative government "My Ministry is responsible for economic development — the complete turnaround of the economy. When you think about it, it's like a $200 billion company that we're turning around from losing 300,000 manufacturing jobs to creating 860,000 jobs in Ontario. Who wouldn't want to keep that going?"
Not only does the sitting MPP and former two-term North Bay mayor have the blessing of his wife Patty to run again, but he says she's encouraging it. Fedeli turned 68 in August and says he is in good health and eager to serve his constituents for another term.
A local riding nomination meeting will be held the first week of November. The next provincial election, the 44th general election to be held in Ontario, is tentatively scheduled for June 4, 2026, unless the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is dissolved earlier by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario due to advice from the Premier of Ontario, a motion of no confidence or the failure of the Assembly to grant supply.
Rumours are flying already that Premier Ford has his eye on an earlier mandate from the voters.
Fedeli, an entrepreneur before entering politics, says his time in government has led to some of the most meaningful work in his life.
"We are doing remarkable things. Years from now, when we reflect on what we did, I think it will be viewed as quite remarkable that we took a sputtering economy — and that's just a fact, that's not a political statement — and we have created, as of right now. 860,000 jobs. When the Volkswagen plant is built and the $15 billion Honda facility is built, those will be tens upon tens of thousands of new jobs.
"I walked into the General Motors plant the day they opened there were 2,700, men and women that were there for their very first day of work. I choked up. They had lost their jobs in Oshawa. General Motors was gone from Oshawa and here we are. We created the climate to bring them back. They build the Silverado truck there, 900 men and women on three shifts each. Fifty per cent women, It choked me up to know that we did that, with GM, that was us. Now multiply that by huge factors as we watch the VW plant being built. When it's finished, it will be the fourth-largest building ever built on planet Earth. We did that."
When it comes to his work closer to home, Fedeli hails his team that keeps the constituency office humming while he is at Queen's Park.
"I've got three of the most spectacular women who run the shop," Fedeli says. "They do it all. Everybody who comes in gets taken care of, in a remarkable way. So, I can't and won't take any credit for what happens in the office. They do it all. They tease me that I only get in the way when I'm there on Fridays.
Fedeli is also proud of his Patch-For-Patch private members' bill from 2015 regarding the safe exchange of Fentanyl.
"That's a very significant piece of legislation. It's unusual for an opposition member to have a bill passed and made law. It was [local health care and drug strategy advocate] Pat Cliche who came to me and we made this legislation. We lobbied, all of the Liberal government and got that legislation passed and it's life-saving legislation that makes you have to take your used Fentanyl patch in to get a new one so that those used patches, which are still potent, aren't lying around somewhere."
Simply put, Fedeli says the people of Nipissing have benefitted from his position in the government.
"The businesses that we've helped, the families that we've helped, I think that's extremely, extremely significant. Having a cabinet minister here brought money into the community that helped the community get through Covid, and helped the community grow. Last year, $88 million brought home, the year before, more than $100 million. It's been in the $100 million range every year since I've been in office. Those are extra dollars that are above and beyond government salaries that are paid here and government investments. It's a big deal."
