Canada and Arkansas unite in Bentonville for trade mission

Vic Fedeli is a Canadian politician who has been Ontario’s minister of economic development, a cabinet position under Premier Doug Ford, since 2019.

But Arkansas is familiar to Fedeli, who has a penchant for wearing cowboy boots.

“I bought a pair of boots in Fort Smith,” Fedeli said during a recent telephone interview. “I wear cowboy boots to this day, and the pair I bought in the [United] States is from Fort Smith, Ark. They are one of my favorite pair.”

Fedeli will learn more about the region when he returns to the state this week. He’s one of several high-level government and business leaders from Ontario who will be in Bentonville leading a trade mission to Arkansas.

“Triple the Trade” will convene Monday morning (Aug. 14) at the Momentary in Bentonville. The two-day agenda includes multiple events that will welcome more than 100 attendees, a dozen speakers and representatives of more than 50 companies from Canada and the U.S.

A rundown of speakers, an agenda and registration information are available at this link.

Several groups have a hand in organizing the trip, including the World Trade Center Arkansas (WTCA) in Rogers and the University of Arkansas.

Organizers say the mission will provide a platform for businesses and industry leaders from Ontario and Arkansas to explore new opportunities for trade, investment and collaboration, engage in fruitful discussions, and forge strategic economic partnerships.

With a vibrant business community and strong economic presence, Fedeli said Northwest Arkansas presents an ideal opportunity for Canadian businesses to establish meaningful international partnerships. Businesses and entrepreneurs in Ontario can benefit from the region’s diverse industries, including retail, transportation, logistics and technology.

“The United States is the province of Ontario’s largest trading partner, and Arkansas is an important part of that,” Fedeli said. “Our goal is to triple the trade between Ontario and Northwest Arkansas by 2027.”

Fedeli is a lifelong entrepreneur, successful businessperson, author and philanthropist. His business experience led his firm Fedeli Corp., an advertising business, to be ranked 34th in the Top 50 Best Places to Work in Canada in 1989. It also served him well when he was elected for two terms as Mayor of North Bay, his hometown, from 2003 to 2010.

As Mayor, Fedeli focused on fiscal responsibility and economic development. In 2011, he was elected to the Ontario Legislature and is now serving his third term as MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament) for Nipissing, a district in northeastern Ontario.

Fedeli said Canada and Arkansas have a robust trading relationship worth approximately $2 billion annually.

“We import a little more than we export to you, so it’s about evenly split,” he said. He said the U.S.-Canada trading relationship is worth about $450 billion annually. Ontario, Canada’s most populous province that includes major cities Toronto (Ontario’s capital) and Ottawa (Canada’s capital), is a significant part of that.

“If Ontario were its own country, we’d be the United States’ third-largest trading partner behind Mexico and China,” he explained.