Bentonville welcomes Ontario’s economic development team for ‘Triple the Trade’ mission

Victor Fedeli and his economic development team sell the province of Ontario seven days a week throughout the world. This week, that endeavor brought Fedeli to Northwest Arkansas.

Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, a cabinet position under Premier Doug Ford, is one of Ontario’s high-level government and business leaders in Bentonville this week leading a trade mission to Arkansas.

“Triple the Trade” convened Monday morning (Aug. 14) at the Momentary in Bentonville. The name highlights the trade mission’s goal of increasing bilateral trade between Ontario — Canada’s largest and most influential province and the country’s economic engine, in many ways — and Northwest Arkansas from $2 billion to $6 billion by 2027.

“We can do this,” Fedeli said. “We’ve got so much in common between Arkansas and Ontario. Hell, I wear boots every day. I bought my first pair of western boots in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1992, and I have worn cowboy boots every single day of my life since I bought those.”

Fedeli is a lifelong entrepreneur, successful businessperson, author and philanthropist. He was elected for two terms as Mayor of North Bay, his hometown, from 2003 to 2010.

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 arrived in Northwest Arkansas on Sunday and held meetings with regional leaders at the Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA), where they discussed prospects of establishing a direct flight to Toronto.

Fedeli toured several venues Sunday in and near downtown Bentonville, including the 230,000-square-foot Ledger building, the city’s newest attraction marketed as the world’s first bikable office building.

“It [Ledger] is a spectacular building,” he said. “I was deeply impressed with that and all we’ve seen and people we’ve met.”

On Monday, less than 24 hours after arriving, Fedeli said the region left an “eye-opening” initial impression.

“Just realizing the scale of business done in Northwest Arkansas,” he said. “Whether it’s Walmart, Tyson or J.B. Hunt. These are mega-companies in a very tiny piece of geography. Just looking at how clean and groomed and manicured the area is and how new things have cropped up says there is tremendous compaction of wealth in one area. You can see it. You can smell it. You can feel it.

“That says there are good opportunities but also well-groomed companies coming out of this area that need to grow and spread their wings. Ontario would be a perfect place for them. There is a great opportunity for bilateral trade.”

Monday’s agenda included remarks from Congressman Steve Womack, R-Rogers, who discussed relationship-building and its importance as an economic driver.

“Nothing that happens in this world that is good happens without a relationship,” he said. “That is what we are in the business of doing today, and this forum allows us to create more relationships where Northwest Arkansas and Ontario can get together and be friends and trading partners. More so than we are today.”

Several groups have a hand in organizing the trade mission, including Behr & Associates, a financing advisory firm in Toronto, and Grey Space in Bentonville.

Grey Space is a burgeoning agency focused on community development through creativity and collaboration. Ramsay Ball, Paige Jernigan, Mikalya Dietz and Khandice Baldwin are leading that work. Ball, Dietz and Baldwin all work for Focus Commercial Real Estate in Bentonville. Jernigan has raised money for nonprofits, individuals and startups around the globe.

In her introductory remarks Monday, Jernigan underscored Ontario’s vibrancy and its attractiveness as a trade partner. It is Canada’s most populous province and includes major cities Toronto (Ontario’s capital) and Ottawa (Canada’s capital).

“I always say there are more construction cranes per capita in Bentonville, but what is happening in Toronto and Ontario is on a whole new scale,” she said. “There are 250 cranes [operating] now in Toronto. That is more cranes than are in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. combined.”

Ball, a real estate executive and investor with nearly 35 years of experience in Arkansas, said Ontario and Northwest Arkansas are similarly progressive in their approach to life and everything surrounding business.

“We expect great things from our relationship with Ontario,” he said. “This is just the beginning. We are looking at a reciprocal trade mission from Arkansas to Ontario later this year. We hope to bring some of our companies to Ontario. We are also working on a trans-border fund to invest in Ontario and Arkansas companies.”

The trade mission is a two-day agenda that includes multiple events that welcome more than 100 attendees, a dozen speakers and representatives of more than 50 companies from Canada and the U.S.

Monday’s morning session included a roundtable moderated by University of Arkansas economist Mervin Jebaraj and Jag Badwal, the Ontario Agent General representing the province in eight U.S. states, including Arkansas. The Q&A included Fedeli and multiple Northwest Arkansas stakeholders, including:

• Nelson Peacock, Northwest Arkansas Council
• Brenda Anderson, Runway Group
• Ben Hearnsberger, Natural Capital
• James Bell, Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce
• Craig Harper, J.B. Hunt Transport Services
• Toby Teeter, University of Arkansas Collaborative

They discussed several topics, including logistics, quality of life, housing, transportation and education. The dominant theme highlighted ways to build on similarities between Ontario and Northwest Arkansas while charting a path to grow together.

“It’s been great for me to learn more about Ontario,” said Harper, J.B. Hunt’s chief sustainability officer. “Our CEO, John Roberts, always says growth is our oxygen. So, we’re always looking for growth. If we could take anything close to our market share with some of our existing customers—and I’m talking about some very large companies — and get that same business up in Ontario, there ought to be excellent opportunities for J.B. Hunt and Arkansas.”

Also on Monday, Matt Waller, dean emeritus of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, had a one-on-one conversation with Fedeli about bilateral trade. Their chat revealed that more than $1 billion in two-way trade happens daily between the U.S. and Ontario.

Fedeli noted Walmart’s recent investment in Ontario. The Bentonville-based retailer broke ground three years ago on a 550,000-square-foot distribution center north of Toronto in Vaughan to handle general merchandise and food for Walmart Canada. It’s expected to open soon.

“For our team, this trip has been a wonderful experience and a real learning lesson,” Fedeli said. “We are not taking ‘Triple the Trade’ lightly. We believe Ontario and Arkansas have a unique opportunity to [increase] bilateral trade. I think we have the right partners here.”

Tuesday’s venue will shift to the Collaborative, the University of Arkansas’ education and research presence in Bentonville. Each Ontario company — or international company operating in Toronto — with a representative attending the trade mission will be available for confidential “speed dating” business meetings with interested Northwest Arkansas companies.

The companies attending include:

• Behr & Associates; a globally recognized strategic partnering and technology licensing firm based in Toronto.
• Joyride; a micro-mobility software platform based in Toronto
• Keyfree; makers of a vehicle anti-theft offering
• BerQ RNG: an RNG product development company with operations across the U.S. and Canada
• MentorFi.ai: the Toronto-based firm has developed a platform to help displaced employees from Artificial Intelligence (AI) get reskilled using AI
• Beyond Oil: The company’s filtering power reduces frying oil consumption by up to 90% for large food producers and restaurants.
• Constellr: Already operating from low-earth orbit, the constellr satellites offer data for ESG monitoring and verification
• Waev: an electric mobility provider founded in 2021 to manufacture, distribute, market, and support the GEM, Taylor-Dunn, and Tiger brands

Additional information about those companies and registration information to book a meeting is at this link. Teeter, the Collaborative’s inaugural director since 2021, said he’s looking forward to hosting the trade mission but is also thinking of possibilities after it ends.

“I would like to offer up our facilities to continue the conversation over the next months and years,” he said. “Where you could leverage our space. I’m sure the Ledger could offer something similar to create venues for co-working and conversation as we continue the relationship beyond this week.”