After re-election, Fedeli says he’s ready to face Trump tariff challenge

Nipissing Progressive Conservative candidate Vic Fedeli comfortably won re-election Thursday night, winning his fifth term as MPP. (Eric Taschner/CTV News)

Nipissing Progressive Conservative candidate Vic Fedeli comfortably won re-election Thursday night, winning his fifth term as MPP.

First elected in 2011, Fedeli won with a little more than 55 per cent of the vote with 100 per cent of the votes counted.

“It was my biggest win,” Fedeli said.

“That was kind of exciting.”

Loren Mick of the NDP came second with 25 per cent of the votes, followed by Liberal candidate Liam McGarry with 12. 4 per cent and Green Party candidate Colton Chaput with four per cent.

Ontario voters elected a majority Conservative government, which means Doug Ford will be premier for another four years.

Fedeli is hoping to keep his current cabinet position as minister of economic development, job creation and trade. During his speech Thursday night, he struck a sobering tone when talking about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat to Canada.

“(Trump) continues to say, ‘We don’t need anything from Canada,’” he said.

“Well, hang on a second Mr. President -- 80 per cent of all the nickel that you that the entire United States uses for their aerospace sector is from Ontario, 56 per cent of all the nickel the entire United States uses for their defence sector comes from Ontario.”

Tariff threat

When he goes back to Queen’s Park, Fedeli said the main priority is to continue to fight Trump’s tariff threat.

Fedeli will be on the road to Toronto first thing Friday morning to meet with his provincial counterparts and federal minister Anita Anand to discuss interprovincial trade in regard to the tariff threat.

Trump has announced plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday, in addition to doubling the 10 per cent universal tariff charged on imports from China.

The prospect of a trade war has thrown the global economy into turmoil, with consumers expressing fears about inflation worsening and the auto sector possibly suffering if Canada and Mexico are hit with new tariffs.

But Trump has also at times engaged in aggressive posturing only to give last-minute reprieves, previously agreeing to a 30-day suspension of the Canada and Mexico tariffs that were initially supposed to start in February.

Trump intends to put 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10 per cent tax on Canadian energy products such as oil and electricity.

Former mayor

The move, ostensibly about drug trafficking and immigration, led Mexico and Canada to respond by emphasizing their existing efforts to address these issues. Canada created a fentanyl czar, and Mexico sent 10,000 members of its National Guard to its border with the United States.

Fedeli first sought election as a provincial representative after serving as mayor of North Bay for two terms. He previously defended Ford’s decision to call a snap election in the winter, to align the term’s timeline with Trump’s term in office.

When asked if this will be the last time the 68-year-old Fedeli runs for provincial office, he joked that he’s still “young” but did not decide on his political future.

“I’m going to soak it in,” he chuckled.