Vic Fedeli was mayor of North Bay from 2003 to 2010. The following year, he was elected to the provincial legislature as MPP for Nipissing and was appointed Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade in June 2019.
Prior to his election as mayor, Vic served as chair of the Air Base Property Corporation, a non-profit tasked with repurposing a Canadian Forces Base the federal government threatened to bulldoze. The closure of the base was a blow to the economy of North Bay, but Vic was determined to preserve the assets, including five aircraft hangars, in order to lure aviation companies to the city. The corporation took the federal government to court and succeeded in bringing hundreds of highly skilled jobs to North Bay. Vic tells us the experience underlines the importance of local champions who care deeply about their community and are prepared to persevere against all odds.
North Bay was in decline when Vic decided to run for mayor. The city was losing population, building permits were stagnant and finances were in terrible shape. In this interview, he tells us that he and his council turned things around by running the city in a businesslike way. One example he cites concerned the then city-owned Chief Commanda, a ship that offers pleasure cruises on Lake Nipissing. As a municipally owned enterprise, it was a losing proposition, costing the city $250,000 a year. As mayor, Vic persuaded council to pay a new owner $350,000 to take it off their hands, resulting in a “return on investment” in a year and a half.
During his seven years as mayor, the city sold 108 city-owned building lots, rid the city of abandoned rail tracks, unsightly berms and trestles, enticed new businesses to the city by selling industrial park lots for $1 an acre, lobbied the province to save jobs at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission and developed a methane powered generating facility at the North Bay landfill that extended its life for another 16 years and brings in up to $900,000 a year in electricity sales to the grid.
As mayor, every Boxing Day Vic lunched with North Bay youth who had left the city but were home for the holidays, an initiative that persuaded some of them to return home and contribute to the city’s growth.
Finally, Vic advises anyone aspiring to municipal leadership to have a well thought-out plan, empower the administration to carry it out, and share the limelight with fellow councillors by giving them projects to champion.