Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development charged his riding association more than $21,000 for “out of country” travel expenses, public records show, while simultaneously billing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars for official government-related travel.

Tasked with drumming up billions of dollars in new investment, Minister Vic Fedeli has criss-crossed the globe to meet with companies looking to expand their manufacturing footprint in North America.

In 2023, for example, as the Ford government was building its electric vehicle manufacturing strategy, Fedeli flew to multiple destinations in Germany, France, Singapore, South Korea and Japan to meet with the heads of various automotive companies.

“We are there to roll up our sleeves and have meetings and bring back results,” Fedeli told a Queen’s Park committee about his travel. “That’s the purpose of our trade mission … hard-core sales.”

Between 2023 and 2025, public records show Fedeli expensed more than $180,000 for those government-related trade missions to international destinations covering his flight, hotel and transportation costs.

Missing from those government expenses are any meal or incidental costs. Those charges, the Progressive Conservative Party said, were partially paid by Fedeli’s local Nipissing riding association.

“MPP Fedeli has a longstanding agreement with his EDA to reimburse staff for a portion of their meals incurred during international trade and investment missions, which has saved the taxpayer more than $90,000 in per diems over the past two years,” the party said in a statement.

The setup means taxpayers handle the cost of Fedeli’s flights, hotel and transportation, while a mixture of local donors and per-vote taxpayer subsidy pays for food.

The dual expensing practice, however, appears to be inconsistent with what Fedeli told a legislative committee reviewing government expenses.

“We are judicious with every dollar. You will see that we fly economy almost all the time. You will never find any expenses, other than a flight and a hotel. You will find no other expenses,” Fedeli told a legislative committee.

“We don’t expense our meals. Even though there are accommodations for that, we don’t use any of it. We are a very, very lean machine.”

Fedeli’s Nipissing riding association expenses show thousands of dollars in international travel charges with little information on how that money was being spent.

In 2023, Fedeli billed $8,417.6 for “out of country travel” and another $12,847.66 in 2024 for “foreign travel expenses.”

The PC Party insists that while those expenses list Victor Fedeli as the sole supplier, the minister was never the beneficiary.

“No portion is used for the Minister; he funds his own travel meal expenses personally,” the party said.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the accounting raises questions about whether the party is trying to hide costs.

“What business was he conducting over there and why was it being covered on the political side rather than on the government side?” Stiles said of the expenses.

“I think Mr. Fedeli should be answering that question because this is part of a pattern that we have seen with this government, where they seem to be hiding certain things from the people of Ontario. And one of the ways they seem to do that is through covering it, not by the government, but by their riding association.”

A number of Progressive Conservative MPPs have been under the spotlight for how they spend taxpayer and donor cash.

In one instance, Willowdale MPP Stan Cho spent nearly $100,000 on food and beverages from his riding association, as well as hotels, entertainment and a limo rental.

Fedeli’s riding has paid thousands of dollars for steakhouses, hundreds on the UP Express train to the airport and on Uber rides, dry cleaning and even hosted a meeting on a Georgian Bay cruise.

Opposition parties say the out-of-country travel expenses stand out.

“Anything that the minister is doing, where he’s having meetings or conducting government business over dinner or whatever, that should be completely transparent and accountable to the people of Ontario, no matter what it is,” Stiles said.

“So if he is picking up dinner for somebody because he doesn’t want it to appear as if there’s some kind of conflict there, he needs to be up front and clear about that.”