Dartmouth Events

Join former Canadian Trade Minister and current Member of Parliament, Ed Fast, for a broad ranging conversation on trade in the era of the Trump Administration.

This conversation is co-sponsored by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and The Social Sciences, the Dartmouth Chapter of the Federalist Society, and the Dartmouth Conservatives.

Registration is not required.

A livestream will be available at http://dartgo.org/EdFast

The Hon. Ed Fast has served as Member of Parliament for Abbotsford (British Columbia) for 19 years, winning six consecutive elections in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2021.

In 2011, MP Fast was appointed to cabinet by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as Canada’s Minister of International Trade and the Asia-Pacific Gateway. As International Trade Minister, Minister Fast oversaw the signing of trade agreements with over 30 countries, including FTAs with the European Union, South Korea and Ukraine. He also oversaw negotiations on the original Trans-Pacific Partnership, whose partners today generate approximately 15% of global trade.

In opposition, MP Fast has served as the Conservative Party of Canada’s Shadow Minister for Finance, as well as for Industry and the Environment.

In 2006, MP Fast introduced Private Member’s Bill C-277, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Luring a Child), which doubled from 5 to 10 years the maximum prison time for luring a child over the internet for sexual purposes. The Bill received royal assent in 2007. Only an estimated 2% of Private Member’s Bills receive royal assent and become law.

In 2023, MP Fast introduced his second Private Member’s Bill in the House of Commons, Bill C-314, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Medical Assistance in Dying). This bill pushed back on the Canadian government’s reckless expansion of assisted suicide to the mentally ill. The Bill was voted down on second reading but forced the government to implement a 3 year pause on such expansion. A future Conservative government is expected to rescind such expansion.

MP Fast and his wife Annette have lived in Abbotsford, British Columbia for 40 years, where they’ve raised their four daughters. They proudly boast 15 grandkids. Ed has announced that he is retiring from public life as of the next federal election.