Speakers

The Honourable Ed Fast
Minister of International Trade, Canada
The Honourable Ed Fast was first elected to the House of Commons in 2006 and was re-elected in 2008 and 2011. He had previously served for two terms as an Abbotsford school trustee and for three terms as a member of Abbotsford City Council.
A graduate of the University of British Columbia, Minister Fast practised corporate and commercial law for 24 years.
On May 18, 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Ed Fast to Cabinet to serve as Minister of International Trade.
Minister Fast assumed responsibility for the Government of Canada’s Global Markets Action Plan, the most ambitious pro-trade and pro-investment plan in Canada’s history. The Plan focuses on Canada’s core strengths in priority markets through bold trade policy and vigorous trade promotion.
Minister Fast recently released Canada’s first International Education Strategy and oversees free trade negotiations with Japan, India and the Trans-Pacific Partnership countries, among others. Canada recently concluded a historic agreement with the European Union, and a free trade agreement with South Korea, Canada’s first in the Asia-Pacific region.
Prior to his appointment to Cabinet, Minister Fast chaired the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. In 2011, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel for British Columbia and more recently he was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to his community and country.
Minister Fast and his wife, Annette, have lived in Abbotsford, British Columbia, for 32 years. They have four daughters and four grandsons.