About Us

Ed Fast

Minister of International Trade &
Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
Member of Parliament, Abbotsford

Ed Fast and his wife, Annette, have lived in Abbotsford for over 29 years. Their four daughters and new son-in-law were all born and raised here.

After graduating from law school at the University of British Columbia in 1982, Ed started his own law firm, which is now known as Linley Welwood.

Ed began his political career in 1985 when he was elected to the Abbotsford School Board and served two terms. In 1996, he was elected to Abbotsford City Council where he served for nine years. During that time, he served variously as deputy mayor and chair of the Parks Recreation & Culture Commission. Many other council appointments and volunteer activities kept him busy building his community.

First elected as Abbotsford's Member of Parliament in 2006, Ed was re-elected to his second term in 2008 and served as the Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights and as a member of the Copyright Modernization Committee.

On May 2, 2011, Ed was elected to his third term as MP. Shortly thereafter, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed him as the Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway. In this role, Ed is responsible for expanding Canada’s trade relationships around the world and for supporting Canadian businesses who wish to do business in foreign markets. His role also involves the development of strategies necessary to expand Canada’s trade with the Asia-Pacific countries.

One of his proudest achievements as MP was when Ed's private members bill C-277 received Royal Assent and became the law of Canada. The bill increases from 5 to 10 years in prison the maximum sentence for luring children over the internet for sexual purposes. Ed became one of a small handful of MPs, representing fewer than 2% of all MPs in total, who have seen their private members' bills passed into law. He believes that this bill is a significant step forward in better protecting vulnerable young children against sexual predators.

More recently, Ed was successful in securing for Abbotsford $45 million in federal infrastructure investments, including the McCallum and Clearbrook Rd. interchanges, the Abbotsford Airport expansion, the Abbotsford-Huntingdon Border Crossing improvements, Mill Lake Spray Park, Mission Bridge safety improvements and Discovery and Matsqui Trail systems.

Ed believes that Abbotsford is one of the most desirable places in the world for families and seniors to live in. Abbotsford has one of the fastest growing economies in Canada. A city of volunteers, Abbotsford is also ranked by Statistics Canada as the most generous community in Canada, far ahead of places such as Toronto and West Vancouver in terms of charitable giving per capita.

In his free time, Ed enjoys playing piano, skiing and hiking. Adventures have taken him to the summits of Mount Baker and Mount Rainier, along the West Coast Trail, over the Chilkoot Trail, through the middle of the Rockies, Grand Canyon and Stein Valley, and around the chain of Bowron Lakes. Ed and his family are also active in performing and organizing in the local music scene.