
Born in the Sault, Randy graduated from Bawating High School. In Halifax, he received a BA from Saint Mary’s University and an MPA in Government Organization and Structure at Dalhousie University. Randy worked for Algoma Steel and the City of SSM prior to going to university.
Randy has a wealth of experience as a 33-year federal public servant in N.S., P.E.I., N.B., Nfld., Ont. and Alta. He conducted management audits in several federal departments across Canada. Randy was also a Special Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Labour Market Development in Ottawa and drafted agreements and policies for this directorate. He was a member of the National Labour Market Development Agreement Working Committee and negotiated labour market agreements for Alta., N.S. and P.E.I. In 1988, he joined FedNor-Industry Canada as Senior Advisor to the Director General and managed a large number of economic and business development projects, SME Conferences and Info-Fairs, Innovation Summits in Northern Ontario, and the Citizen Engagement Forum in the Sault.
Randy gained invaluable world-wide experience in international relations while organizing and managing the Operations Centre for the Halifax G7 Summit in 1995, which was renamed G8 when Russia joined. He broadened this experience more recently as Director of International Relations & Global Logistics with EDC's Business SSM division.
Randy changed careers and started a private consulting firm that specializes in economic development and project management. He has been a very active 10-year member with the SSM Chamber of Commerce and completed a six-year term as an Executive Board Director. Randy also served as 2nd Vice-President on the Government Relations, Awards, Membership & Retention, Immigration Strategy, and the Doctors Recruitment Retention Committees. Presently, he an active member of the Canadian Italian Business Professional Association. Randy is the proud father of a son Andrew Tallon who attends Ottawa University.