On July 4, 2023 the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, unveiled the new Federal Tourism Growth Strategy, entitled Canada 365: Welcoming the world.Every day. He was accompanied by Vance Badawey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services and Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre; Chris Bittle, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Member of Parliament for St. Catharines; Marsha Walden, President and CEO of Destination Canada; Beth Potter, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada; Keith Henry, President and CEO of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada; and Susie Grynol, President and CEO of the Hotel Association of Canada.
The new strategy contains the following five priorities:
Investing in Canada’s tourism assets
Embracing recreation and the great outdoors
Partnering to grow Indigenous tourism
Attracting more international events
Improving coordination through a federal ministerial council
The strategy is informed by months of consultations with, among others, tourism businesses, industry associations, other orders of government, Indigenous partners and destination marketing organizations. Their valuable insight into the challenges and opportunities of the Canadian tourism sector have shaped the strategy and helped set the stage for the long-term growth of Canada’s visitor economy.
Click here to read the full press release from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
Under Annex 1, the new strategy outlines federal actions to support and grow Canada's visitor economy. This includes the existing supports for Canada's world-class festivals and events.
Building Communities through Arts and Heritage: Invest a total of $21 million ($7 million through Budget 2021 and $14 million through Budget 2023) to continue supporting local artists' involvement in their community through festivals, events, and projects.
Canada Arts Presentation Fund: Provide financial assistance to organizations that professionally present arts festivals, providing access to artistic experiences in communities.
Celebration and Commemoration Program: Fund hundreds of events and activities through the Celebrate Canada period from June 21 to July 1, as well as National Acadian Day on August 15.
Hosting Program, Sport Canada: Assist sport organizations to host the Canada Games and international sport events in Canada.
Comments