In 2019, the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy was announced, an overarching national strategy to support long-term sustainable growth in the sector. The strategy was built on three pillars: building tourism in communities, attracting investment, and promoting public-private collaboration. As part of the 2019 Strategy, the Government launched a CAD 58.5 million Canadian Experiences Fund (CEF) to enable communities to create, improve or enhance tourism products, facilities and experiences. The CEF investments were disbursed over two years (2019‑20 and 2020‑21) for tourism development projects in five priority areas: winter and shoulder-seasons; indigenous; inclusiveness (LGBTQ2); rural and remote; and culinary.
With the onset of the pandemic, the Federal Government recognised the critical need for an economy-wide suite of core measures to support businesses, families, and individuals. Canada made resources available through the COVID‑19 emergency economic response to help businesses survive the pandemic. These liquidity measures ensured that businesses could access credit, keep employees on the payroll, and pay their rent.
In response to the duration of the crisis and the specific needs of tourism businesses, Canada brought in the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Programme to provide government-backed loans of up to CAD 1 million per business to the hardest-hit sectors, including tourism. Furthermore, 25% of the CAD 2 billion Regional Relief and Recovery Fund was earmarked for tourism businesses.
As an example of the sector’s increasing significance, tourism is steadily becoming an important economic contributor and job creator for Indigenous communities across the country. Cultural experiences that Indigenous Peoples share with visitors are important attractions for Canadian tourism, especially within international markets.
With the devastating impact of COVID‑19 on the tourism sector, Indigenous communities that rely heavily on tourism have been disproportionately affected. The Tourism Relief Fund will continue to invest in Indigenous tourism by setting a national target of CAD 50 million for Indigenous tourism projects. In addition, through Budget 2022, Canada provided CAD 20 million for new Indigenous tourism funding to help the Indigenous tourism sector recover from the pandemic and position itself for long-term, sustainable growth. The Federal Government also proposes to provide CAD 4.8 million to the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada to support its operations, which continue to help the Indigenous tourism sector rebuild and recover from the pandemic.
As the sector looks forward to a post-pandemic recovery, Canada’s Budget 2022 announced that the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance would work with the tourism sector, provincial and territorial counterparts, and Indigenous tourism operators to develop a new, post-pandemic Federal Tourism Growth Strategy to plot a course for growth, investment, and stability. To help shape the new Strategy, the Minister has engaged in an extensive consultation process with domestic and international tourism stakeholders, totalling over 400 engagements since May 2022. The engagement process has included regional and thematic roundtables on tourism investment, workforce, rural, sport, Indigenous, cultural, and culinary tourism. Regional roundtables provided a platform for tourism businesses and industry leaders across the country to highlight their needs, challenges, and interests.
The Minister of Tourism is also committed to developing a national strategy to promote trails tourism in Canada. This strategy will provide direction for the enhancement and maintenance of Canada’s extensive trails network, such as the Trans Canada Trail.
