April 5, 2023

Canada Invests in Growth Tourism and Hospitality

OTTAWA, March 28, 2023–Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, tabled the 2023 Federal Budget: A Made in Canada Plan in the House of Commons. While the government responds to record-breaking inflation and decreased economic growth with a budget focused on affordability, Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC) is pleased to see $172M dedicated to growth in the tourism and hospitality industries.

The 2023 budget announces the largest-ever investment made by the Canadian government to tourism and hospitality in a growth strategy. These new investments come with confirmation that the government will release a new Federal Tourism Growth Strategy to encourage investment, growth, and stability in Canada’s tourism sector.

ITBC will review the full budget, which includes funds dedicated to improving airport screening and wait times, rail maintenance and service improvements, and Building Communities through the Arts and Heritage. ITBC is among the many tourism and hospitality organizations that have long advocated for the Canadian government to provide a Growth Strategy with adequate funding to help our tourism sector reach its full potential.

We are grateful for a new level of financial and strategic investment by the Canadian government and for these particular contributions:

$50 million over three years to Destination Canada to attract major international conventions, conferences, and events to Canada.
$108 million over three years to the Regional Development Agencies to support communities, small businesses, and non-profit organizations in developing local projects and events.

ITBC looks forward to working with our partners at PacifiCan to determine how to allocate a portion of the $108M for investment in Indigenous communities and tourism businesses for the development of projects and events in BC. The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, commits to dedicating a portion of the funding through the Regional Development Agencies to support Indigenous tourism, a priority area for the sector.