Budget 2023: Critical investments in tourism and hospitality, says HAC

This includes $50M in additional funding for Destination Canada to support business events and a $108M investment in a regional development tourism product fund, among other measures.

“In a lean budget focused on affordability, we are delighted to see these investments,” says Susie Grynol president & CEO of HAC. “Today’s commitments reflect our industry’s tireless work and we are grateful to the government and Minister Boissonnault for his leadership in supporting employment and economic growth in our sector.”

HAC views these investments as foundational to a transformational tourism growth strategy that the government will release later this spring. As the labour shortage continues to hamper growth, HAC was also “delighted” with yesterday’s announcement extending the industry’s prioritized access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (30 per cent cap for hotels) and the inclusion of lower-skilled tourism and hospitality workers in the Economic Mobility Pathways Program pilot. HAC will continue to build on this progress to ensure that labour is a central pillar in the Tourism Growth Strategy.

Throughout COVID the federal government made targeted investments that kept the hotel sector alive. With 2023’s budget, the government is now helping us to rebuild and grow.