As September 27th marks the United Nations’ World Tourism Day, today the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for FedNor, is announcing FedNor investments totalling $9,654,641 to protect, strengthen, and grow Northern Ontario’s tourism sector. Funding has been made available through both the Tourism Relief Fund and FedNor’s Northern Ontario Development Program. These investments will support 74 tourism projects in municipalities and Indigenous communities across the region, and support the creation and maintaining of over 280 jobs.

“Tourism in Northern Ontario is such an important economic driver, creating good jobs and bringing people from all corners of the world to our beautiful region. As the industry rebounds following two years of immense challenges, FedNor is investing $9.7 million to benefit more than 70 tourism projects in Northern Ontario. This funding will allow businesses and operators to ensure they have the tools they need to succeed, and help create and maintain over 280 jobs. I invite everyone across the country to put Northern Ontario on their list of places to visit - come and see what spectacular sights and attractions our region has to offer.”

- The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for FedNor

“The Canadian tourism sector continues to be one of the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We will work with businesses and organizations through these challenging times, ensuring they get support to innovate in their products and services as well as to grow and thrive, all while keeping safety as the top priority. The Tourism Relief Fund helps businesses adapt to welcome back guests safely. It also feeds into a broader strategy to help the sector recover from the pandemic and build an economy that works for everyone. The Canadian economy will not fully recover until our tourism sector recovers.”

- The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance

• World Tourism Day has been held on 27 September each year since 1980. This year, it aims to recognize the resilience of the industry through this unprecedented time.

• Launched in July 2021, the Tourism Relief Fund was created to help organizations and businesses in the tourism sector adapt their operations to meet public health requirements, offer innovative products and services to visitors and prepare to welcome back travellers. Canada’s regional development agencies are delivering $485 million in Tourism Relief Fund support.

• FedNor’s Northern Ontario Development Program (NODP), supports projects that promote sustainable community economic development, diversification and business growth. Since 2015, FedNor has provided more than 179M million in NODP funding to support 477 projects, which helped create and maintain more than 8,300 jobs in communities and First Nations across Northern Ontario.

• The tourism sector is a key contributor to the Canadian economy. In 2019, tourism generated over $104 billion in revenue and directly employed 692,000 people, including those in under-represented groups like women, students, racialized people and Indigenous populations.

• With an overall budget of $500 million, including $485 million for regional priorities administered by Canada’s regional development agencies and $15 million for the National Priorities Stream administered by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the Tourism Relief Fund is part of the billion dollars in tourism support announced in Budget 2021.

• A minimum of $50 million of the fund’s regional priorities budget has been earmarked for Indigenous tourism projects. Indigenous communities that rely heavily on tourism have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

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Associated links

• To find out more about our programs and services, please visit: fednor.gc.ca
• Follow us on Twitter @FedNor
• Tourism Relief Fund
• Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP)
• Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program (SWSP)

Alison Murphy, Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for FedNor
Alison.Murphy@sac-isc.gc.ca

Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Media Relations