An association that represents Canada's hoteliers is counting on more policies that benefit businesses from the incoming Liberal government as it works to persuade residents who were considering vacationing in the United States to do so in their own country instead.
"The big-spending days of the [Justin] Trudeau Liberals are over, and business-friendly policy is in, we hope," Adrienne Foster, vice president of policy and public affairs for the Hotel Association of Canada, said this week at the Canadian Hotel Investment Conference in Toronto.
Following Trudeau's resignation in January, former Brookfield Asset Management executive Mark Carney took over as leader of the Liberals and led the party as prime minister to a fourth straight election victory, albeit a win just short of giving him a majority government.
Foster noted that the Trudeau government provided the industry with $23 billion in support during the COVID-19 pandemic and millions in support for tourism strategies and investments.
One of the Hotel Association's top priorities is to maintain the number of inbound visitors from the United States, but Foster said Canadians are reducing visits south in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods and his talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state. Foster said the industry can pick up business from Canadians who want to travel and are seeking alternative destinations given the strained U.S. relationship.
Statistics Canada reported that March return trips from the United States to Canada were down 31.9% from a year earlier. Trips by automobile to Canada by U.S. residents declined 10.6% in March from the same month in 2024.
"Competition right now is fierce, and we need serious marketing investments," said Foster, noting that the industry needs to target leisure and business.
Her group is looking for funding in this spring budget to promote travel to Canada. One of the selling points will be that international visitors to Canada spent $31 billion in 2023, she said.
Domestically, the group wants to target the Made in Canada movement by conveying that Canadians often own the hotels in the country even when they operate under international flags or brands. Foster said about 70% of Canadians think investors outside the country own those hotels with international brands.
"The federal government holds this misperception as well," she said. "This matters at a time when both the public and government are prioritizing buy-Canadian-first economic policies. The truth is the hotel sector in Canada is a made-in-Canada business."
With Carney promising to impose new caps on the number of international students and temporary foreign workers entering Canada, the hotel industry could face more workforce issues.
"This year, the tourism industry could lose up to 161,000 workers from caps," Foster said. "The issue is both the Liberals [and opposition] Conservatives supported these caps. This will be our association's toughest file over the next three years."
The group is working on building a case for rural and resort properties to get exemptions from the caps.