The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) welcomes the Government of Canada’s 2026 Budget and its focus on strengthening Canada’s economic competitiveness, sovereignty and long-term prosperity.
As an important service export industry that supports businesses, jobs and communities across the country, tourism has a significant role to play in achieving these objectives.
We are encouraged by commitments to stimulate private investment, strengthen Canada’s cultural and recreational assets, improve transportation infrastructure and support workforce development. These measures have the potential to strengthen Ontario’s visitor economy and create new opportunities for tourism businesses and destinations.
At the same time, the budget leaves important opportunities to strengthen Canada’s international tourism competitiveness. As the federal government seeks to diversify trade and grow exports, TIAO is calling for greater recognition of tourism as a strategic service export, supported by stronger international marketing and visitor attraction efforts.
Realizing the full potential of these commitments will also require meaningful industry engagement as new programs and policies take shape. TIAO looks forward to working with federal and provincial governments, alongside our national and regional industry partners, to ensure these measures respond to market realities, address barriers to growth and deliver lasting economic benefits for communities across Ontario.
Driving Investment & Product Development
This year’s budget presents a range of measures intended to mobilize private capital, drive spending and support economic activity across the country.
Measures include the previously announced Productivity Mega Deduction, which will allow businesses to write off 100% of eligible investments in the first year, including tourism assets such as hotel furniture, coach buses, amusement park rides, food service equipment and more.
The Canada Growth Incentive, which encourages founders, employees and investors to reinvest capital gains from a successful startup into another Canadian company, provides further support to entrepreneurs working to create innovative and memorable tourism experiences.
The budget also includes several sector-specific supports that will directly benefit Ontario tourism, including the renewal of the Wine Support Program and $1.5 billion to construct, expand, retrofit and rehabilitate recreational facilities and ice rinks.
Together, these measures align with TIAO’s ongoing advocacy to stimulate tourism investment, encourage product development and strengthen the competitiveness of Ontario’s visitor economy.
Supporting Arts, Culture, and Domestic Visitor Growth
Through direct investment, the federal government is encouraging more Canadians to explore destinations closer to home.
This includes the renewal of the Canada Strong Pass, with expanded discounted access to Indigenous-led museums and cultural centres, and the announcement that admission to Canada’s national museums will be permanently free for Canadians under 25.
The government is investing $3.6 billion in Parks Canada to manage its parks and historic sites, as well as $783 million to help national museums and cultural centres repair aging facilities, protect collections and sustain services. This funding will also support travelling exhibitions and improved digital access to the National Gallery’s collections, helping Canadians in rural, northern and remote communities engage with Canadian and Indigenous art.
In addition, the budget includes a $300 million investment in the Canada 160 Fund to support experiences that strengthen national pride and belonging, including festivals, concerts, the Trans Canada Trail and more.
TIAO welcomes the government’s continued efforts to encourage Canadians to explore destinations closer to home. We recommend extending the Canada Strong Pass beyond peak travel periods to stimulate additional visitation and spending during shoulder seasons, when many tourism businesses have capacity to welcome more visitors.
Strengthening International Tourism Competitiveness
Despite these positive measures, Budget 2026 represents a missed opportunity to strengthen Canada’s international tourism competitiveness.
As the federal government pursues new trade relationships and seeks to diversify Canadian exports, tourism should be recognized as an important part of that strategy.
International tourism is one of Canada’s most accessible service exports, bringing global customers directly into Canadian communities and generating economic benefits across accommodation, restaurants, attractions, transportation, retail and other sectors.
TIAO supports the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s recommendation to increase Destination Canada’s annual base funding by $30 million to strengthen international marketing and business events attraction.
At a time when Canada is seeking to diversify its trading relationships and grow exports, international tourism represents an immediate opportunity to attract new spending, support Canadian businesses and strengthen economic resilience.
We encourage the federal government to recognize tourism as a strategic service export and ensure that international visitor attraction is reflected in Canada’s trade diversification efforts. Strengthening international marketing and business events attraction would help Canada compete for high-value visitors, expand its reach in overseas markets and translate new international relationships into economic opportunities for communities across the country.
Improving Transportation & Access
The federal budget includes significant transportation investments that will make Canadian destinations more accessible to domestic and international travellers.
Investments range from $587 million to expand EV charging infrastructure, including in Northern Ontario, to $7.8 billion for VIA Rail Canada to support operations, maintenance activities and the purchase of new rail cars. The budget also extends the suspension of the federal fuel excise tax until the end of January 2027, with a 50% reduction planned until March 31, 2027.
TIAO welcomes the government’s commitment to moving forward with the LaSalle Causeway Bridge Replacement and Renewal Project, which will support the movement of people and goods in Kingston and Eastern Ontario by providing a permanent crossing for vehicle, pedestrian and cycling traffic while maintaining access through the marine channel. This investment addresses the removal of the LaSalle Causeway’s bascule bridge in 2024 and will provide direct support to Eastern Ontario’s growing cruise sector.
The government is also investing an additional $4.3 million to develop a Traveller Biometrics Strategy, intended to help travellers move through airports and other ports of entry more efficiently.
In addition, the budget provides further details about the government’s intentions for Canada’s largest airports. To prepare Canada’s air transportation system for future growth, the government will seek private investment through long-term operating concessions.
The government is investing $37.6 million over three years to complete due diligence, develop a concessions framework and undertake a competitive process to select operators by early 2029.
While the details of this framework remain to be seen, the budget indicates that proceeds from a new concessions framework will be used to increase access to air travel in regional, remote and northern communities, improve transparency around fees and expand eligibility for the Airports Capital Assistance Program.
These goals align closely with the priorities identified in Forward Motion: A Strategic Playbook for Ontario’s Tourism Industry, which highlights the importance of improving transportation connectivity, particularly in underserved regions of Ontario.
TIAO recommends early and meaningful consultation with transportation and tourism stakeholders throughout the three-year due diligence process. This should include existing airport authorities, regional airports, airlines, tourism operators, destination leaders and other affected partners.
Engaging these stakeholders will help ensure that any new framework supports the competitiveness of Canada’s aviation system while improving regional access and connectivity.
Supporting the Tourism Workforce
The budget contains several measures intended to improve affordability and support Canadian workers, including investments in affordable housing and changes to worker benefits.
It also includes new investments in Indigenous communities to support training and workforce readiness, as well as improved access to financing to support Indigenous participation in major infrastructure projects.
In addition, the budget introduces a new Canada Creative Credit, a non-refundable personal income tax credit that would, combined with the Basic Personal Amount, provide tax recognition on up to $45,000 of annual qualifying net business income derived from original and creative artistic works.
The government has also pledged to remove the $1,000 annual cap on work expenses that employed artists can deduct from their taxes.
These measures will benefit destinations, festivals, events and cultural institutions that work with artists, supporting a stronger creative workforce and new opportunities for cultural programming.
The budget also recognizes the need for skilled labour across the country, noting that more than 1.4 million new workers will be needed in the skilled trades by 2033.
While the budget does not increase immigration levels in the near term, it commits the federal government to working with provinces to reform the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and better address regional labour market needs.
TIAO recommends that tourism and other service-sector employers be directly engaged in these consultations, alongside provinces and territories, to ensure that regional labour market needs are accurately identified and addressed.
As Canada’s resource economy grows, demand for service-sector workers in supporting communities is also likely to increase. Workforce policies and training programs must recognize these interconnected labour market needs rather than focusing exclusively on traditional skilled trades.
These measures align with TIAO’s ongoing advocacy at the provincial level to stabilize and strengthen Ontario’s tourism workforce pipeline.
Our priorities include direct support for Canadian workers, investment in skills training for service-sector employees, stabilization of post-secondary culinary, tourism and hospitality programs, and targeted immigration reforms that provide stable pathways for international workers pursuing tourism careers.
Ensuring that tourism businesses can attract, train and retain the workers they need will be essential to realizing the economic benefits of the investments outlined in Budget 2026.
Turning Commitments into Tourism Growth
Budget 2026 presents important opportunities to stimulate investment, strengthen infrastructure and support economic growth across Ontario and Canada. Turning these commitments into results will require collaboration between governments and the industries and communities they are intended to support.
TIAO recognizes the important advocacy of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and our provincial and territorial tourism industry association colleagues in advancing priorities that support the sector.
We also appreciate the engagement of the Honourable Rechie Valdez, Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism), with industry throughout the pre-budget consultation process and welcome the opportunity to build on that dialogue as these commitments move toward implementation.
Meaningful industry consultation will be essential to maximizing the impact of these investments and policy measures. Engaging tourism operators, destination organizations and industry associations early will help ensure that new programs respond to market realities, remove barriers to growth and deliver strong economic returns.
At the same time, strengthening Canada’s international tourism competitiveness must remain a priority. Tourism has an important role to play in advancing Canada’s trade diversification objectives, attracting international investment and generating new export revenues.
For Ontario, there is a significant opportunity to align federal commitments with provincial policies and industry priorities. Through Forward Motion: A Strategic Playbook for Ontario’s Tourism Industry, TIAO and its partners have established an industry-informed framework to guide investment, improve connectivity, strengthen workforce development and support new tourism experiences.
This work provides a foundation for collaboration with governments to translate national commitments into meaningful regional and local economic opportunities.
As we prepare for Tourism Day at Queen’s Park this December, TIAO will continue advocating for the policies, partnerships and investments needed to strengthen Ontario’s visitor economy and ensure tourism plays its full role in Canada’s long-term economic prosperity.