It’s a small change, but an important one.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced that he is appointing a Minister of Tourism for his federal cabinet. Trudeau said Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault will be Minister of Tourism and also Associate Minister of Finance.
For years, even decades, tourism ministers in Ottawa have had their tourism duties lumped in with other things, such as small business; even though tourism is a big business that accounts for roughly 10% of our GDP.
Now, however, we won’t have a “Minister of Agriculture, Children’s Shoes and Tourism,” but a real “Minister of Tourism.”
Yes, it’s a symbolic change. But symbolism counts. And this shows that maybe, just maybe, the Trudeau government understands the tremendous damage Canada’s tourism industry has undergone during the pandemic. The fact that Boissonault also will be Associate Minister of Finance can’t help but improve the chances of tourism getting the money it needs at budget time.
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada today was practically doing cartwheels over the news.
“TIAC is extremely grateful to see the re-introduction of a dedicated Ministry for tourism, a clear acknowledgment of the importance of our industry to Canada’s overall economic growth and future prosperity for all Canadians,” the industry said in a press statement. “We warmly welcome the appointment of the Honourable Randy Boissonnault as Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, and very much look forward to working with him to ensure we will achieve the goal of rebuilding Canada’s travel economy and regaining our leading competitive position in the global tourism market.”
