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Today, the Government of Ontario released their budget for the 2023 fiscal year, entitled Building a Strong Ontario. TIAO will be analyzing the contents of the budget in the coming days. So far, key highlights include: expanding access to the small business Corporate Income Tax rate; conducting a review of Ontario’s tax system to make Ontario an attractive place for businesses to invest and grow; investments to reinstate the Northlander passenger rail service between Timmins and Toronto; and additional investments in homelessness prevention programs.
Additional highlights of the 2023 Provincial budget:
Small Business
- Proposal to lower costs for more small businesses by expanding access to the small business Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rate
- The small business limit phase-out would be increased from between $10M and $15M of taxable capital to between $10M and $50M
- Apply to taxation years that begin on or after April 7th, 2022
- About 5,500 of Ontario’s small businesses would be provided with additional Ontario income tax relief of $265M from 2022-23 to 2025-26
Business Support
- Conducting a review of Ontario’s tax system to make Ontario an attractive place for businesses to invest and grow
- Providing an additional $2M in 2023-24 to Futurpreneur Canada to help entrepreneurs aged 18-39
- Investing an additional $15M over 3 years for the Racialized and Indigenous Supports for Entrepreneurs (RAISE) Grant Program
- Providing an additional $1M per year for 3 years to Invest Ottawa starting in 2023-24 to expand a Regional Innovation Centre hub for Eastern Ontario
Labour
- $224 million for a new capital stream of the Skills Development Fund to leverage private-sector expertise and expand training centres, including union training halls to provide more accessible, flexible training opportunities for workers
- $25M over three years to enhance the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program
- Ontario’s allocation of Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program nominations will increase to over 18,000 by 2025 to fill targeted labour market gaps in in-demand industries
Northern Ontario
- Committing just under $1B to support critical legacy infrastructure such as all-season roads, broadband connectivity, and community supports to the Ring of Fire
- Investing $139.5M for three new trainsets to reinstate the Northlander passenger rail service between Timmins and Toronto
- Providing nearly $2B over five years, beginning in 2021-22 to help 425 small rural and Northern communities to construct and repair community infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water and wastewater infrastructure
Infrastructure
- Providing an additional $5M in annual funding for Winter Roads Program enhancements
- Investing in Go Transit to improve access and convenience across the Greater Golden Horseshoe and into Southwestern Ontario
- Redeveloping Ontario Place: modernizing the site and preparing land for development
- Investing nearly $4B to ensure every community across the province has access to high-speed internet by the end of 2025
Housing
- Creating the Streamline Development Approval Fund to provide more than $45M and increasing the Non-Resident Speculation Tax to 25 percent
- Investing an additional $202M each year in the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program
Clean Energy
- Launching a voluntary Clean Energy Credit registry to boost competitiveness and attract jobs
- Continuing to provide more than $6.5B in electricity price relief for both people and businesses under the Comprehensive Electricity plan, Ontario Electricity Rebate, and other targeted programs like the Northern Energy Advantage program
Consumer Costs
- Eliminating double fares for most local transit when using GO Transit services and working to expand this initiative to support more people using public transit to come into Toronto
- Extended the current gas tax and fuel tax rate cuts, keeping the rates at 9 cents per litre until December 2023
To review the full 2023 provincial budget, please see here.
TIAO AND CAMPING IN ONTARIO EXPRESS CONCERN OVER LOCAL CAMPGROUND BY-LAW
TIAO and Camping in Ontario have sent a joint letter to the Honourable Steve Clark, MPP for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, regarding a local by-law affecting campgrounds in Rideau Lakes.
By-Law No. 2022-63 of the Township of Rideau Lakes introduces costly requirements for new, expanding, or renovating campgrounds, including requirements to submit lake impact, traffic impact, and hydrogeological assessments. The bylaw also effectively bans adequate usage of flashlights and camping lights for new, expanding, or renovating campgrounds. We are concerned about the impact of this bylaw on visitor safety and the capacity of local campgrounds to operate regularly, make necessary renovations, and offer competitive visitor experiences.
TIAO and Camping in Ontario have been working together to address this issue, previously raising it in meetings with government officials at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference in January. Ontario’s campgrounds are a key tourism market contributing to the economic life of local communities. We will continue working with stakeholders to find a solution that supports the economic growth and capacity of campgrounds.
To read our letter, see here.
TIAO SIGNS LETTER TO PREMIER DOUG FORD ON THE HOMELESSNESS CRISIS IN ONTARIO
This month, TIAO co-signed an open letter to Premier Doug Ford, advocating for the province to address the homelessness crisis in Ontario. Together, with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), other organizations and associations, and on behalf of our tourism partners, we called on the Government of Ontario to acknowledge that homelessness in Ontario is a social, economic, and health crisis; commit to ending homelessness in Ontario; and work with a broad range of municipal, community, health, Indigenous, and economic partners to develop, resource, and implement an action plan.
TIAO has been working to address the impact of rising homelessness on tourism, raising the issue in our meetings with government officials. At the 2022 AMO conference, TIAO, Ottawa Tourism, and Kingston Accommodation Partners met with Mayor Cam Guthrie, chair of the Ontario Big City Mayors. In our discussion with Mayor Guthrie, we highlighted the impacts of rising visible homelessness and precarity on the safety of frontline tourism workers – and how our industry can help advocate for the provincial resources that municipalities need to address this complex issue.
We look forward to working with the provincial government, industry and cross-sectoral partners, and communities across Ontario to end homelessness in Ontario.
To view the letter, please see here.
IMPACT REGIONAL ONTARIO IS COMING TO KINGSTON

The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario is pleased to execute the first-ever IMPACT Sustainability Travel & Tourism – ONTARIO: A Regional Event, taking place at Queen’s University Biosciences Complex in Kingston, Ontario, from May 7th to 9th, 2023.
We're proud to announce Destination Ontario as the Glacier Sponsor for IMPACT Regional Ontario.
Registration is NOW OPEN, get your tickets today!
Guided by the IMPACT Summit founders and team, the IMPACT Sustainability Travel & Tourism – ONTARIO a Regional Event will have the same high level of programming, speakers and workshops that have made the annual summit on regenerative tourism so successful.
This 2.5 day event will bring together thought-leaders, destinations, and operators from across Ontario who are committed to making the tourism industry more sustainable. The programming highlights will include international best practices, invaluable resources, new research in sustainable tourism, and more!
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS.
FORWARD MOTION: BUILDING A RESILIENT & VIBRANT WORKFORCE SERIES

We're excited to introduce our special set of 5 webinars, as part of the Forward Motion series, that focuses on federal programs designed to support the creation of a resilient and vibrant workforce. We're proud to collaborate with Tourism HR Canada and bring together a panel of experts to discuss workforce development, immigration, labour market trends, and innovation.
Join us in our first session of the series, "Building a Team that Stay". Register today!
What should you do when you can't find workers for your tourism business?
Demand for tourism is on the rise. But what happens when you can’t find staff to serve visitors? Join Tourism HR Canada and the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) for a one-hour webinar that explores the top three HR problems facing our industry, provides seven practical steps you can take today to create a workplace that attracts and retains talent—and explains why investing in people is good for business.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Want to learn more about the upcoming webinars with Tourism HR Canada? Click the links below!
April 11, 2023: Building a Team That Stays
May 2, 2023: How Much Should I Pay?
May 16, 2023: Attracting, Building and Retaining an Indigenous Workforce
June 13, 2023: A Blended Workforce
BUILDING A SEASONAL WORKFORCE: WEBINAR RECORDING AVAILABLE

Thank you all for joining our webinar with Tourism HR Canada. This week at the Building a Summer Workforce webinar, we learned from Jasmine Qi, why—and how—to hire international talent. The webinar included practical tips, useful resources, clear benefits, and success stories from businesses that hired internationally trained workers.
Click here to watch the recording.
PROPELLING TOURISM INNOVATION THROUGH DEI: WEBINAR RECORDING AVAILABLE

This week, we were joined by Justin Lafontaine, Program Lead and Founder of Tourism Innovation Lab, and Annemarie Shrouder, Principal & Founder of Annemarie Shrouder International, where we discussed the Tourism Innovation Lab's DEI efforts; collaborations with ITO on the Indigenous Tourism Skode Program, collaboration with the CGLCC on the 2SLGBTQ+ "Spark" Program, the Kootenay Rockies Accessible Tourism "Spark" Program, and future programming to support underrepresented and marginalized groups.
We learned about why implementing diversity, equity and inclusion practices is important and an got an overview of the recommendations for future Tourism Innovation Lab and "Spark" Programs.
Click here to watch the recording.
PARTICIPATE IN NEW RESEARCH STUDY

Alongside our colleagues at OTEC, TIAO is pleased to support an important research study that seeks to create a more equitable and inclusive workplace for the Tourism & Hospitality sector.
Our partners at the Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Skills for Change are asking employers, managers and supervisors in the tourism and hospitality sectors who have experience working with newcomers to participate in a research study called: “Identifying solutions towards aspired career pathways and quality of work in the hospitality sector”.
Employers who have staff that are new to Canada and are able to speak about recruitment and retention practices are key to making this project a success. We encourage all of our members and partners to complete the survey, share the link below with their business networks and help spread the word as we work towards expanded career opportunities for newcomers in Tourism & Hospitality.
Click here to take the survey!
Click the items below to learn more about TIAO's initiatives and partnerships:
INDUSTRY NEWS
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Ontario records highest film and TV production levels to date, says Ontario Creates
Broadcast Dialogue
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake needs your say on tourism
St Catharines Standard
Boost For Tourism Infrastructure In Southern Ontario
WeeklyVoice
Tourism Cochrane working to put community on visitor's map
Sudbury Star
LEADERSHIP
Celebrating Spring in Burlington with Indigenous Public Art
The Bay Observer
FESTIVALS & EVENTS
The Global Tourism Film Festival (GTFF) Promises to Deliver a Tour De Force Lineup of International Films, Seminars and Workshops
Cision
FUNDING & GRANTS
Applications sought for 2023 SDG Regional Tourism Grant
Seaway news
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