The Honourable Karen Sorensen, Independent Senator for Alberta and co-chair of the Parliamentary Tourism Caucus, set the stage for the event, with a strong statement about the impact of the tourism sector from coast to coast to coast. She spoke about the need for Canadians to better recognize the cultural and economic benefits of tourism. With a career that began in Banff’s robust tourism industry, she values the experience and skills one can develop and the many career pathways the industry affords. She noted tourism’s nation-building value—its ability to shape and share our identity, to create a sense of belonging, to create opportunities in communities big and small. She called for investment in tourism and the assets that support it and its workforce—housing, transportation, infrastructure—and encouraged those present to continue the valuable work they are doing to grow Canada as a world-class destination.