Representatives from academia and industry gathered in Ottawa to explore what could become a landmark milestone for Canada’s tourism sector. In March, the Canadian University Tourism Coalition (CUTC), together with Tourism HR Canada and key industry partners, convened a two-day…
By Joe Baker, Tourism HR Canada Board of Directors. First Chances Matter I’ve been thinking a lot lately about first chances. My first paid job in tourism was an internship in the in-room dining department at the Royal York Hotel…
A lot of the research carried out on HR practices in business assumes a fairly large organisation—one with a dedicated HR professional, if not an entire team. But the overwhelming majority of tourism businesses in Canada are small and micro-sized…
Accommodations Sees Losses Against Sector Growth. The tourism sector[1] in February 2026 saw slight gains over the previous month[2], with labour force growth outpacing employment, pulling the unemployment rate up slightly. Across the broader national economy, labour force edged up…
New investments to reduce skills shortages, improve job readiness, and support long-term growth. OTTAWA, ON, March 9, 2026 — Today’s Government of Canada announcement of new investments through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program (SWSP) confirmed that Tourism HR Canada is one…
Tourism Contracts in Parallel with Broader Economy. The tourism sector[1] in January 2026 contracted slightly from December[2], with both labour force (-0.5%) and employment (-1.6%) seeing decreases. However, these losses were broadly in line with patterns seen across the broader…
One of the challenges our tourism sector faces is inconsistency. With industry associations, DMOs, and economic development teams each focused on their specific needs—to say nothing of differences between municipal, regional, provincial/territorial, and national frames of reference—it’s very easy to…
Tourism HR Canada is a proud partner on the Skills That Travel microsite, a workforce development initiative of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO). The site features a curated collection of courses, training pathways, and practical resources to support…
On January 22, 2026, Tourism HR Canada and the Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en tourisme (CQRHT) formalized a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening their collaboration on labour market intelligence (LMI) in the tourism sector. Today’s workforce context…
Pre-Holiday Travel Lull Leads to Slight Drop in Employment. While December often marks a time of travel for many Canadians, the pre-holiday period—which the December Labour Force Survey targeted—remains a bit of a lull, with many businesses not yet ramping…
Two students and a teacher from Regina’s Balfour Collegiate had the unique opportunity to build connections and share ideas with other tourism students, educators, and industry professionals from around the world at the 2025 Global Travel and Tourism Partnership (GTTP)…
Canadian tourism is adapting to digital acceleration, climate pressures, and workforce shifts—all while maintaining the human connections that define our sector. Conversations at three recent major gatherings— the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s Tourism Congress, the Conseil québécois des ressources…
