'Canada Strong' pass aims to make sightseeing cheaper for Canadians
Summer just got a whole lot easier on the wallet for Canadian families with the launch of the Canada Strong Pass.
It's designed to help kids and young families discover the best of Canada-for free.
Under the plan, children and youth under 18 will get free admission to national parks, galleries and museums and free VIA Rail tickets when travelling with a parent, while 18 to 24-year-olds will see steep discounts.
Camping at National Parks will be more affordable with fees reduced.
Introducing, the Canada Strong Pass. pic.twitter.com/exM85OXnL0
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 12, 2025
The Federal Government wants Canadians to spend their money at home.
From B.C. to Newfoundland, Yukon to southern Ontario, there is no shortage of wilderness and weather to explore in the Great White North.
The Canada Strong Pass will be available starting in June, with the hope that provincial parks will also jump on board.
Click here to view the video
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Fewer foreign tourists are visiting NYC. The city is feeling the pinch
Bill Martin says he has heard all kinds of concerns lately from people considering a visit to the United States. 'Worries about getting in, worries about being detained at the border. I think there is a worldwide fear about what is happening here,' said the Australian, who spoke to CNN recently while on an open-air bus tour of New York City. Martin is on a six-week trip that's included a cruise from Tokyo to Vancouver and a stopover in New York. Along the way he says he's had lots of conversations with his fellow travelers about how the US' status as a magnet for tourists has changed. 'There is doubt as to whether people will get in (to the country),' he added. 'And that causes people to think of a better destination to visit than the USA.' Eman Moretti, an Italian who is studying in the United States, said President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies have made him nervous about his family visiting him in New York. 'With Trump it was a bit harder even for them to come,' said the student, flanked by his mother, father and his two brothers on a recent midday stroll through Times Square. 'It was challenging, because you never know if people get in through customs. So it was a bit (of a) hostile environment.' 'Your visa could be canceled,' added Javier Muenala, visiting Times Square from Ecuador. 'So it's a lot of risks that many people don't want to take.' This anxiety from foreigners about travel to the US in 2025 is increasingly reflected in the numbers. Spending by international travelers to the United States is expected to be down $12.5 billion this year, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Some of the nation's leading tourist destinations, including Orlando, Miami and Los Angeles, are bracing for how the decline will impact businesses that rely on spending from international travelers. The downturn is being felt especially hard in New York City, the nation's top destination for international travel. New York City Tourism + Conventions, the city's official marketing organization, has cut its forecast for international tourists in 2025 by 17%. Julie Coker, the group's CEO and president, told CNN the city is expected to host 2 million fewer international travelers this year than in 2024. 'We are still hopeful, but we are starting to see the bookings slow down some,' Coker said. 'International tourism is extremely important to us because while it only makes up 20 percent of our total visitation, it accounts for 50 percent of our visitor spend. This was to be the year we were to hit pre-Covid levels … and so to have this stall or pause it's what's disappointing.' New York City is the most popular port of entry for international visitors to the US. And more people historically visit the US from Canada than from any other country. But there's recent evidence that some Canadians, offended by the political rhetoric coming from Washington, are boycotting the US. Coker says the decline in New York City tourism is partly the result of having fewer Canadian visitors. Tour operators such as Matt Levy, who has seen a slowdown in business, agrees. 'They're going to Halifax, they're going to Nova Scotia, they're going to Vancouver. They're spending money in their own country, said Levy, owner of Spread Love Tours, which offers customized tours of New York for art lovers, foodies, families and other groups. Levy has been leading tours of the city for three years. He says much of his business relies on international tourism, especially Canadian student groups. But in recent months Levy says Canadian travel agents have told him their clients are avoiding the States because they're unnerved by threats of tariffs or turned off by Trump's comments about making Canada the 51st state. Levy said that if the political climate doesn't improve, business for him will likely be even worse in 2026. 'Next year is going to be hard. Next year is going to be vicious,' he said. 'My three largest Canadian clients, all three of them told me universally (that) the PTA boards aren't going to let the kids come to America. They're going to say, no, we're going to spend money in our country instead,' he said. 'That's 40 percent of my business.' Renée Rewiski has been a tour guide in New York City for more than a decade and says she has not seen numbers like this since the doldrums of the Covid-19 pandemic. 'This time last year (we had) 20 people on the tour. We have five today,' Rewiski said on a recent day as she led a handful of tourists around lower Manhattan. 'I'm just seeing fewer people and from fewer countries,' she said. Rewiski is a guide with Tours by Foot, which offers walking tours of such landmark New York neighborhoods as Brooklyn, Harlem and Greenwich Village. She worries that if something does not change soon, jobs could be at risk. 'I'm not sure what we can do. I'm not sure how to change the attitudes, but just know people are losing their jobs in New York City (and) you're hurting the wrong people,' she said, addressing her comments to foreign tourists. 'The people who are doing some of the things you're not liking are not the ones getting hurt,' she added. 'We're the ones that are being hurt.' Despite the recent headwinds, no one CNN spoke to in the New York travel industry says they're giving up. The hope is the heated political climate will cool down and events such as the 2026 World Cup in nearby East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the US' 250th anniversary next summer will boost interest among international visitors. In the meantime, Coker of NYC Tourism + Conventions says her organization has been promoting the city with a campaign that's been running since May outside the US. It's called, 'With Love + Liberty, New York City.' Coker has a message for anyone thinking about visiting the Big Apple. 'What we say to them is… New York City is open for business,' she says. 'And while we have hit a bump in the road, we're here when you're ready to visit.'
New York Post
16 hours ago
- New York Post
Trump's immigration, trade policies could cost tourism industry $12B: report
The US economy could lose out on billions of dollars this year as President Trump's policies hamper the tourism industry, according to a report. The administration's mass deportation efforts, costly trade war, anti-LGBTQ legislation and, most recently, a travel ban on 12 countries have hammered foreign arrivals and spurred anti-US boycotts. The backlash from foreign visitors is expected to cost the US economy a whopping $12.5 billion this year, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. Advertisement However, the organization's estimates have been vastly off the mark in the past. It predicted that growth in the country's travel sector would slow significantly in 2017 after Trump's surprising first election victory, but the number of visitors actually jumped amid a worldwide upswing in tourism. 3 The US economy could lose out on billions of dollars this year as the tourism sector is hammered by policy changes. AP Though Trump has made clear his frustrations with the trade deficit, the projected decline in tourism would only worsen the issue, as spending by foreign visitors in the US is counted toward our exports, according to a Bloomberg report. Advertisement The White House did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment. Foreign arrivals to the US by air have plunged 2.5% so far this year through April compared to the year before, according to the US International Trade Administration. The largest drop came in March, when arrivals fell 10% after Trump unveiled hefty tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico. Those tariffs, combined with Trump's call to annex Canada as the 51st state, have prompted frustrated Canadians to call for a travel boycott and to stop buying US products. Advertisement Figures on Canadian tourism have not been released by the US yet, but Canada's statistics bureau said trips across the border tumbled 15% in April for the third straight month of decline. Research firms have scaled back their expectations for US tourism this year since Trump took office. Tourism Economics now expects just 66 million visitors – above previous expectations of 79 million – as policy changes prompt travelers to book trips elsewhere, according to Bloomberg. 3 Venezuelan migrants arrive after being deported from the United States at Simon Bolivar International Airport. REUTERS The largest reversal will likely come from Canadians, with visits expected to plunge 20% this year, followed by a nearly 6% drop from western Europe, Tourism Economics said. Advertisement Air carriers like Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa have started to cancel long-haul flights to popular US cities while travel sites like Airbnb, and Expedia have warned that their earnings could be hit hard this year. At least a dozen foreign nations have advised their citizens to use caution when traveling to the US due to the risk of being detained by immigration officials. Others have warned transgender and nonbinary citizens that they could run into trouble using their passports after Trump signed an executive order recognizing 'male' and 'female' as the only two sexes. Global air bookings to the US from May 1 to July 31 are 11% lower than the same time last year, according to Tourism Economics. 3 President Trump departing the White House on Friday for a weekend trip to New Jersey. Getty Images And it's the first year that spending by overseas visitors is expected to fall since the pandemic, with a projected 7% dip to less than $169 billion, according to WTTC. The US is the only economy expected to suffer a tourism revenue decline this year out of the nearly 200 economies tracked by the WTTC.
San Francisco Chronicle
18 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
3 Canadian national team players among the Whitecaps stricken by illness
Three Canadian national team players were among those who fell ill following the Vancouver Whitecaps' appearance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final last weekend in Mexico City. The Whitecaps said a "significant number" of players and staff had a gastrointestinal illness. Three of them — Ali Ahmed, Sam Adekugbe and Jayden Nelson — were ill when they arrived at Canada's training camp in Halifax ahead of Saturday's Canadian Shield match against Ukraine, coach Jesse Marsch said Friday. 'They're better now,' Marsch said. 'They're probably not ready for 90-minute performances." The trio practiced with the national team Friday in preparation for the match at Toronto's BMO Field. Canada also plays Ivory Coast on Tuesday as it readies for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Marsch, who said it was his understanding that the players had food poisoning, questioned how it could happen two years in a row. Last year, Columbus Crew players fell ill while playing in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final in Mexico against Pachuca. "If I were the Vancouver Whitecaps, if I was the Columbus Crew, if I was MLS, I would be angry. I would be absolutely angry that this had been allowed to happen,' he said. The Whitecaps were forced to cancel practice Wednesday and had a modified session for cleared players Thursday after both players and staff reported the gastrointestinal symptoms. It appeared many players had returned Friday. 'The health and well-being of our players and staff remain a top priority. Each player has been provided with an individualized program by the medical and performance staff to support their continued preparation and recovery,' the Whitecaps said in a statement. Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster told reporters that about half of the 75 people who returned to Canada via charter following the game reported symptoms. The Whitecaps lost 5-0 to Liga MX team Cruz Azul in the tournament's championship game Sunday night in Mexico City. The Whitecaps were scheduled to play the Seattle Sounders in a Cascadia Cup rivalry match at BC Place on Sunday. Nine players were already going to be missing because of national team duty, including Ahmed, Adekugbe and Nelson. Schuster said the Whitecaps have been in contact with the league about whether the team would have enough players for the game. "If we have enough healthy and fit players available, we want to play it, of course,' Schuster said. 'No one ever wants not to play a game if he thinks he has a group together that is ready to compete in this game.' ___
