
FAQs
Employment and Social Development Canada covering Federal Employment Insurance, Child Benefits, Pension, Student loans.
Tourism HR Canada for tourism workforce resources and links including Provincial/Territorial Health Authorities, Industry associations, and a great summary of Federal program support (download “Helping Employers Deal with Worker-Related Issues” COVID-19 presentation from March 20, 2020 here PDF, 1.3MB).
The Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan webpage lists available federal programs for employees and employers.
Additionally Business Development Bank of Canada has two financing programs available: the Canada Emergency Business Account and SME Loan and Guarantee program.
Public Health Agency of Canada Travel Advisories lists all travel restrictions and advisories including this advisory specific to COVID-19.
Please see the Public Health Agency of Canada for official government messaging. Due to the uncertainty and quick moving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, please note that any end date for international travel bans published by the government may change as the situation requires. This means the travel ban might be lifted sooner or later than any published date.
As tourism industry professionals, our best advice is to treat these published end dates as “to be confirmed”. Destination Canada will relay any change in travel restriction dates as soon as the information becomes available on this page.
This time offers an opportunity for Canadians to explore their own country when health authorities advise it is safe to do so. If we collectively build passion for travel within Canada, it will have long-term impacts and change how Canadians see and value their own country for holiday and business travel, now and in the future. Please visit CandaNice.ca for resources for domestic travel to Canadians, including a user-friendly Interactive Map that shows current travel restrictions and safe travel requirements by province and territory.
Inspiration and safety are key players in helping Canadians feel confident about booking travel experiences when/as conditions allow. It is crucial that Canadian businesses adapt to the health and safety requirements with smart strategies and innovations to keep guests safe, while not compromising on the experiences. We are conducting weekly analysis of each region’s travel restrictions and local residents’ sentiment towards tourists. This can help you make evidence-based decisions when it comes to marketing to Canadians right now.
It is critical for you to work with your provinces and cities. Make sure you have your info fed into your provincial tourism organizations as Destination Canada is investing $30 million with Provincial and Territorial Marketing Organizations to support the recovery of communities. This initiative will be rolled out over 18 months and each province or territory, at their own time, will assess the best distribution of funds.
We have created a user-friendly Interactive Map on CanadaNice.ca that shows current travel restrictions and safe travel requirements by province and territory, among other resources offered for travellers on the website.
We have created a video series designed to help Canadian tourism business get the most out of their marketing efforts, reach travellers and remain competitive. The quick tutorials feature Destination Canada team members sharing their expertise. The episodes will be released and posted below over the coming weeks. Please find these videos here.
Destination Canada has a history of working with travel advisors in our international markets, helping them sell Canadian experiences to inbound travellers. As a result, we have been able to pivot quickly to capture valuable training resources and share this knowledge with domestic travel advisors, who may not be as familiar with selling Canada to their clients.
The Canada Specialist Program is intended to be a one-stop resource for travel advisors in Canada, to help them learn about the destinations, understand travel restrictions, and connect them with the tour operators.
More details on our Canada Specialist Program, including a schedule of webinars for travel advisors is available on our website: canadaspecialist.ca