Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED)
Supporting the tourism industry boosts economic development in Quebec's regions. That is why the Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for CED, today announced a non-repayable contribution of $200,000 for the Musée maritime de Charlevoix to help it overcome the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This CED support, granted through the Tourism Relief Fund, will enable the museum to redevelop its infrastructure to welcome visitors, digitize its ticketing process, and install recharging stations for electric vehicles.
The Musée maritime de Charlevoix, recognized in 1998 as a national historic site of Canada, is a museum located on a former shipyard. The organization recounts the history of wooden schooners and coastal navigation on the St. Lawrence through an immersive voyage from forest to river. The project aims to improve the Musée maritime de Charlevoix's tourism offering by adapting the museum's welcome services and enabling it to adopt eco-friendly practices. It is of strategic importance for the region's tourism sector and is aligned with sustainable, responsible tourism.
A key contributor to the Canadian economy, the tourism sector has been hit hard by the health crisis. Since the start of the pandemic, the Government of Canada has put into place various measures to support businesses dealing with the impacts of COVID-19. Launched in July 2021, the Tourism Relief Fund was created specifically to help tourism businesses and organizations offer innovative products and services to visitors and to prepare to welcome international travellers once again.
Quotes
"Our government continues to be there for tourism businesses and organizations. Thanks to the support announced today, the Musée maritime de Charlevoix will be better equipped to face the future. Our assistance represents an important step in its efforts to recover and attract tourists from Canada and around the world so that they can all discover the best tourism experiences our country has to offer."
The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Member of Parliament for Brome-Missisquoi, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible of CED
"The Canadian tourism sector continues to be one of the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are fully committed to supporting the sector through these challenging times, keeping safety as the top priority while ensuring businesses get support to quickly recover and thrive. The Tourism Relief Fund will help businesses adapt, make improvements and be ready to welcome back guests. It also feeds into a broader strategy to help the sector withstand the pandemic, recover and eventually grow. The Canadian economy will not fully recover until our tourism sector recovers."
The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
"The development of the museum and its role in showcasing maritime culture and the culture of the Charlevoix region made modernizing its welcome structure a necessity. More space, more services, including to charge its visitors' and employees' electric vehicles, make sense in 2022. The museum will cover 15% of project costs and extends a warm thank-you to Minister St-Onge."
Claude Lafleur, President, Musée maritime de Charlevoix
Quick facts
- With a national budget of $500 million, including $485 million administered by the regional development agencies (RDAs) and $15 million by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF) is part of the $1 billion in tourism support announced in Budget 2021.
- A minimum of $50 million of the national TRF budget will be granted to Indigenous tourism projects. Indigenous communities highly dependent on tourism have been hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic.
- A total of $118.7 million from the TRF has been allocated to CED to be administered in Quebec.
- CED is a key federal partner in Quebec's regional economic development. With its 12 regional business offices, CED accompanies businesses, supporting organizations and all regions across Quebec into tomorrow's economy.
