Mulcair pledges support for wine tourism in the Okanagan

Today, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair brought his Campaign for Change to the beautiful Okanagan where he focused on his concrete plans to promote tourism and support small and medium sized businesses.

“The Okanagan is increasingly earning great respect for the quality of its wines and its tourism industry,” said Mulcair. “Our commitment to Destination Canada will bring more American tourists north, boosting the region’s economy and creating good jobs.”

An NDP government will attract more visitors from the United States with a $30 million investment in Destination Canada (formerly the Canadian Tourism Commission), for its Connecting America campaign. Mulcair will also reduce the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%, helping tourism operators invest in growth and job creation.

“Our plan for change will create jobs and support economic growth right here in Kelowna and across the country, repairing the damage that Liberal and Conservative cuts have done to Canada’s tourism industry,” said Mulcair.

Canada’s tourism industry supports 600,000 jobs across the country. But the number of visitors from the United States has dropped by 4.6 million between 2002 and 2014. “It is high time for Ottawa to boost investment in promoting the Canada Brand so regions like the Okanagan can better compete with emerging tourist destinations,” said Mulcair.

Mulcair also acknowledged the serious forest fire situation the Okanagan is facing and reiterated his pledge to invest in coordination, training and equipment for forest fire response.

Mulcair was joined by NDP candidates for Kelowna – Lake Country, Norah Bowman and Central Okanagan – Similkameen – Nicola, Angelique Wood, at Summerhill Winery.