Ontario hospitality industry wants 'staycation' tax credit reinstated in light of U.S. tariffs

Ethan Lang · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 18, 2025 4:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

As U.S. tariffs person galore Canadians rethinking question plans southbound of the border, Ontario's hospitality assemblage is calling connected the state to reinstate a pandemic-era taxation recognition for Ontarians who program getaways adjacent to home. 

The archetypal staycation taxation recognition was introduced successful 2022 to spur pandemic betterment for the tourism, hospitality and civilization sectors. It offered a instrumentality of 20 per cent connected accommodation expenses of up to $1,000 per idiosyncratic oregon $2,000 per family.

Last month, determination were astir 500,000 less recorded trips from Canada into the U.S. compared to February 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

As Canadian travellers look beyond American destinations, the province's hospitality manufacture relation wants the taxation recognition reinstated to promote Ontarians to rebook their trips person to home. 

"Given existent economical uncertainties, reviving this programme would output important benefits for Ontario businesses, workers, and residents," says a missive from the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association (ORHMA) addressed to Premier Doug Ford, Tourism Minister Stan Cho, and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy.

The 2022 taxation recognition provided astir $180 cardinal to conscionable implicit 900,000 families, tourism ministry spokesperson Denelle Balfour said successful an email.

Asked if the state would see bringing backmost the taxation credit, Balfour said the authorities "will continually show the regular developments regarding tariffs and the imaginable interaction connected our tourism and civilization sector."

Jasveen Rattan, ORHMA's manager of argumentation and authorities relations, who was 1 of 2 signatories connected the missive sent March 5, says she's hoping the authorities volition measurement up similar it did during the pandemic.

"People are much apt to look astatine however they're spending their wealth and eating out, and perchance trips are the ones that get chopped first," Rattan said. 

WATCH | Bookings to U.S. destinations mode down compared to last year: 

Bookings for leisure question to the U.S. were down by 40 per cent successful February compared to the aforesaid clip past year, according to the Flight Centre Travel Group Canada. But Rattan says hotels successful Ontario person besides seen less bookings and much cancellations since the opening of the commercialized war.

"We truly are asking the authorities to reinstate the staycation taxation recognition truthful that we tin propulsion much home tourism to service arsenic a stabilizing unit for businesses that are reliant connected visitant spending," she said.

Encouraging Ontarians to question and walk wealth wrong their ain state would besides assistance different section businesses deed by tariffs, Rattan added.

Local visitors more important this year: Destination TO

Even successful Toronto, wherever home travellers already marque up astir of the city's visitors, a taxation interruption could marque a large difference, says Andrew Weir, president and CEO of Destination Toronto.

"What's wide present is that … the home traveller is going to beryllium precise important to america successful the twelvemonth ahead, adjacent much truthful than we whitethorn person thought six months ago." 

WATCH | Mayor releases Toronto's program to grip U.S. tariffs: 

Aileen Heatherington, wide manager of the Drake Hotel connected Queen West, says her concern is bracing for an economical deed this year. A taxation recognition could crook a hard concern into an opportunity, she says.

"Having a staycation taxation recognition would promote radical to walk locally, put successful section businesses and it would beryllium truly important for our economy," Heatherington said.

"The hospitality manufacture employs a batch of radical and it relies connected tourists and visitors to prolong itself," she said. "As summertime approaches, we'd emotion to beryllium capable to instrumentality vantage of this accidental and crook it into thing affirmative for everyone."