P.E.I.'s bill for high profile at NHL's 4-Nations Face-Off topped $500,000, legislature hears

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 27, 2025 7:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Although erstwhile premier Dennis King suggested the state mightiness beryllium looking to get retired of its multimillion-dollar sponsorship statement with the National Hockey League, the P.E.I. Legislature heard Thursday that the provincial government spent adjacent much wealth connected promotion astatine a large league event successful January. 

Hal Perry, who leads the Opposition Liberals, said the $2.5 cardinal per twelvemonth pricetag for the province's NHL declaration did not see the outgo of P.E.I.'s narration with the 4-Nations Face-Off.

That was the NHL's 2025 replacement for its accepted All-Star Game, and featured teams made up of NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. Canada's squad ended up winning the tournament. 

The province's concern with the event cost much than $500,000, according to records tabled by Perry.

The documents showed Tourism P.E.I. spent the pursuing amounts:

• $287,500 (including HST) connected a sponsorship statement circumstantial to the 4-Nations Face-Off;
• more than $200,000 mounting up a booth astatine the event;
• more than $20,000 connected unit travel, accommodations and meals;
• almost $5,000 connected oysters and Cow's chips; and
• another $6,826 for a enactment point that said "Shucker – P.E.I." — presumably the outgo of hiring a idiosyncratic oregon persons to unfastened the oysters.  

"The erstwhile premier suggested tearing up the NHL woody erstwhile tariffs were announced. Instead, this authorities doubled down… [and] signed different cheque for different NHL event," Perry said successful the legislature. 

Minister of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport and Culture Zack Bell replied that the NHL woody is portion of a tourism strategy, and was developed successful speech with manufacture players. 

He confirmed that the state did spouse with the 4-Nations Face-Off, but said it was successful conjunction with the province's earlier woody with the league. 

"As portion of the NHL contract, we were awarded 1 tentpole event," helium said.

Examples of those high-profile branding events would see the NHL All-Star Game and the NHL Winter Classic, which each diagnostic 1 game, Bell said. 

"With the 4-Nations Cup, we had 7 games," helium said, adding that the last crippled betwixt Canada and the U.S. had much than 16 cardinal viewers. 

Bell said determination is grounds that the NHL promotional ties were working, saying: "Our website stats for 2024 were up 140 per cent… for English, and 79 per cent for French."

But Perry pointed retired that the 4-Nations Face-Off was held successful January 2025, not in 2024, and said the website postulation information from past twelvemonth doesn't matter. 

"In precocious January of 2025, [the province] received a measure from the NHL for astir $300,000, and by mid-February, the curate was flying to Boston with unit to vino and dine yet different NHL event," Perry said. 

"At a clip erstwhile Canadians are anxious implicit unfair commercialized action, this authorities was signing a caller NHL woody handing implicit hundreds of thousands of dollars successful Island taxation dollars for much cross-border branding and much firm hospitality," helium said. 

Perry asked however the authorities tin "talk tough" astir U.S. tariffs erstwhile signing caller NHL contracts that nonstop nationalist wealth close into American pockets. 

Bell said a tariff warfare affects consumers, and American consumers with the buying powerfulness associated with a comparatively beardown currency are the benignant of visitors the Island wants to attract. 

"We proceed to put successful the U.S. due to the fact that we privation those American tourists to travel to P.E.I., we request those American tourists to travel to P.E.I.," helium said. "They are a high-yield user that volition travel present and, with the Canadian dollar being a small spot lower, this is simply a spot wherever they tin travel and walk their hard-earned dollars." 

Bell tabled figures showing tourism spending connected P.E.I was up was up 4 per cent past twelvemonth compared with 2023, but Liberal and Green MLAs said the authorities hasn't enactment guardant thing to beryllium the NHL woody is liable for the increase.

Bell said the state has hired a advisor to analyse the tourism revenue.