TORONTO — ACTA has pulled together a comparison of the platform points and promises for the three major federal political parties as they relate to support for businesses, tourism and the travel industry.

The comparison tool, detailing pledges from the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP, can be found here.

“Now is the time to speak with electoral candidates and share your need for continued federal financial support,” said ACTA President Wendy Paradis. “There is huge value in sharing your own story and message on Twitter, as candidates are closely following activity there. “

ACTA is also continuing to pursue its advocacy work on the extension of support for Independent Contractors, for a program like CRB.

Election Day is Sept. 20, and ACTA is urging the industry to keep up the pressure in the last days of campaigning. “Every meeting, call, door to door discussion with candidates, and social media message a candidate sees has the potential to impact the course of national policy, including financial support,” says ACTA.

Sample tweets, key notes and other resources are available here, to support member grassroots advocacy.

ACTA is also strongly encouraging members to vote. “There is much to be lost – or gained—in the outcome of this election,” said Paradis. “For the travel industry, this is the most important election of our lifetime. For many of our members, their very survival depends on it.”

ACTA has partnered with industry associations to advocate throughout the election campaign for ongoing financial support for travel agencies and their employees, as well as Independent Contractors.

“We have seen tremendous benefit from our own advocacy efforts combined with joining these coalitions of other tourism industry associations,” said Paradis. “These partners bring a lot to the table in terms of advocacy experience and collectively, we have more impact than we would on our own.”

Paradis adds that one important partner is The Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses which is co-chaired by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC), and whose key mandate is to advocate for continuation of CEWS and CERS for Canada’s travel and tourism industry up until at least May 2022.

The Hardest Hit coalition held a webinar on September 10, 2021 following the federal leaders’ debates. Government relations experts joined the webinar and gave an overview of each federal party and how their platforms impact the travel and tourism sector.

ACTA is also part of the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable which is focused on the easing of travel restrictions in a safe and measured way based on science and data.