Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Maninder Sidhu (left), Minister of Tourism Jamaica Edmund Bartlett (centre) and Minister of Tourism Canada Randy Boissonnault following a meeting on Thursday, November 17, on Parliament hill in Ottawa, Canada.
KINGSTON, Jamaica–The long-established relationship between Jamaica and Canada, its second largest tourism market, has been strengthened with an agreement reached on Thursday, November 17, 2022, to enter a new era of cooperation and collaboration in tourism, resilience and sustainability.
Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett and his Canadian counterpart Randy Boissonnault, agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) when they met on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Boissonnault is Canada’s first full-fledged Minister of Tourism but also holds the portfolio of Associate Minister of Finance. Two other key stakeholders in the Parliament Hill meeting were Jamaica’s High Commissioner to Canada Sharon Miller and Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Maninder Sidhu.
The two ministers agreed on an MOU to share best practices and build capacity in training and human capital development, marketing, investment and the expansion of tourism resilience and sustainability programmes and projects.
Although tourism is Canada’s second largest export and growing, Minister Boissonnault said the industry was never seen as being critical. However, with a changing paradigm, it was now being pursued with new insights and a commitment made to funding and support for a meaningful MOU, recognising the key role that Jamaica and Canada can play in strengthening global tourism.
