Festivals and events are a major contributor to the Canadian economy bringing millions of visitors to our country each year. The ripple effects of these activities play a key role in supporting our tourism and hospitality sectors. The Government of Canada is committed to revitalizing major events and festivals and the hard-hit tourism industry, while strengthening communities and local economies.
Today, the Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced a combined investment of over $12.3 million to support the return of Tennis Canada’s National Bank Open tournament and the Boots and Hearts Music Festival (Boots and Hearts), operated by Republic Live. This combined investment is provided through the Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative.
Tennis Canada operates the men’s and women’s National Bank Open presented by Rogers tournaments, with the events alternating annually between Montréal and Toronto. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tennis Canada canceled all tournaments in 2020 and operated with limited attendance in 2021.
The Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, is providing a non-repayable investment of over $9.3 million to support the return of the National Bank Open to Toronto from August 6-14. This investment supports tournament enhancements, such as infrastructure upgrades to accommodate more fans and improvements to product offerings, including the delivery of the UNMATCHED: Gender Equity in Sports Conference, featuring world-renowned tennis champion Billie Jean King, to take place August 10. Today’s announcement is part of a nearly $20-million investment in Tennis Canada, which includes a $10-million non-repayable investment, also announced today by the Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions to support the men’s National Bank Open tournament in Montréal.
Boots and Hearts is the largest country music and camping festival in Canada and five-time winner of the Canadian Country Music Awards festival of the year. The festival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. With a repayable contribution of over $3 million, Republic Live will be able to return to the event to its pre-COVID scale and scope in 2022, with four days of performances on both the main and secondary stages, and enhanced health and sanitization-related measures to deliver a safe festival environment.
These investments will enable event organizers to safely welcome visitors and be better positioned for long-term success, while providing spillover economic and job benefits to businesses across the region.
“Major festivals and tourist attractions, such as Tennis Canada’s National Bank Open tournament and Boots and Hearts Music Festival, are vital to the local economy attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to southern Ontario. Through the Major Festivals and Event Support Initiative, the Government of Canada is helping these organizations bounce back from the pandemic and drive local economic growth to the region.”
- The Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
