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Good evening and welcome to the NWT Tourism Gala. 

I’m pleased to be here this evening to welcome you to the gala, and use this opportunity to introduce myself as the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment and Infrastructure.

Being Minister of these departments is an important responsibility and I’m looking forward to working with the Premier and my Cabinet colleagues on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories to advance the priorities of these departments. 

A big part of the dialogue during the election and since has been about economic diversification. This is also a priority for the Department of ITI. 

Economic diversification will play a crucial part in the future of this territory as we look to build a reliable and stable economy. Our tourism industry is one of the sectors we’re referring to when we talk about ways to diversify our economy, and there have already been many success stories to speak of.  

Yesterday, the Department of ITI shared the tourism visitor and spending numbers for 2019 with you. Not only did they continue an upward climb, forging new records; but they also surpassed the target the GNWT set in the Tourism 2020 strategy. 

In 2019, the NWT welcomed over 120 thousand visitors and saw over $210 million dollars in spending as a result. Those numbers reflect an increase of 42 and 43 percent, respectively, over the last five years. That is staggering growth.  

It is not growth that happens overnight and it is not growth that happens by chance. It takes hard work every day by people like those of you represented in the room tonight.

It takes decisions made with strategy and foresight, and sometimes it takes leaping into the unknown and taking a chance. That is what each of you here have done as you took those first steps into the industry by starting your tourism businesses, expanding them, rebuilding and diversifying. 

I may be new to this role, but I can tell you that the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to economic diversification and that means supporting our flourishing tourism industry.

A little background about me that I want to share tonight:  I have spent a lot of my life traveling, being a tourist and learning. I have seen firsthand about some of the challenges running a small tourism business entails – particularly in the North.  

I mentioned traveling, and I highlighted that because in addition to traveling across Canada and other parts of the world – I have been fortunate enough to spend some time travelling throughout Asia, including to Cambodia, Japan, and China during my time working overseas teaching English. 

I am confident that the experiences I gained during that period in my life will prove useful in this role as Minister of ITI.

I am engaged in the community and committed to life in the NWT and making the North a better place for the people in it. I will be a champion for this industry, for the North, and for you.

Tonight, let’s celebrate some of the milestones that have been reached that support the tourism industry.  

1. The completion of the Inuvik to Tuk Highway has brought waves of visitors and media to the Beaufort Delta Region, while coastal communities like Ulukhaktok continue to awe and impress cruise ship passengers.
2. In the Sahtu, tourism workshops have been popping up as well as new tourism businesses and infrastructure – from an idyllic lodge to new campgrounds and walking trails.
3. In the Dehcho, communities and tourism professionals are rallying together and getting organized. In addition to hosting tourism conferences and meetings, they are taking advantage of training opportunities like the Small Vessel Operating Protocol.
4. In the North Slave, we’re seeing communities such as Łutselkʼe host tourism conferences and welcome film productions to get more eyes on the north, while the City of Yellowknife advances its new role as a destination marketing organization.
5. In the South Slave, infrastructure projects like transitioning the Fisherman’s Wharf to a year-round pavilion are taking tourism initiatives to the next level while dedicated people like Hay River’s Community Tourism Coordinator are working hard with tourism operators to create packages for guests. 

We see the potential – and the appetite - for tourism growth in every community and every region in the Northwest Territories. That is a strong position for this territory to be in at the start of the 19^th Assembly. 

Whether the north has been your home all your life, you’re a new arrival, or you’re a visitor experiencing the wonders of this territory for only a few days, it is a place that transforms you. 

Together, we will work to welcome more visitors across this territory so that they too can experience the transformative power of this place and its people. We’re in this together and I can’t wait to see what the next four years bring. 

Thank you and enjoy the rest of the evening.