November 19, 2022– St. Jacobs, Ontario
Today, on behalf of the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), Tim Louis, Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Conestoga, announced that the Three Sisters Cultural Centre received $400,000 under the Tourism Relief Fund.
Through this investment, the Three Sisters Cultural Centre will revitalize downtown St. Jacobs by providing needed space for artists to create and sell their work as they engage visitors through experiential activities, workshops and events.
The Government of Canada is committed to supporting tourism in southern Ontario by ensuring local businesses, and the organizations that support them, have the tools they need to position themselves for a strong and resilient economic future.
Today’s investment reinforces the Government of Canada’s commitment to helping tourism businesses and communities safely welcome back visitors, create jobs, recover from the impacts of the pandemic and prepare for future growth.
Quotes
“Our government recognizes that tourism is vitally important to the vibrancy and economic health of communities across southern Ontario. I am committed to helping businesses find new and innovative ways to recover and thrive once again. Investments through the Tourism Relief Fund help ensure that the region’s tourism sector will be well-positioned to welcome back visitors today and in the years to come.”
- The Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
“The Canadian tourism sector continues to be one of the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We will work with businesses and organizations through these challenging times, ensuring they get support to innovate in their products and services as well as to grow and thrive, all while keeping safety as the top priority. The Tourism Relief Fund helps businesses adapt to welcome back guests safely. It also feeds into a broader strategy to help the sector recover from the pandemic and build an economy that works for everyone. The Canadian economy will not fully recover until our tourism sector recovers.”
- The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
“I am proud to announce funding today for Three Sisters Cultural Centre, especially poignant since today we celebrate Women Entrepreneurship Day. The Centre will give artists space to create and sell their art while attracting tourists to our community. I look forward to hearing more about upcoming scheduled activities, workshops, and events.
The cultural centre is a welcome addition to an already thriving Arts community here in St. Jacobs.”
- Tim Louis – Member of Parliament for Ktichener-Conestoga
“The Three Sisters Cultural Centre is immensely grateful for this federal funding support which enables us to provide these services to the community in an accessible way allowing us to build the hub of artistic enterprise that we truly envision.”
- Jax Rula - Artistic Director, Three Sisters Cultural Centre
Quick Facts
• Located just outside of Waterloo, Ontario, along the Conestoga River, the Village of St. Jacobs is filled with authentic sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and incredible one-of-a-kind shopping, that are sure to re-inspire the soul.
• The Three Sisters Cultural Centre is a creative industries complex. By housing a critical mass of artistic enterprises to form a community they provide an affordable and supportive environment in which the creative industry can thrive in Waterloo Region.
• The Three Sisters is open to visitors and the general public providing them the opportunity to meet and interact with artists directly, participate in workshops and purchase unique and local artisanal items.
• The tourism industry accounts for $39.4 billion of Ontario’s gross domestic product (GDP) and supports more than 820,000 jobs.
The Government of Canada’s $500-million Tourism Relief Fund is helping tourism-oriented businesses and organizations recover from the pandemic and prepare for future growth, with a minimum of $50 million of the Fund allocated to supporting Indigenous-led projects or Indigenous-focused projects. FedDev Ontario is delivering nearly $120 million of the Tourism Relief Fund
