Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC)

The Northern Tourism Recovery Incubator developed by ITAC was created to support SMEs in Northern communities to strengthen their business, rebuild Indigenous tourism operators and re-train staff members to support visitors and public health expectations as the tourism industry recovers.

The needs of these businesses were assessed through a national accreditation program (Project Rise) which provided individual business assessments and aggregated data for ongoing support. By working with the Indigenous provincial and territorial partners, ITAC supported the effective delivery of regionally specific support to revitalize operators ahead of the 2023 operating season. Regional needs were considered as businesses reported through the accreditation program, recognizing that the gaps in one part of the country may not be the same as another. This coordinated effort aimed to increase tourism revenues and jobs by increasing Indigenous tourism products to meet visitor demands.

Aerial view of the airport. Airplane taxiing to runway.

Featured Projects

Machine learning artificial intelligence
Research

Machine Learning and the Labour Market: A Portrait of Occupational and Worker Inequities in Canada

Machine learning (ML), a rapidly advancing subfield of artificial intelligence, is increasingly reshaping work across Canada’s labour market. ML automates and augments a broad range of job tasks, including non-routine cognitive functions such as learning, prediction, and problem-solving.
a snowy field with northern lights.
Research

Getting Beyond Non-Standard Employment: Sustainable livelihoods for Indigenous communities in Northern Canada

This research project seeks to understand why Indigenous workers in Canada’s North tend to be concentrated in part-year and part-time work, and which career pathways and supports can help them achieve more sustainable livelihoods.
Group of diverse businesspeople having a meeting in a modern office at work.
State of Skills

Meeting the Demand for Talent

Building a resilient national talent pool requires a shift from traditional credential-based hiring and training approaches towards skills-first practices and demand-driven training. These efforts must be paired with increased employer investments in training, and the active removal of systemic barriers for equity-deserving groups.
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