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.

Featured Projects

Project

Empowering the Northern Workforce: Information Technology Readiness in the North

• July 2024
• University College of the North

The University College of the North (UCN) developed the Information Technology Readiness North (InTeRN) program, which is exclusively designed for Northern Indigenous women.

• Inclusive Economy
• Tech and Automation

3 Related Reports

• Final reportPDF
  Information technology readiness North (InTeRN): a young, northern workforce enters the world of ICT
• Literature ReviewPDF
  An overview of the elements of information technology readiness north (InTeRN) at University College of the North
• Insights ReportPDF
  Download Insights Report

Research

Supporting Mid-Career Workers with Disabilities

• July 2025
• Ontario Tech University, 3+ Economic Development Corporation

This project, Supporting Mid-Career Workers with Disabilities, focused on addressing the employment barriers that persons with disabilities, particularly those aged 35 to 49, face in Canada.

• Inclusive Economy

3 Related Reports

• Full research reportPDF
  Mid Career Workers with Disabilities Project Final Report
• Evaluation Reportpdf
  Mid-career Workers with Disabilities Secondary Analysis
• Insights ReportPDF
  Download Insights Report

Research

Retaining Canada’s Healthcare Workforce

• August 2025
• Signal49 Research (formerly The Conference Board of Canada)

This research will examine how healthcare workers move into and within Canada. Through focus groups with representatives from regulatory bodies and healthcare educators and a thorough examination of data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information and provincial regulatory bodies, we will develop recommendations for retaining healthcare workers, distinguishing between strategies for domestically or internationally trained professionals.

View more