by Jim Byers
Last updated: 8:49 PM ET, Wed July 14, 2021
The future of the cruise industry in Canada will be on the line on Thursday in Victoria, B.C.
Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra has called a press conference for the cruise dock in Victoria to address the cruise industry. British Columbia Transportation Minister Rob Fleming also will be on hand.
The scheduled event has led to tremendous speculation that Canada will announce an easing of restrictions for the battered cruise industry.
The Trudeau government in early February announced that a ban on large cruise ships entering Canadian waters would be extended until February of next year. But cruise industry officials are hopeful Ottawa will announce that the ban will end at that time, if not sooner.
"I don't think the prime minister should be tone deaf to a $4-billion industry," Victoria harbour authority CEO Ian Robertson said last month. Robertson said if a plan wasn't announced soon, cruise lines might skip stops in Canada completely in 2022.
Cruise ships are an important part of the tourism industry in Victoria and Vancouver, and it's expected that Alghabra will have good news for British Columbia workers.
One tourism source told TravelPulse Canada that the industry believes the Liberal government will announce that the cruise ship ban will end next February, thus allowing cruise companies to plan stops in Canada for the 2022 cruise season.
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