Canada: Mont-Tremblant Airport receives $221,000 from federal government to maintain regional connectivity and jobs
Quebec: Regional air transportation is crucial to local economic growth, the movement of goods and the connectivity of Canadians across the country. The pandemic has had major impacts on regional air transportation ecosystems, affecting local communities and businesses from coast to coast to coast.
The Government of Canada’s Regional Air Transportation Initiative (RATI), launched in March 2021, supports access to air transportation and regional ecosystems. In particular, it enables existing air connections to be maintained and ensures airports remain operational and are able to continue contributing to regional economic growth, while adapting to new post-COVID-19 realities and requirements.
Re-establishing regional service
With this in mind, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Member of Parliament for Hochelaga and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for CED, today announced $221,000 in financial support for the Mont-Tremblant International Airport. Hit hard by the financial crisis stemming from the pandemic, the airport will use this conditional repayable contribution to maintain its operations and re-establish regional service. This CED support will lead to the creation and maintenance of 13 jobs.
The Mont-Tremblant International Airport—recognized as a major hub in developing the region’s tourism markets and certified by Transport Canada as a public airport able to welcome commercial flights—also serves as a base for the Sûreté du Québec and the Canadian Armed Forces during rescue operations and search for lost individuals.
Regional air transportation is key to the economic development of communities and businesses right across Canada. It is essential to connect Canadians living in rural and remote communities to urban centres, deliver Canadian goods to the global market and welcome international visitors to all parts of the country, when it is safe to do so.