Is Carney the right choice for the travel industry? Travel pros sound off

This article was updated on Tuesday, April 29 at 12:14 p.m. EST

Mark Carney led the Liberals to a minority-government win Monday (April 28) in an election that was disrupted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s steep trade tariffs and threats about annexation.

It was a narrow victory as the Liberals race against the Conservatives was tighter than polls initially predicted.

Support for the Conservatives was the highest in almost four decades. In the end, party leader Pierre Poilievre lost his Carleton seat to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy, closing a nearly two-decade tenure as an MP in the Ottawa-area riding.

The Liberals’ victory is being viewed as a major achievement for Mr. Carney, a political rookie and former central banker who sought elected office for the first time.

During his campaign, Carney promised to stand up to Donald Trump and turn Canada’s economy around.

“This is Canada, and we decide what happens here,” Prime Minister Carney wrote on the X social media platform yesterday.

He has said that Canada must also take steps to strengthening ties with partners in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. When it comes time to sits down with President Trump, he said, “it will be to discuss the future economic and security relationship between two sovereign nations.”

Carney said he intends to govern for all Canadians, promising to make Canada more self-reliant. “Let’s put an end to the division and anger of the past,” he said. “We are all Canadian and my government will work for and with everyone.”

In his victory speech early Tuesday (April 29), Carney noted that Canada would “never” yield to the United States.  

“As I have been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. But these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us,” Carney said. “That will never ever happen.”

The PM also commented on the rocky relationship between Canada and the U.S, a shifting dynamic that, as previously reported, has shaken travel and tourism.  

“We are over the shock of the American betrayal but we should never forget the lessons,” he said. “We have to look out for ourselves. And above all we have to take care of each other.”

The obvious point

The win marks the Liberal Party’s fourth consecutive term in government, but what does it mean for the Canadian travel industry?

Jeffrey Verman, CEO of Plus Travel Group, said there “many ways” the industry could be impacted.

“The obvious point, to me, is that the Liberals and NDP championed the subsidies during the pandemic,” Verman told PAX. “The Conservatives generally opposed them. Without those subsidies, my company wouldn’t have survived.”

He elaborated.

“There was the mythology, at the time, that people were happy to stay home and collect their subsidized wages – and this proved the subsidies were nothing more than Trudeau wasting taxpayers money. I found this very offensive.  I won’t ever forget how the government helped my business out during the pandemic.”

Commenting on the election in general, Verman reflected on the influence of Trump. 

“Poilievre kept attacking the Liberals with a non-stop barrage, following a very Trump-like approach. Ironically, it was Trump’s intervention into Canadian politics that changed the political dynamics here. Overnight, Poilievre’s impression of Trump seemed out of place,” Verman remarked. “Trump was the gift that kept giving for Liberals.”

What Canada needs, Verman said, is “a leader experienced with both government and business.”

“Someone who has a steady hand.  Someone who builds confidence, and isn’t a disruptor,” he said.

To that end, Verman doesn’t think any party is thinking about the travel industry right now. “But if it’s a wise decision maker and a steady hand, the choice was pretty obvious,” he said.

“A major upgrade”

Gregory Luciani, president of CEO of TravelOnly, believes Carney was “the right choice at this time.”

“He will be great for the travel industry,” Luciani told PAX. “He has a very market-friendly economic plan with lots of government stimulus. He will improve Canada’s standing and credibility internationally as he’s well respected around the globe, especially in the EU and UK, which should help capital inflows. He is also very pragmatic, which is the opposite of Trudeau.”

“He is a major upgrade and has a generational mind that will make it difficult for Trump to game us. Game on!”

Uncharted waters. Again.

Alternatively, Vancouver-based travel advisor McKenzie McMillan of The Travel Group said it’s “hard to say at this point” how the election will affect the travel industry and the challenges ahead.

“The Liberal government of past certainly showed their support for the travel industry during the pandemic, so I’m cautiously optimistic as we are clearly in uncharted waters again with travel to the U.S. careering," McMillan said. 

He added that "we’ll have to see what happens" in terms of what type of support or advocacy the Liberals will show for small businesses and the travel community.

More faith in Carney

TravelOnly’s Nancy Wilson, a co-founder at the Association of Canadian Independent Travel Advisors (ACITA), isn’t sure yet if Carney will have an immediate impact on travel.  

“The biggest impact is in the hands of the U.S. president, and he’s much too volatile to pin down for any kind of measured thinking,” Wilson said. “I hope that with numbers (from a numbers man), Carney can reason with him, pointing out the negative impacts everything is having on tourism.”

But will that even be a point of discussion, when tariffs, among other things, are the most important?

“I have much more faith in Carney to be able to reason with [Trump] than I’ve had with Trudeau or Poilievre. I think only time will tell,” Wilson said.

Advisors need tools to thrive

Speaking about the value of independent travel advisors, Zeina Gedeon, president and CEO of Trevello Travel Group, applauded the Liberal government's continued recognition of self-employed individuals.

“These determined entrepreneurs are far from a side note in our economy,” Gedeon told PAX. “They are essential. They create jobs, support local communities, and pave the way for a flexible, empowered, and dynamic workforce.”

Despite past support from the Liberals, “which has been instrumental in helping our advisors navigate unprecedented challenges,” Gedeon warned that the sector still has “a long way to go.”

“I urge the new government to prioritize policy frameworks that protect, empower, and invest in independent entrepreneurs, ensuring fair access to benefits, protections, and long-term opportunities,” she said. “Our advisors deserve a system that recognizes their unique contributions and equips them with the tools to thrive, not just survive.”

Gedeon said Trevello looks forward to collaborating with government leaders “to shape a future where independent entrepreneurs, like our talented travel advisors, are celebrated, supported, and given every chance to succeed.”

“Together, we can build a Canada where entrepreneurial spirit is not only protected but propelled forward — a future where independent advisors not only survive but thrive,” she said.

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