Canoe championships bring a wave of benefits to Dartmouth, surrounding areas

The 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships have been a hit both on and off the water in Dartmouth, N.S.

“We’re going to probably have 40,000 people here over this weekend and they’re all walking back-and-forth between downtown Dartmouth and Lake Banook,” says Tim Rissesco.

Rissesco is both a volunteer at Lake Banook and the director of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Association. He says the event should be worth $5-7 million to the economy.

“They’re seeing them on their patios, they’re seeing them in their shops, they’re buying lunch and supper, we’re seeing them all over downtown Dartmouth,” he says.

The rest of the area is benefitting too. With many spectators travelling thousands of miles to get to Dartmouth, they’re trying to make the most of their visit.

“I’ve booked a Peggys Cove tour and we’re going to go down to Halifax and walk the waterfront and go to the museum,” says New Zealand resident Tamar Hart.

Patrick Sullivan of the Halifax Chamber Of Commerce says being in the global spotlight will help the economy now and for years down the road.

“This provides exposure to Nova Scotia, to Halifax and Dartmouth around the world. It provides a destination, certainly, for the people that come to the event, but hopefully those people, their friends and their family and many of the people that are going to see these events around the world are going to come back to Nova Scotia and stay for an extended period of time,” says Sullivan.

The 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships have arrived as other events also start to ramp up in the Halifax area.

The International Busker Festival just finished, the 22U Men’s Baseball National Championship is currently underway and the North American Indigenous Games are less than a year away, which will bring 5,000 athletes to the city.