Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has chosen a Maritime community to host the first federal cabinet meeting of the year, bringing with it a boost in economy at a time when the tourist town is already experiencing a rebound in their number one industry.
Trudeau, his cabinet, staff members, and media arrive in St. Andrews by-the-Sea next week for a series of meetings and events.
Innkeeper Jay Remer says everyone in the local tourism community was surprised by the announcement.
“It's a shot in the arm, and in the middle of the winter to get a shot in the arm is great,” says Remer.
Remer says the retreat will be good for the newly renovated Algonquin Hotel and Resort, which will serve as the focal point for many of the cabinet activities.
The mayor says the decision to bring the cabinet to his town is linked to the Liberal Party sweep of the East Coast.
“By them coming here, it's a strong message to the whole province and to the Maritimes, the Maritimes matter. There was a strong message with 32 seats going to this particular government,” says Mayor Stan Choptiany.
Prior to the cabinet meeting announcement, there was already a lot of confidence that 2016 would be a strong year for tourism for St. Andrew by the Sea, that confidence is based almost entirely on the low value of the Canadian dollar.
The community is coming off a banner year, and since then, the dollar has declined even further.
“Last year was the best year in 25 years and the dollar made the difference. The Americans came, the Canadians stayed,” says Choptiany.
The Prime Minister and his cabinet will only stay a few days, in a retreat that gets underway on the weekend.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron
