The controversy over a proposed hotel levy is heating up in New Brunswick, with the tourism industry calling on the tourism minister to resign because the province won’t agree to it.

Premier Brian Gallant said Tuesday that the minister won’t resign, and he reiterated that his government won’t approve the so-called ‘tourism tax’ requested by the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick.

The association would like to impose a levy on hotel room bookings in the province, but Gallant says more than 50 per cent of hotel stays are the result of interprovincial travel.

“The idea of putting a hotel levy, a tourism levy, will mean that we’re taking more money away from New Brunswickers,” said Gallant. “I think it’s very important to underline that because I think some people may think that hotels are filled by people outside the province all the time. That’s not the case.”

But hotel owners say a room levy is standard practice and they are calling on New Brunswick Tourism Minister John Ames to resign.

The tourism industry supports 42,000 jobs in New Brunswick – a number officials say could increase if the province allowed the levy, which would allow for more money for marketing.

But Gallant says a recent commitment of $100 million over the next eight years is enough to offset any hotel levies that the industry could collect.

“The premier has made quite a bit noise about the fact that he doesn’t want to tax New Brunswickers, but yet he can spend 100 per cent of his $100 million collected from taxpayers?” said hotel owner Ron Toogood. “The industry is primarily concerned with the marketing dollars and what’s going to give us a leg up or a catch up in competing with jurisdictions around us, surrounding us, who have these levies in place.”

This year the province committed $12.5 million for parks, trails and other tourism infrastructure. The government has also increased its Tourism Department’s budget by 18 per cent.

“I think we’re doing a lot for the tourism industry,” said Gallant. “We’re doing it in a responsible way. We’re focused on growth, not on taxing New Brunswickers more.”

Gallant says the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick shouldn’t be surprised by his decision because he said during his election campaign in 2015 that his government wouldn’t approve a tourism levy.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis