Tom Mulcair pledges NDP will spend $30M promoting Canada to U.S. tourists

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says Stephen Harper is putting Canadian tourism jobs at risk, presiding over a steep drop in American visitors during his time as prime minister.

Mulcair says an NDP government would invest $30 million over three years in Destination Canada, a Crown corporation responsible for promoting Canada as a four-season tourist destination.

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Mulcair says Harper has cut $24 million from the agency at a time when tourism numbers were already dropping.

He says there's no doubt tourism is cyclical and at least partly dependent on the Canadian dollar, but when the numbers of tourists decline, more, not fewer, investments should be made.

Speaking in Niagara Falls, where the tourism and hospitality sectors support 33,000 people, Mulcair says the $30-million investment would enhance a campaign specifically aimed at attracting American tourists.

The Niagara Falls riding is held by Conservative Rob Nicholson, Harper's defence minister in the last government, but the NDP is taking aim at it with a local city councillor who says she used to be a Liberal.