On the Order:

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Sorensen, calling the attention of the Senate to the nation-building value of tourism in Canada.

Hon. Marty Deacon: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Senator Sorensen’s inquiry into the nation-building value of tourism. Today, I’d like to take a moment to highlight tourism in my home region of Waterloo, an hour west of the Toronto airport and three hours east of the Windsor-Michigan border.

Let’s start with some numbers. We have the calculator. Each year, the Waterloo region welcomes about 5 million visitors. We’re home to roughly 3,000 tourism businesses, employing more than 17,000 people, primarily in the restaurant and transportation sectors.

Right now, as Canadians look to support local in-Canada tourism industries, more and more of them are choosing Waterloo.

I’ll admit that I may be a little biased, but I would recommend Waterloo as a travel destination in a heartbeat. It offers the best of all worlds: beautiful natural spaces, a rich cultural scene and countless learning opportunities. We’re rightly known for our festivals, farm-to-table cuisine, farmers’ markets and agri‑tourism. For many Ontarians — and Americans — it’s also an easy and authentic getaway not too far from home.

Colleagues, indulge me for a moment as I walk you through my ideal weekend in Waterloo. You might start your Saturday morning at the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market, wandering through its bustling buildings and outdoor stalls, sampling farm-fresh produce, artisanal foods and handcrafted goods. In the afternoon, I recommend exploring our extensive trail network. Walk, hike, jog or bike — the choice is yours.

If you visit at the right time of year, you might catch the Waterloo Mistletoe Trail. It connects dozens of local businesses and attractions through a series of mistletoe installations created in partnership with local artists, encouraging visitors to explore and shop locally across all seven of Waterloo’s municipalities. It even won an Ontario Tourism Award of Excellence in 2024.

Or perhaps your visit will coincide — and you are invited — with Kitchener-Waterloo’s very own Oktoberfest, Canada’s greatest Bavarian festival and the second-largest Oktoberfest in the world. I am just sorry I have not yet seen Senator Boehm dancing in his lederhosen.

Of course, no trip to Waterloo would be complete without spending time experiencing our agricultural heritage. Our visitors often love getting out and exploring farm life, walking alpacas, visiting farm gates or trying out goat yoga.

I also recommend the self-guided Fields & Flavours Trail. With 19 stops, including orchards and local markets, it allows visitors to meet growers, makers and producers while experiencing the region’s agricultural heritage first-hand. Along the way, you may spot horse-drawn buggies or come across Mennonite farm stands, reflecting the Mennonite communities, whose traditions remain central to the Waterloo region’s story today.

There is plenty to learn as well. The Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum, Ontario’s largest community museum, tells the story of the Waterloo region. The University of Waterloo’s Earth Sciences Museum welcomes visitors of all ages with open arms. And the Schneider Haus community museum preserves the region’s unique identity and Germanic folk traditions through more than 7,000 historical objects.

Waterloo region is also known as the “Silicon Valley of the North.” You have heard me refer to this before. We have a strong start-up community as well as entrepreneurship. There is a high‑calibre talent pipeline with the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College, which provides a constant stream of highly skilled graduates.

You may hear this more and more, but the University of Waterloo has a unique intellectual property, or IP, policy. It allows students and researchers to retain ownership of their IP, which, of course, encourages entrepreneurship and start-up formation.

There is a very supportive start-up ecosystem and tech cluster with Toronto that includes 15,000 tech companies and more than 300,000 employees.

Collaboration and growth are abundant, which results in strong internal mentorship and funding. Tech giants like Google, SAP and OpenText operate alongside newer companies. As I speak, a team is working hard to produce the first-in-the-world quantum computer.

Let me be clear: In the Waterloo region, tourism is about far more than just the economic impact. It is about sharing our natural beauty, our agricultural heritage and our vibrant cultural traditions.

Excitingly, the region’s tourism offerings are also expanding beyond these staples as the region becomes a high-tech hub for esports, gaming and technology-driven events.

This past Canada Day weekend, for example, the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium was packed to the brim with fans as Waterloo hosted the Call of Duty League Championship. You may or may not have heard of that before. Eight of the world’s most elite teams competed for a US$2-million prize pool. It was the first year this event had been hosted outside of the United States, putting Kitchener on the international map. Visitors came from all over: from across the United States, the U.K., Europe, Mexico and beyond. Gamers, content creators and digital superfans filled hotels, restaurants and local businesses.

This weekend, over 2,500 young people — 1,500 streamed and another 2,000 on a wait-list — attended the Socratica Symposium in the Waterloo region — thousands of creative, international young people appearing to randomly invent stuff in three different buildings. It was quite something.

This University of Waterloo-based event is a multidisciplinary science fair for students — from robots to AI, to the arts and creative work. Imagine seeing a robot flip pancakes, a laptop turned into a trombone, AI designing live light shows, handmade jewelry, live art and more. This is the diversity of Waterloo.

This same energy and growth, however, also brings its unique set of challenges. Event organizers are increasingly telling us that the region lacks hotel capacity and large meeting spaces to support major conventions and events. As Waterloo continues to attract attention for its innovation and creativity, many have pointed to the need for a convention centre as a key opportunity to support this momentum.

Colleagues, this demand is only continuing to grow. This August, the Waterloo region will host the Ontario Summer Games. We’re excited to welcome 4,200 athletes and coaches competing across 23 sports. The event will bring thousands of visitors to the region and millions of dollars in economic activity as people stay, eat and shop locally. I’m confident I speak for the entire community in saying that we’re excited to host these young athletes and look forward to cheering them on as they compete in their respective sports.

We also continue to seek strong infrastructure where all local communities can feel connected to sport, culture and our history.

I’d like to close by extending a heartfelt thank you to Senator Sorensen for creating the space for each of us to talk about the places we call home. Sharing these stories matters because tourism does more than support local economies — it strengthens communities and brings people together. And it gives regions like mine the opportunity to share what makes them special with the rest of the country.

In the Waterloo region, we’re proud to welcome Canadians and visitors from around the world to come experience it for themselves.

Senators, I welcome you and look forward to hosting you some day in Waterloo.

Thank you. Meegwetch.