WHITECAP DAKOTA FIRST NATION, Whitecap, SK – The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) is pleased to announce the election of two members and acclamation of three members to the Board of Directors made at ITAC’s 8th Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was held in person and virtually on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
ITAC successfully delivered its AGM in person and virtually. The agenda included remarks from the Board Chair and Vice-Chair, a video from The Honourable Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Minister of Tourism, operational highlights from ITAC, Destination Canada, a video update from all provincial and territorial Indigenous tourism partners, which included Indigenous tourism associations showing their progress and collaboration with ITAC, and Beth Potter, President and CEO of Tourism Industry Association of Canada provided an update on the state of Canada’s tourism industry. At the AGM, the association also reported their input regarding the nomination and election process for its Board of Directors to its voting membership.
ITAC shared its 2023-2024 Mid-Term Progress video update and highlighted how ITAC has remained committed to supporting the development and stabilization of provincial and territorial Indigenous tourism organizations and will continue to move forward with all annual deliverables to maintain this commitment.
“ITAC is the leading national Indigenous tourism organization in Canada. As of April 2023, the association has over 1,000 members and an estimated 1,900 Indigenous-owned tourism businesses,” says Keith Henry, President and CEO of ITAC. “We look forward to working toward our Vision 2030 to help make Canada the global leader in Indigenous tourism.”
“It’s an honour to see the growing solidarity with our Provincial and Territorial Partners,” says Marilyn Jensen, Chair representing Yukon. “I look forward to ITAC’s growth for the new year as we come together to show how Indigenous tourism is reconciliation in action.”
The association would like to thank outgoing Board of Directors Patricia Dunnet, who represented New Brunswick and Frank Antoine, who represented British Columbia, for their support and guidance during their terms on the Board.
Election Results
ITAC hosted an online election for the Director positions of British Columbia and Saskatchewan and used ElectionBuddy, an online election system, to tabulate the votes for this vote. Here is the statement of the scrutinized election from ElectionBuddy.
With the election of two Board of Directors representing British Columbia and Saskatchewan and acclamation of three members to the Board of Directors representing Alberta, New Brunswick and Northwest Territories, ITAC is pleased to have strong Métis, First Nation and Inuit leaders and a majority of women on the board (62%). This remains crucial for the organization.
Elections
- British Columbia representative, Sharon Bond, from Kekuli Cafe (Director for ITAC)
- Saskatchewan representative, Kelly Fiddler, from Mosquito Economic and Development (Treasurer for ITAC)
Acclamations
- Alberta representative, Brenda Holder, from Mahikan Trails (Vice-chair for ITAC, Board Chair for Indigenous Tourism Alberta)
- New Brunswick representative, Dave Smith, from First Nations Storytellers (Director for ITAC)
- Northwest Territories, representative James McPherson, from Sahtu Adventures (Director for ITAC)
The full ITAC Board of Directors are now as follows:
- Chair – Marilyn Jensen, Yukon
Board Chair Yukon First Nations Culture & Tourism - Vice-chair – Brenda Holder, Alberta
Mahikan Trails - Treasurer – Kelly Fiddler, Saskatchewan
Mosquito Economic Development Corp + Indigenous Destinations Saskatchewan - Director – Colleen Lambert, Newfoundland and Labrador
Miawpukek Tourism - Director – Marlene Joudry, Nova Scotia
Program Facilitator, Master Artisan, and Cultural Facilitator - Director – Dave Daley, Manitoba
Wapusk Adventures - Director – Dave Smith, New Brunswick
First Nations Storytellers - Director – Sharon Bond, British Columbia
Kekuli Cafe - Director – James McPherson, Northwest Territories
Sahtu Adventures - Secretary – Jason W Johnston, Ontario
Cape Croker Park - Director – Marie-Pierre Lainé, Quebec
Indigenous Tourism Quebec - Director – Jamie Thomas, Prince Edward Island
Lennox Island Development Corporation - Director – Sheila Flaherty, Nunavut
Sijjakkut - Indigenous Culinary of Associated Nations
ITAC is looking forward to having such resilient representation leading ITAC toward its 2030 vision to help make Canada the global leader in Indigenous tourism.
For more information on ITAC’s Board of Directors, click here.
To view the 2023 AGM Draft Minutes, click here.
To view the Provincial and Territorial Partners video, click here.