With summer officially setting in, it’s time to explore the tourism trends and business factors shaping the season ahead. Could this be Peterborough’s busiest tourism year yet? With more Ontarians opting for staycations and fewer Canadians heading south, local tourism is expected to grow. A key boost comes from the Ontario government’s recent removal of tolls on Highway 407 from Pickering to Highway 35/115, making our region more accessible than ever.

Tourism spending is already on the rise. Between January and July 2024, spending reached $639 million, a 10% increase year over year. If you haven’t already, check out our Lakefield Stay and Play section to discover great local spots for you and your family. This year’s calendar is packed with exciting events, including Musicfest, Nine Ships (a 200th anniversary celebration of Irish immigration to the region), farmers' markets, parades, and more.
Peterborough’s tourism scene hosts an abundance of diverse and vibrant options. From wineries, resorts, hotels, and inns to Indigenous cultural experiences, outdoor adventures, animal attractions, and local cuisine. Add in water sports, gaming, history, and the arts, and music festivals! One major highlight: the Trent-Severn Waterway was named the only Canadian destination on the New York Times’ list of 52 Places to Go in 2025—a proud moment for the entire region.

To support this growing industry, local and provincial partners are stepping up. This past January, the Ontario government announced $20 million over two years to enhance rural connectivity, revitalize downtowns, grow rural businesses, and support the local workforce. These investments will strengthen programming delivered by Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) and the County of Peterborough Tourism Office.
RTO8 plays a key role in building a competitive and sustainable tourism economy. One standout program is the Acceler8 Business Mentorship Program, offering one-on-one coaching to local tourism businesses. This support is open to accommodation providers, retailers, attractions, and food & beverage operators across the City of Peterborough, Peterborough County, Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County.

Another strategy by Peterborough County is to promote pre-planned travel packages, making it easier for both visitors and locals to explore the region. These itineraries reduce planning time and encourage more spontaneous trips. Additionally, the County is working to address wayfinding signage across the region. This initiative will help travelers navigate more easily, making local tourism businesses more visible and accessible while enhancing the overall visitor experience.
To attract more visitors, RTO8 is running targeted marketing campaigns aimed at audiences in the GTA, Kingston, Ottawa, and Hamilton. These campaigns promote year-round tourism experiences, highlighting all four seasons. Recognizing the power of social media, they’re engaging every demographic—from Instagram-savvy young travelers to Facebook- for families and older adults.
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Data and technology are also transforming tourism. RTO8 is also using geo-fencing and visitor analytics to uncover new opportunities and tailor strategies to visitor interests. Research into visitor personas shows that the primary tourist type is the “Connected Explorer”, tech-savvy travelers who love sharing their journeys online. Secondary personas include Nature Lovers, Family Memory Builders, and “Tweeniors” (active adults aged 50+). Most visitors fall between the ages of 35–64, with an average age of 46 which provides important insights to tailor existing tourism packages to specific age groups.

Nationally, Canada is also encouraging domestic tourism through free or discounted access to iconic attractions, including national parks, museums, and railroads. No pass is needed, just visit a participating location to enjoy the benefits.

Your local Chamber of Commerce is also doing its part by hosting Tourism Talks—forums where tourism-related businesses can share feedback, voice challenges, and influence local strategies. These sessions help ensure that plans developed by the County and RTO8 reflect the needs of the sector.

Finally, it’s exciting to see the City of Peterborough, Peterborough County, and RTO8 working together with such a strategic and targeted approach. With more Canadians choosing to explore their own backyard, Peterborough’s accessibility by car, boat, bike, or paddle makes it an ideal destination. With all the momentum, 2025 could be a record-breaking year for local tourism and our community.
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Welcome back to this week’s Voice of Business. These past few months have been intense for businesses, with grand uncertainty and rising costs. We do not know what to expect, any day could bring a new tariff, complicating supply chains and squeezing margins. Despite this, the Government of Canada has taken important steps to address long-standing interprovincial trade barriers that hinder growth and add unnecessary administrative burdens.
This week’s VOB will unpack what to expect from this legislation and, more importantly, how it could impact local businesses.

Bill C-5 aims to create one Canadian economy out of 13 by removing federal barriers to internal trade. The first key measure in Bill C-5 establishes equivalency for provincial standards on goods and services. This means that goods or services produced, used, or distributed according to a province or territory’s standards would automatically meet the equivalent federal requirements. In the past, businesses had to navigate overlapping or conflicting federal and provincial regulations, which led to extra costs for businesses.
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The second major measure would federally recognize occupational certifications and titles authorized by provinces and territories. This is significant for sectors facing skilled labor shortages. For example, an Alberta-certified electrician could work in Ontario without going through a separate federal certification process. This change helps businesses fill vacancies faster and allows workers to move more freely where opportunities are available whether it’s trades, health care, or professional services. For local businesses, this means easier recruitment and a wider pool of qualified candidates.

With the federal government mirroring the authorization of products, services, and credentials, businesses would be able to access broader markets across Canada. Instead of facing a patchwork of different rules in each province, a business in Peterborough could now more easily sell to customers in British Columbia, Quebec, or Nova Scotia—without needing to re-certify or re-test products. This opens the door to increased sales, market expansion, and opportunities to diversify revenue streams.

As noted, many provinces are already working on memorandums of understanding with the federal government to align their standards and streamline trade. They should also review their own compliance processes to identify areas where they might now benefit from these equivalencies, for example, labelling, packaging, or equipment certifications.
Deviating from these past regulations means that businesses will face fewer hurdles to navigate, freeing up time and money that would otherwise go to regulatory compliance. This can be especially helpful for small and medium-sized businesses, which often lack the resources to manage complex approval processes.

While businesses stand to benefit from reduced trade barriers, Bill C-5 also addresses nation-building projects major infrastructure, energy, and economic initiatives with national significance. Under the new legislation, such projects would undergo a single, harmonized approval process, with a target timeline of two years to secure final approval. This creates predictability for businesses and investors, helping them plan and execute major projects more effectively.
Importantly, the legislation also implements meaningful consultation with Indigenous peoples during the process of determining which projects are in the national interest and setting conditions for approval. This ensures that while processes are streamlined, Indigenous rights and interests remain a core part of project development—a key consideration for any business involved in infrastructure or natural resources.

While these measures will strengthen Canada’s internal economy, it’s important to note that they won’t alleviate all the trade challenges with our largest trading partner, the United States. In 2023, about $532 billion worth of goods and services moved between provinces and territories, while annual two-way trade with the U.S. exceeded $1 trillion. This means that while the domestic market offers significant growth potential, businesses must continue to navigate cross-border issues such as tariffs, supply chain disruptions, and regulatory differences.

Finally, this legislation is expected to have positive effects from east to west and north to south. Eliminating barriers at both the federal and provincial levels is estimated to add up to $200 billion to the Canadian economy, unlocking opportunities for businesses in every region, from manufacturers and service providers in urban centers to small businesses and resource industries in remote areas. This is a significant step toward building a more dynamic, competitive, and integrated national economy.