Canada Introduces New Airline Foreign Ownership Rule

The Canada Transportation Act will go through a few amendments and one of them includes foreign ownership limits for airlines. This amendment will increase the foreign ownership limit of airlines to 49 percent (from 24 percent). This change will open up more competition in the Canadian skies and is definitely good news for travellers, both foreign and Canadians.

Airlines Will Not Be Allowed to Bump Passengers In Canada

Another change is coming to the industry under a new passenger Bill of Rights in the wake of United Airlines bumping off a passenger and causing serious injury. Passengers who have purchased tickets cannot be barred or bumped from planes just because airlines oversold tickets. Those who are agreeing to be bumped off voluntarily will have minimum levels of compensation.

Some other proposed changes under these new acts will be to create clear standards of treatment and compensation, such as lost or damaged luggage, delays while siting on the tarmac, voluntarily giving up a seat, etc. These new legislations are expected to take place in 2018.

International Tourism Increases in Canada

Canada’s fifteen-year tourism slump since 9/11 seems to be coming to an end. A recently published report by RBC Economics Research reveals that more tourists are coming to Canada and one in five tourists are coming from other countries than America.

The falling loonie is making visits to Canada more attractive from foreign countries. For example, tourists from China and South Korea were up 23 percent last year. Also, tourists from Mexico and the UK increased sharply, especially from the UK—which stayed at an eight year high last year.

Mega sites like the New York Times and Lonely Planet both currently have Canada on their list of top places to visit for 2017.