When visitors walk through the gates of Banff National Park, Premier Danielle Smith wants to make sure the money handed over to Parks Canada stays in Alberta.
In a mandate letter to the Premier’s new Minister of Forests, Parks and Tourism, Todd Loewen, he asked him to talk to his federal counterparts to ensure all fees generated by Alberta’s national parks stay in the province so that revenue can be reinvested in infrastructure in Alberta. – Based national parks.
There are five national parks within Alberta’s borders. They are federally funded and managed.
Banff is the most visited national park in the country with more than four million visitors annually, according to Parks Canada. Jasper is another busy and popular national park, welcoming more than two million visitors each year.
“In addition to creating jobs, supporting tourism, investing in recreation and fulfilling my other responsibilities, I look forward to beginning discussions with my federal counterparts in the near future to ensure that the revenue generated by Alberta’s national parks is stay in Alberta,” Loewen told Alberta. a statement
Loewen went on to say that keeping these fees in the province and not using them in other national parks elsewhere in Canada is critical.
“Our national and provincial parks attract millions of visitors annually,” Loewen said. “It is critical that revenue generated from park fees remain in the province to meet increasing pressures and improve infrastructure and amenities.”
Parks Canada operates Banff National Park. (Helen Pike/CBC)
The federal Environment Minister’s office says Parks Canada redistributes fee revenue as needed to ensure operational continuity at all of its locations.
“The agency will continue to make key decisions that support the best interests of visitors and tourism partners,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Parks Canada collects fees directly from visitors in a few ways:
- For those looking to go to several different parks in a year, the best deal is the Discovery Pass, which gives anyone with it unlimited access to any park from sea to sea.
- There are also one-time passes for more than 20 parks, including Elk Island and Waterton Lakes; but not Banff or Jasper.
- At the gates, visitors can also board for a day pass.
It’s unclear how much Banff or other Alberta parks generate in gate fees alone. Parks Canada does not provide a park-by-park breakdown in its annual reports.
But these reports indicate that fees represent only 25 percent of the cash needed to manage national parks.
“The revenue … is vital to the operation of these sites, but only covers part of the costs of providing the service,” said a spokesman for the Department of the Environment. “It’s important to understand that … 75 percent of operating costs are covered through federal budget appropriations.”