Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Canadians are continuing to spend more money on travel as the industry rebounds slowly from pandemic disruptions, according to RBC Economics — but many are opting for closer destinations, with travel to the U.S. on the rise.
Spending on travel has risen almost 30 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, according to an RBC Proof Point report published at the end of May.
In January 2022, Canadians were spending roughly 60 per cent less on travel than they did before the pandemic began. But that number soon shot up, and has remained high.
Between January and April 2023, more than 10 million Canadians took trips abroad, which is a seven per cent increase compared to the same period in 2019.
Last summer, hotels and tours were much more expensive than they were in 2019, with flights more than 30 per cent more expensive and rental cars priced 50 per cent higher.
The costs associated with these specific activities have dropped slightly, but Canadians have been dealing with increased food and shelter costs amid soaring interest rates this year. However, this hasn't stopped Canadians from investing in travel.
According to RBC, when travelling, more Canadians decided to fly rather than drive so far in 2023. In the first part of the year, the number of Canadians returning from a trip by plane increased 42 per cent.
A higher percentage of these flights are now to the U.S. rather than destinations farther away, however. Around 134 per cent more Canadian residents returned to the country from the U.S. by plane between January and April 2023, compared to 2019. The report theorized that price played a role in this, as shorter trips are cheaper.
However, price isn't the only motivator for Canadians seeking to travel right now. The report also looked at Google Trends and found more Canadians were searching the word "best" more often when googling travel related queries, as opposed to the word "cheap." Before the pandemic, and in 2020 and 2021, the gap was smaller between those searching "best" versus those searching "cheap," but the gap has increased in the past year.
Within Canada, travel trends are shifting east, with Atlantic Canada experiencing bigger increases in interest according to Google Trends compared to any other region in the country. At the same time, the eastern provinces have been increasing in population, potentially due to the sustained levels of remote work.
The report predicts that while there will likely be a dip in travel spending soon as Canadians tackle the increasingly expensive world, we're unlikely to see demand crash dramatically.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.