On Tuesday morning on the Wahnapitae First Nation, Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe announced a big boost for tourism in Greater Sudbury and surrounding areas – a federal investment of $1.6 million to support six tourism initiatives. The First Nation has used the federal investment of more than $200,000 to upgrade its powwow grounds. “A place where we come and celebrate our culture. Our powwow every year is in the third weekend of August. So, this year it will be August 15th and 16th,” said Chief Larry Roque. “Anyone who wants to come out you are invited to come out.” - <quote> “Tourism brings a lot of money into our economy. It brings tourists – they stay in our hotels, they eat in restaurants. It creates employment for us. So, it’s a very important component of our economy here,” said Lapointe. A total of six projects received funding including Kivi Park to hire an intern to further tourism. “Right now our tourism is about 20 per cent of our pass sales. So, a lot of day pass sales but we are growing from I think we stated out at 6 per cent and now about 20 per cent of our passes are from outside of the P postal code,” said Kivi Park’s executive director Kerry Lamarche. Walden Cross Country Ski Club received $80,000 to purchase a new large trail groomer to boost opportunities to host large scale events. “Our last one was the OIC which was held in late Febraury 2026 and that brought 366 people from outside of northern Ontario,” said Ethel Kingston, the ski club’s treasurer. The Temagami Outpost received more than $50,000 to modernize and become an all-season resort. “We are an off-grid lodge in the Chiniguchi waterways,” said the lodge’s operation manger Leo De Ruiter. “Right now we are mainly three season and we are trying to really break out those shoulder seasons and have more guests in the area.” The Whitefish River First Nation also received almost $280,000 for waterfront development and Killarney received more than $900,000 to expand its municipal wharf to allow for safe docking of cruise vessels and more deck space for a vendor’s market and entertainment.
