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P.E.I. will not renew its tourism marketing partnership with the National Hockey League when the three-year deal expires at the end of 2026, Tourism Minister Ernie Hudson says.
In an open letter to tourism industry partners on Thursday, Hudson said the province had heard from tourism operators who supported targeted marketing campaigns like the one with the NHL.
“We talked to Islanders, as well, who made two things clear: that there is absolute support for continued investment in tourism as an economic driver, and that it’s time for something new,” Hudson wrote.
The province announced the partnership in February 2024, giving P.E.I. the designation of the NHL’s official travel destination. The minister says it cost taxpayers about $7.75 million dollars.
The deal gave the province access to the league’s marketing channels, including digital advertisements on rink boards and the ice during television broadcasts in key markets, as well as exposure through the NHL’s digital and social media platforms.
The province has pointed to rising tourism numbers as evidence of the partnership’s benefits. The Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I. has also called for the deal to be renewed, saying it believed the campaign was beneficial to the Island.
TIAPEI CEO Corryn Clemence said the organization is “incredibly disappointed” the deal is not being renewed, calling the news “a sad day for tourism on Prince Edward Island.”
“We understand that there was third-party data that shows the value of this partnership and shows what it was doing for our industry over the last three years,” she said.
“How are we going to strategically get in front of the right audiences that align with our key markets and really try to regain any momentum that we’ve just lost essentially from this?”
Opposition parties, meanwhile, have questioned the partnership’s costs and the benefits it has delivered.
“While the deal is not being renewed, there are still … many unanswered questions surrounding government’s accountability when it comes to this particular deal,” Liberal Opposition Leader Hal Perry said.
“What lessons has this government learned from this waste of money and what policies are going to be put in place to ensure that it doesn’t lead to more wasteful spending down the road?”
In his letter, Hudson cited a report commissioned by the government to assess the partnership’s impact. He said the report would soon be published on the Tourism P.E.I. website.
According to the figures Hudson provided, the campaign reached more than 8.5 million Canadians. Of those, four million said “they would definitely consider visiting P.E.I.,” 2.6 million had researched a visit and 1.2 million were “actively planning” a trip.
WATCH | Is the NHL deal benefitting P.E.I.? It depends who you ask:
Is the NHL deal benefitting P.E.I.? It depends who you ask
Some of the National Hockey League’s top bosses, and their media and corporate partners, were on the P.E.I. last week. It’s all part of the controversial contract the province signed with the league. CBC’s Wayne Thibodeau checked in on whether the partnership is yielding any benefits for the Island.
Hudson also said the partnership brought 315,000 new visitors to the Island and generated $95 million in visitor spending.
In his letter, Hudson also pointed to continued growth in tourism. By the end of August, bridge traffic had increased by six per cent, air traffic by nine per cent and ferry traffic by 15 per cent.
P.E.I. welcomed a record of 1.87 million visitors in 2025, following 1.7 million in 2024, according to the letter.
“The direction from the department standpoint has always been, our job is to get tourists here for that first time,” Hudson told CBC News.
“We know with the great industry, the great associations, the great partnerships that we have on the ground within the industry itself, we get them here for the first time, they’ll come back.”