Although former premier Dennis King suggested the province might be looking to get out of its multimillion-dollar sponsorship agreement with the National Hockey League, the P.E.I. Legislature heard Thursday that the provincial government spent even more money on promotion at a major league event in January.
Hal Perry, who leads the Opposition Liberals, said the $2.5 million per year pricetag for the province’s NHL contract did not include the cost of P.E.I.’s relationship with the 4-Nations Face-Off.
That was the NHL’s 2025 replacement for its traditional All-Star Game, and featured teams made up of NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. Canada’s team ended up winning the tournament.
The province’s partnership with the event cost more than $500,000, according to records tabled by Perry.
The documents showed Tourism P.E.I. spent the following amounts:
“The former premier suggested tearing up the NHL deal when tariffs were announced. Instead, this government doubled down… [and] signed another cheque for another NHL event,” Perry said in the legislature.
Minister of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport and Culture Zack Bell replied that the NHL deal is part of a tourism strategy, and was developed in conversation with industry players.
He confirmed that the province did partner with the 4-Nations Face-Off, but said it was in conjunction with the province’s earlier deal with the league.
“As part of the NHL contract, we were awarded one tentpole event,” he said.
Examples of those high-profile branding events would include the NHL All-Star Game and the NHL Winter Classic, which each feature one game, Bell said.
“With the 4-Nations Cup, we had seven games,” he said, adding that the final game between Canada and the U.S. had more than 16 million viewers.
Bell said there is evidence that the NHL promotional ties were working, saying: “Our website stats for 2024 were up 140 per cent… for English, and 79 per cent for French.”
But Perry pointed out that the 4-Nations Face-Off was held in January 2025, not in 2024, and said the website traffic data from last year doesn’t matter.
“In late January of 2025, [the province] received a bill from the NHL for nearly $300,000, and by mid-February, the minister was flying to Boston with staff to wine and dine yet another NHL event,” Perry said.
“At a time when Canadians are anxious over unfair trade action, this government was signing a new NHL deal handing over hundreds of thousands of dollars in Island tax dollars for more cross-border branding and more corporate hospitality,” he said.
Perry asked how the government can “talk tough” about U.S. tariffs when signing new NHL contracts that send public money right into American pockets.
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Bell said a tariff war affects consumers, and American consumers with the buying power associated with a relatively strong currency are the kind of visitors the Island wants to attract.
“We continue to invest in the U.S. because we want those American tourists to come to P.E.I., we need those American tourists to come to P.E.I.,” he said. “They are a high-yield consumer that will come here and, with the Canadian dollar being a little bit lower, this is a place where they can come and spend their hard-earned dollars.”
Bell tabled figures showing tourism spending on P.E.I was up was up four per cent last year compared with 2023, but Liberal and Green MLAs said the government hasn’t put forward anything to prove the NHL deal is responsible for the increase.
Bell said the province has hired a consultant to analyze the tourism revenue.
