Four lessons about government advocacy I learned in the aftermath of 9/11.
This time 25 years ago, we were beginning to come to grips with a world changed by 9/11
For Ontario’s tourism industry, the aftershocks were immediate — and severe.
I was Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation at the time, a portfolio that also included our casinos and gaming sector. As a Niagara border MPP, I saw both the human and economic impact up close. In the days after the 9/11 attacks, flights were grounded and border crossings became massive logjams. Travellers were stranded, many unable to get home.
Our Ministry staff extended hours at tourism information centres and our 1-800 service, helping stranded travellers find accommodation and providing daily border updates (That work later earned an Amethyst Award, one of the Ontario Public Service’s highest honours).
Then the economic impact hit.
Air travel collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of hotel reservations were cancelled, almost 150,000 in Niagara Falls alone. Hotels, restaurants, attractions, theatres, and casinos went from busy to empty overnight.
And everybody wanted government to act.
As Minister, I brought tourism leaders to Queen’s Park to hear directly what they were seeing on the ground and, more importantly, what we could do about it. We needed people who knew their sectors and would tell us what was really happening. Quickly. Credibly. Without exaggeration. We did not have time for hand wringers. We wanted a plan.
Linda Franklin of the Wine Council of Ontario was one I wanted in the meeting. She had a long-established reputation for practical solutions. Knew her sector cold. Trust was already locked in.
Terry Mundell of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association was a natural at bringing people together. I had seen him in action before. And at that moment, government needed an industry with a lot of different interests to find common ground.
We needed a marketing strategy. Fast.
People were afraid to fly. But they were more comfortable getting into a car.
Noel Buckley from Niagara Falls Tourism saw the lane clearly. He said focus on the “rubber tire market.” Ontarians and Americans within driving distance in New York, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
That trusted team and others helped build the recovery plan I took to Cabinet.
The Ontario Government moved quickly to put record amounts behind the tourism marketing plan. The industry put its own resources behind the recovery too. Niagara Falls hotel owners came to the table with their own funds and earned a bigger share of the campaign.
For Americans, the message was deliberately warm and neighbourly: Come On Over.
We used Shania Twain’s hit song. A memorable way to say this to Americans who felt under siege: We are close. We are friends. Ontario is open. Come on over.
At home, Pride in Ontario encouraged Ontarians to rediscover their own province.
Calls and bookings rebounded. Hotel rooms began filling again. Visitors started moving, eating out, and visiting attractions.
Looking back, those frantic weeks taught me four lessons on how to get government to act:
Relationships matter before a crisis
When decisions are moving quickly, government turns to people it knows and trusts. The worst time to introduce yourself to government is when you desperately need something from it.
Build the relationship. Establish credibility. Be useful. Show what you can do. Before you need something.
Bring solutions, not just problems
Telling government you are hurting is not going to cut it. In a crisis, everybody is hurting. If you want to break through, offer ideas that government can actually implement.
Don’t just sound the alarm. Bring an answer.
Put some skin in the game
There is a big difference between asking government to solve your problem and asking government to become your partner in solving it.
The tourism industry put its own resources behind the recovery. Investing your own resources tells government you are confident in your solution and helps public dollars go even further.
If you want government to act, be ready for the question from the other side: what are you putting on the table?
Make it easy to act
Government has limited time, resources, and attention. Narrow the asks. Bring evidence. Coordinate. Show government where it can move quickly.