Thunder Bay International Airport is set to get a new hotel, which will be the first Cambria Hotel built in Canada.
The four-storey hotel will have 107 rooms, a full-service restaurant and bar, fitness facilities, and meeting spaces. Construction is expected to begin this fall and finish by next autumn.
The project is being developed by Rideout Bay Developments and will be 90 per cent First Nations-owned. Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation is the majority owner, working with Boundary Waters Anishinaabeg Development LP, which represents four Treaty 3 First Nations.
Chief Clayton Wetelainen said the project reflects the growing role of First Nations in economic development across northwestern Ontario. He added that many Indigenous people travel through Thunder Bay for health care, education, employment, and other services, making the airport an ideal location for the hotel.
The hotel will be built on about 50,000 square feet of land near the airport’s former parking lot exits. Airport officials say the project will help meet the growing demand for hotel rooms while supporting tourism and business in the region.
The hotel will also include Indigenous-inspired design features to create a welcoming space where First Nations guests can feel safe and represented.
