Toronto and Vancouver Auto Shows Cancelled
In close succession, organizers the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto and the Vancouver International Auto Show announced that they have cancelled their 2022 shows.
Organizers for the annual Toronto event said plans were well underway when the Ontario government announced new capacity limits on indoor venues in an effort to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Indoor venues that can accommodate more than 1,000 people are now limited to 50 per cent capacity, and the Ontario government did not set an end date for when the restriction would be lifted. The Canadian International AutoShow was to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in February 2022.
“It is with great regret that we have to make this announcement, but the health and wellbeing of our community needs to be our first priority,” said Jason Campbell, general manager of the Canadian International AutoShow in a press release “What has been clear over the past few months in our discussions with our consumers and our manufacturer partners is how much they all value our in-person live AutoShow event experience, and how hungry they all were for it to return.
“We had been working hard in recent months for the AutoShow to return in a big way, but in light of the recent developments, and in consultation and agreement with our manufacturer and sponsor partners, we have agreed that it’s best to set 2022 plans aside to best support the health and safety of our community. We want to thank all of our AutoShow partners, sponsors, exhibitors and consumers for their interest in coming back in 2022, but can assure them we’ll be back bigger than ever in 2023 for what will be our 50th year.”
Blair Qualey, president and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association (NCDA), said in a press release about the cancellation of the 2022 Vancouver International Auto Show: “For the past several months we have been working diligently with our partners and major auto manufacturers to plan a return of Western Canada’s best attended consumer exhibition event in March of 2022 at the beautiful Vancouver Convention Centre. Automotive enthusiasts from across the province have been eager for a return of the Vancouver Auto Show, however our top priority continues to be the safety of the public, our dealer members and their staff. The constraints on the industry and the realities of the continuing pandemic in Canada have forced us to make the disappointing decision to postpone the 2022 Show until 2023.”
