Message from the President

Jean-François Champagne
CAE, President and CEO – AIA Canada

Shannon Spano
Wakefield Canada Inc.

Message from the Chair

In reflecting on my tenure as Chair in 2023, I am immensely proud of the accomplishments of AIA Canada and its members. It has been a truly gratifying experience to witness the association’s achievements throughout the year. Witnessing the subsequent success, especially during in-person events, has been a source of great pride. 

AIA Canada and our dedicated members seamlessly transitioned into hosting in-person events once again. The attendance at conferences, events, and golf tournaments reflected the pent-up demand to reconnect and collaborate. Personally, it was a joy to engage with key members of the Canadian auto care sector at various events. In-person networking, a crucial aspect of our industry, was revived, bringing a renewed sense of camaraderie. 

On the government relations front, Alana Baker and her team made significant strides, collaborating not only with Canadian leaders but also counterparts from associations worldwide. Advocating for the auto care sector to Members of Parliament from all parties proved to be a crucial and impactful effort. 

In addition, we provided our members with research and data about current industry trends, challenges, and consumer behaviours regarding electric vehicle maintenance and repair, e-tailing trends, and vehicle travel trends across the country. This data provides our members with valuable industry insight to help drive strategic business decisions. 

My heartfelt gratitude goes to the volunteers on the Board of Directors, committees, and divisions for their unwavering support of the industry. The tireless work behind the scenes, often unnoticed, is truly commendable. I extend my thanks to Jean-François and the AIA Canada staff for their daily contributions and continuous support to the Board, committees, and divisions. 

To our members, serving as your chair over the past year has been an absolute honor and a deeply fulfilling experience. Looking back, this period will always stand out as one of the highlights of my ongoing career in the industry. 

Government relations

AIA Canada continued to advocate for the right to repair. In 2023, AIA Canada has seen several wins, including:

  • The first right to repair law that includes vehicles enacted in Canada in the province of Quebec;
  • The unanimous passing of federal Bill C-244 in the House of Commons;
  • For the first time, a commitment in the 2023 Federal Budget to implement a right to repair framework; and
  • A further expanded commitment in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement to “amend the Competition Act in order to prevent manufacturers from refusing to provide the means of repair for devices and products in anti-competitive manner”, in support of Canadians’ right to repair.

Hill Day

AIA Canada staff and members hosted a federal lobby day on Parliament Hill in October. In face-to-face meetings with Members of Parliament, we promoted the auto care sector and defended the rights of Canadian consumers.

Workforce development

AIA Canada partnered with the Government of Ontario, Plug N’ Drive, and three colleges across Ontario: Conestoga College, Fanshawe College and St. Lawrence College, to help address the industry’s labour and skills shortage through career exploration opportunities and up-skilling programs.

Over
90%
graduation rate

61

participants

“I am very grateful! Saif, the instructor, helped me get an interview with Campbell Ford, which has changed my life for the better—they offered me a position and I recently started! I love the job and my new colleagues. Thank you for introducing me to this profession in Canada, and for your constant support and encouragement.”
Mohamed Hamad
Career Exploration training student, Innovation in Automotive Training program
“Instructors explained information thoroughly and best to their knowledge. If they did not know an answer to a question, they would further research and find the solution and necessary information. We were able to learn while having a good time. The course and teachers were great.”
Brandon Earl
Innovation in Automotive Training program

Research

AIA Canada’s research and knowledge products provide members with the strategic information they need to make sound business decisions. Our four focus areas for 2023 were economics, innovation, market research, and policy.

The Labour market research report dives deeply into market dynamics, retention, and attrition rates of the workforce in Canada’s auto care sector. The research, data, and recommendations in this report help Canadian auto care businesses better understand labour market challenges.

This report contains yearly annual salary information for nine different job descriptions. This report provided readers with insight on how they can make informed decisions about compensation that will help keep businesses competitive and attractive to current and future employees.

The Vehicle travel trends in Canada tool presented data on four different metrics: distance travelled, trip count, trip duration, and average travel distance. The data points are provided on a national and provincial level.

The Auto care landscape in Canada is an interactive digital map detailing Canadian automotive retail businesses including collision repair, mechanical repair, and new car dealers—over 25,000 validated facilities in total.

Consumer Behaviour Series

As part of the Consumer Behaviour Series, this report presents a closer look at Canadian consumer online purchasing trends when it comes to the purchase of automotive parts and fluids.

As part of the Consumer Behaviour Series, this report will take an in-depth look at the behaviours and attitudes related to Canadian electric vehicle (EV) ownership.

Events

In 2023, we held numerous in-person events that focused on networking, learning, connecting, and collaborating.

AIA Canada National Conference

AIA Canada welcomed members from across the country to attend the National Conference for two days of networking and learning, including a networking reception and various insightful sessions about current trends and challenges in the industry.

Date: April 25th to 26th, 2023

Venue: Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto Airport & Conference Centre

198

attendees

Topics covered

Annual General Meeting

Members of AIA Canada attended the Annual General Meeting attended over the Annual General Meeting over Zoom to vote on the direction of the association for the year to come.

Date: April 10th, 2023

Golf tournaments

AIA Canada Quebec Division golf tournament

Date: June 1st, 2023

Venue: Golf Parcours du Cerf à Longueuil

158

attendees

AIA Canada Alberta Division golf tournament

Date: September 12th, 2023

Venue: Alberta Springs Golf Resort

59

attendees

Quebec Division AIA Canada Day

AIA Canada Day, hosted by the Quebec Division, introduced industry professionals to students in auto mechanics and body repair programs at vocational training centres across Quebec to learn about the industry and what career opportunities are available.

Date: January 18th, 2023

Location: Seven different schools across the Greater Montreal Area

Over 800

students attended the sessions

Student Aftermarket Day

Organized by the Young Professionals in the Auto care sector (YPA), Student Aftermarket Day provided students from the Automotive Business School of Canada at Georgian College with the chance to learn about auto care sector careers with informative sessions and make connections with professionals from 17 different companies across Canada’s auto care sector.

Date: November 22nd, 2023

Location: Barrie, Ontario

161

attendees

Topics covered

Canada Night

The Automotive Industries Association of Canada held its most anticipated networking event held in Las Vegas, Nevada during the AAPEX and SEMA trade shows. This gala evening provided Canadian businesses from the entire auto care supply chain an unparalleled opportunity to build and maintain relationships with who is who of the Canadian auto care industry.

Date: October 31st, 2023

Venue: The Venetian Resort Las Vegas

602

attendees

Networking

Manitoba Division Holiday Luncheon

The AIA Canada Manitoba Division invited auto care industry peers to network and learn about the division and AIA Canada’s 2023 accomplishments over a festive lunch. This event collected over 500 pairs of new socks and underwear to be donated to the Main Street Project to keep community members warm in Winnipeg throughout the winter.

Date: December 15th, 2023

Venue: Viscount Gort Hotel Banquet and Conference Centre

53

attendees

YPA Holiday Networking Reception

YPA Community members and other auto care industry professionals joined together at the Holiday Networking Reception to see what they had been up to the past year.

Date: December 14th, 2023

Venue: Amsterdam Brewhouse

65

attendees

Webinars

We continued to offer online webinars so our members from all across Canada had the chance to attend and learn about our research—no matter where they resided.

Our people, our success: Labour market challenges in the industry

November 29th, 2023

86

attendees

Speakers
Dr. Mauricio Zelaya, Jean-François Champagne, and Alana Baker

Buying parts and fluids online: A look at consumer automotive e-tailing in Canada

May 31st, 2023

99

attendees

Speakers
James Channer, Rick Nadeau, and Jean-François Champagne

Electric vehicle maintenance and repair: The Canadian owner’s perspective

September 21st, 2023

190

attendees

Speakers
David Giles, Rick Nadeau, and Jean-François Champagne

Curbside Chat

The Curbside Chat vodcast series returned for another year of insightful conversations with industry experts—this time, with a new host for season 4, Lorraine Sommerfeld.

Curbside Chat season 3, episode 2

Developing the next generation leaders in the auto care sector

Date: February 21st, 2023

Host: Jason Yurchak

Guest: Patrick Verriet, Key account manager at MANN+HUMMEL

Curbside Chat season 4, episode 1

The right to repair in the auto care sector

Date: October 10th, 2023

Host: Lorraine Sommerfeld

Guests: Emily Chung, owner and licensed automotive technician at Auto Niche, and Alana Baker, vice president of government relations and research at AIA Canada

Curbside Chat season 4, episode 2

The right to repair continues to make strides in Quebec

Date: October 18th, 2023

Host: Jean-François Champagne

Guests: Élisabeth Lambert, president of the AIA Canada Quebec Division and vice president at Pièces d’Auto Joliette, and David Boudeweel-Lefebvre, CEO at Boudeweel Public Affairs

Curbside Chat season 4, episode 3

The future of the collision sector in Canada

Date: November 1st, 2023

Host: Lorraine Sommerfeld

Guests: Ryan Bruno, President and CEO, CSN Collision, and Rocco Negia, President and CEO of Dumfries Mutual Insurance Company

Marketing Communications

Over
171,000
website visits

Over
14,600
follows across all social media channels

Over
732,000
impressions on AIA Canada social media

Over
1,900
Monthly Minute subscribers

Collision

In 2023, AIA Canada continued to support the collision sector with the Collision Repair’s Council, the CCIF Steering Committee, and holding three Canadian Collision Industry Forums.

Canadian Collision Industry Forum Steering Committee

Committee members

Name
Company
Title
Jeff Labanovich
Leader Auto Resources LAR Inc.
Chair – Executive
Paul Prochilo
Simplicity Car Care
Past Chair – Executive
Roy Pelletier
Pelletier’s Auto Body
Repairer – Independent
Emily Lowe
OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body
Repairer – Independent
Sylvain Seguin
Fix Network
Repairer – National Chain
Shannon Tardiff
CSN Collision
Repairer – National Chain
Kyle Strong
Assured Auto
Repairer – National Chain
Brandi Brydges
Auto Canada
OE Dealer
Mike Beier
Consolidated Collision Services
OE Dealer
Steve Gallace
3M
Supplier
Phil Jennings
Uniparts OEM
Supplier
Michael Thibault
Enterprise Mobility
Supplier
Anita Zeitler
Wawanesa Canada
Insurer
Rich Zamperin
Insightful Consulting and Support Services
Special advisor (past member)
Matthew Mauro
Driven Brands
Young leader
Andrew Shepherd
Automotive Industries Association of Canada
AIA Canada Collision programs management representative
Stuart Klein
Automotive Industries Association of Canada
AIA Canada Collision programs management representative
Ornella Mukele
Automotive Industries Association of Canada
AIA Canada Collision programs management representative
Maruk Ahmed
Automotive Industries Association of Canada
AIA Canada Collision programs management representative

Events

CCIF Toronto

The Canadian Collision Industry Forum (CCIF) returned to Toronto after a two-year absence from the largest auto care market in Canada. The event brought collision industry professionals together for two days of sessions and networking.

Date: February 2nd and 3rd, 2023

Venue: Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto Airport & Conference Centre  

480

attendees

Topics covered

CCIF Moncton

The second CCIF conference of the year once again brought together collision industry professionals for networking and insightful sessions covering various topics and issues of interest to the sector.

Date: June 8th and 9th, 2023

Venue: Delta Hotels by Marriott Beausejour

172

attendees

Topics covered

CCIF Calgary

The two-day event brought collision industry professionals together in one central location to attend informative sessions and to discuss industry trends and challenges.

Date: October 5th and 6th, 2023

Venue: The Westin Calgary Airport

301

attendees

Topics covered

I-CAR Canada continued to be the leader in automotive skills development in Canada in both English and French. Representing over 150 hours of course credit, students can now study topics ranging from electric vehicles, welding, to refinishing.


243
Independent Learning Courses completed

15
live classes completed


26
webinars

Over
4000
people enrolled in an
I-CAR course


1452
new students joined I-CAR

Our charity

Through the AIA High Fives for Kids Foundation, AIA Canada and its members continued to support Canadian children’s charities and provide scholarship funding across the country.

$38,000

given in 2023

Grants and donations

Amount
Name
$7,000
YWCA of Calgary
$5,000
Kerr Street Community Services in Oakville
$5,000
Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta and Northwest Territories
$2,500
Manitoba Ukraine Support
$2,500
Ottawa Ukraine Support

Scholarships and awards

AIA High Fives for Kids Scholarship: $1,000 total

  • Blake Wishloff

The University of the Aftermarket Foundation Scholarship: $10,000 total

  • Adrian Hernandez
  • Aryan Patel
  • Gavin Fung
  • Orietha Martinez
  • Vaibhav Patel
  • Wafa Amrouche
  • Wilson Williams
  • Nashua Kruger
  • Aiden Ferguson
  • Sarah MacIntyre

Quebec Division Scholarship: $1,500 total

  • Justin Binette
  • Mouhamed Ndiaye
  • Justin Bridgen

Georgian College Student Aftermarket Day Best in class presentation winners: $2000 total

  • Flynn Barrett
  • Adeline Forget
  • John Brackett

Red River College Polytechnic: $1,500 total

Chairman's Challenge

Thanks to the generosity of our donors–both corporate and personal–the Chairman’s Challenge raised over $34,000.

Thank you to everyone who lent their support.

Young Professionals in the Auto care sector

In 2023, the Young Professionals in the Auto care sector (YPA) continued to hold in-person events, such as Student Aftermarket Day at Georgian Colleges’ Automotive Business School of Canada, the YPA Holiday Networking event in Toronto and a networking gathering during AIA Canada’s Nationall Conference.

In 2023, the YPA Community was introduced allowing for a broader scope of young professionals to join this dynamic group. The YPA Community consists of AIA Canada members under the age of 45 looking to climb the ladder in the auto care sector through mentoring, thought leadership opportunities, and network building opportunities.

The YPA Committee is made up and mandated to speak for young professionals in the auto care sector. We thank the members of the Committee who volunteered their time, expertise, and insight.

Committee Members

Name
Company
Patrick Verriet
MANN + HUMMEL Filtration Technology Canada
Brad Cochrane
NAPA Auto Parts (Corporate office)
Brad Irving
Uni-Sélect Canada Inc. (Corporate office)
Chris Kinghorn
NAPA Ontario
Derek Suen
Dorman Products Inc.
Devin Termarsch
DRiV
Georgia Ludwig
Wakefield Canada
Jeff Austin
Uni-Sélect Canada Inc. (Corporate office)
Jennifer Fox
Auto Electric Service Ltd.
Kari Hann
Specialty Sales & Marketing
Mark Potts
DRiV
Nathaniel Willsie
Grote Industries Co.
Rory Sones
Matthew Scott Data Marketing Solutions
Shannon Tardiff
CSN Collision
Peter Bulmer
Turnkey Media Solutions Inc.
Stephanie Cooney-Mann
UAP Inc. (Head office)
Tara Hammer
Lordco Parts Ltd (Corporate)
Zakari Krieger
Barton Auto Parts Ltd.

Awards

Young Professionals in the Auto care sector: Young leader of the Year award

The Young Leader of the Year Award is presented annually on behalf of the Young Professionals in the Auto care sector (YPA) Committee to an outstanding young professional in the auto care sector.

Brad Cochrane, Director of Sales Operations and Business Analytics – NAPA Auto Parts

AIA Canada Distinguished Service Award

The AIA Canada Distinguished Service Award recognizes a lifetime of outstanding service and leadership. It is the highest award presented by AIA Canada to an individual member.

Brad Shaddick, Director of Sales Canada – Tenneco/DRiV

 

AIA Canada Staff

Who we are

Name
Position
Afeefah Fathima
Research and knowledge coordinator
Alana Baker
Vice president, government relations and research
Alyssa Munro
Events coordinator
Andrew Shepherd
Senior director, industry programs and executive director, I-CAR Canada
Andrew Stacey
Communications coordinator
Ayah Stretch
Executive assistant and governance officer
Beth Steel
Project Manager, Innovation in Automotive Training
Brendan Mullen
Vice president, digital and user experience
Chenqu Zhong
Senior finance officer
Chloé Devine Drouin
Director, digital marketing and communications
Elise Bulhoes
Collision sector coordinator
Emily Reed
Content and media coordinator
Emma Shi
Senior finance officer
Enaya Serhane
Finance officer
Gabriel LeBlanc
Digital marketing coordinator
Grace Moreland
Manager, Member relations
Ibti Ridha
Vice president, finance and operations
Jean-François Champagne, CGA
President and CEO
Kalli Foster
Manager, events
Katelyn Young
Team leader, I-CAR
Lucy (Yanchun) Xie
Finance officer
Maruk Ahmed
Project coordinator, collision programs
Maude Giroux
Manager, regional division
Micaela Korb
Senior Project Coordinator, Innovation in Automotive Training
Ornella Mukele
Senior coordinator, collision programs (CCIF)
Pamela Fraser
Senior coordinator, collision programs (CCIF)
Rosa Azizi
Senior operations and membership coordinator
Sebastien Guindon
Graphic designer
Shamsia Quraishi
Manager, research and knowledge mobilization
Sophie Meunier
Collision sector coordinator
Stewart Kerr
Collision sector coordinator
Stuart Klein
Vice president, collision programs
Susan Ramroop
Senior Project Coordinator, Innovation in Automotive Training
Tanya Scheidl
Director, I-CAR
Zoe Zhou
Finance manager

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Shannon Spano
Chair
Wakefield Canada Inc.

Ryan Bruno
First Vice-Chair
CSN Collision

Tony Kuczynski
Second Vice-Chair
Mister Transmission

Jason Yurchak
Past Chair
WorldPac

Directors at Large

James Channer
In Motion Brands

Pamela Lee
Mr. Lube

Joey Miceli
Groupe Del Vasto

Craig Jalbert
3M Canada Company (Automotive Aftermarket Division)

Derek Suen
Dorman Products Inc.

Jasna Smiljcic
Gates

Michael O’Callaghan
Craftsman Collision

Jason G. Herle
Fountain Tire

Micheline Davies
Canadian Tire

Committees

Labour Taskforce

AIA Canada established a Labour Taskforce in early 2022 comprising current board members to guide labour-focused research. The task force was responsible for identifying current labour challenges, selecting research vendors through an RFP process and guiding the research project for successful completion of outcomes. The industry stakeholders who contributed to shaping the 2023 research to its final forms are:

Name
Company
Graham Jeffery
Canadian Tire
Derek Suen
Dorman Products
Ryan Bruno
CSN Collision
Jason Yurchak
Worldpac

Financials

Revenue

$7,884,110

Expenses

$9,253,651

Sponsors

AIA Canada acknowledges the support of its 2023 sponsors.

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