There are four reports in total in the Consumer Behaviour Series that provide you with a comprehensive picture of Canadian car owners' attitudes towards vehicle maintenance and repair. Two reports from the series - 'E-tailing: Online Shopping Habits of Canadian Car Owners' and 'Car Care Information: What Media Channels Are Canadians Using?' have been released so far and we are already hearing how useful they are from businesses!

If you haven't downloaded your copy yet, you're missing out! AIA Canada members can grab their free copy from our website, while non-members can purchase them for only $199 each. 

Click here to access the reports.

Additionally, you can join our mailing list to get a heads up when we release the remaining two reports in the Series later this year.

For more information, please contact Communications at:
180 Elgin Street, Suite 1400 Ottawa, ON K2P 2K3
1-800-808-2920, ext. 233
communications@aiacanada.com

AIA Canada is making great headway in the research stages of the Aftermarket Labour Market Intelligence (ALMI) project. So far we have consulted with industry representatives and other stakeholders on the labour market information that they use in their workplaces.

 

What's next?

An industry-wide survey will be conducted, so stay tuned! For more information on the project and to participate in the various stages please contact Nermin Ibrahim. 

AIA hosted its Day on the Hill on April 4th. Some highlights of the day included meetings with key Senators, Members of Parliament and policy staff of various ministries. Specifically exciting was AIA's exposure to a number of Senators who sit on the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications and are currently conducting a study on the regulatory and technical issues related to the development of connected and automated vehicles.

 

During the exchanges, members of the Senate Committee agreed that the aftermarket must be a part of immediate discussion, and that the vehicle repair aspect has been neglected until now. It was also a shared understanding among all Members of Parliament and Senators that the aftermarket must continue to have access to repair and service information and that the Canadian automotive service sector must remain fair - with consumer choice at the center. 

On April 4th, 5 members of the AIA Automotive Service Provider Council attended lobby day on Parliament Hill. Ben Lalonde, Rudy Graf, Diane Freeman, Darryl Croft and Doug Moody all attended various meetings with Senators, Members of Parliament and policy staff to discuss the importance of ensuring that the aftermarket is included in conversations surrounding innovation of connected and automated vehicles. ASP council members were able to advocate directly on behalf of the service and repair industry with key Canadian decision makers. 

France Daviault AIA Canada, Senator Terry Mercer, Member of the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications, Ben Lalonde ASP Council Member, Diane Freeman ASP Council Member

While the Trans-Pacific Partnership is being referred to as "dead in the water," Canada is pushing through with the Canada-European Trade Agreement (CETA). What does the CETA mean for the automotive industry? One impact sure to be felt will be the removal of EU tariffs on all Canadian auto parts.

Innovation was the buzzword of the federal government's Budget 2017- in fact, innovation has been the buzzword of the Liberal government. It should be no surprise that Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, is the most lobbied minister on the Hill.

Despite the prominent role that innovation plays in the government's narrative, Canada lags behind other advanced economies in innovation. The following National Post article looks at why Canada is filled with low-innovation companies.

National Post, Canada Has Failed At Innovation for 100 Years. Can the Trudeau Government Change that? 

We keep hearing about the impact that automation will have on the global economy. This article looks at just how well prepared the federal government is for this fast-approaching reality.

Huffington Post, Automation Will Take Millions of Jobs, Ottawa Warned

On March 29th, over 130 AIA members and automotive service providers attended the Ontario

	View the storify of #aiaKES17

Knowledge Exchange Series that took place at the Paramount Event Space. With a focus on change and disruptors in the automotive aftermarket, attendees heard about how they can prepare for the future.  Speakers included James Carter who presented on industry disruptors and Rick Nadeau from Quorus Research who presented on 'What's Driving Your Customers.'  Also presenting on behalf of AIA were Andrew Shepherd who provided information on AIA research conducted on shop performance benchmarks and France Daviault highlighted plans for the future direction of the association.

 

Feedback from attendees at this event was very positive with 98% of attendees rating this event as either good or excellent and 97% of attendees would recommend this event to a colleague or friend.

 

AIA will be taking this event across Canada.  Dates and locations will be announced shortly.

The week of March 20th was one  focusing on Alberta. AIA President JF Champagne, Board  Chair Doug Reevey and Senior Director of Stakeholder Relations France Daviault all spent the week meeting with members and stakeholders in Edmonton and Calgary, and a few places in between! AIA had the opportunity to meet with both Northern and Southern Alberta division members, staff from the Alberta Ministry of Labour, administrators from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), regional service provider associations, Automotive Retailers Association (ARA), Canadian Independent Automotive Association (CIAA), and a number of automotive service providers in the region. 

	L to R: France Daviault of AIA and Nancy Suranyi of Namao Automotive & RV Repair

L to R: France Daviault of AIA, Nancy Suranyi of Namao Automotive & RV Repair, Lisa Beaudry, Alberta Ministry of Labour, Pauline Andruik, Superior Automotive Repair

Read the full press release here.