Organizers announced this week that the Calgary International Auto and Truck Show will not be held in 2023. The auto show cited a lack of vehicles due to the global supply chain disruptions as a reason for the cancelation.
The Calgary Motor Dealers Association made the decision not to hold the show on November 17, at a member meeting. Jim Gillespie, the association’s executive manager, said that there would not be sufficient participation to put on a good show.
“We did have some manufacturers that committed to attending and participating in the show but, quite frankly, there wasn’t enough of them to be fair to those that were going to come, and to be fair to the patrons that want to attend the show,” Gillespie told the Calgary Herald. “It was not going to be the show that we would like to produce. So, unfortunately, it was a tough decision, but the association had no choice.”
Read: New England Auto Show Cancelled For The 2nd Year In A Row Because They Don’t Have Cars To Show
Set to take place between March 8 and 12, 2023, next year’s event would have marked the triumphant return of the Calgary International Auto and Truck Show, which was cancelled in 2021 and 2022, due to COVID-19. In addition, the show was cut short due to the pandemic during its 40th anniversary event, in 2020.
The Calgary motor show regularly attracts 75,000 attendees from across Alberta. It frequently hosts 20 manufacturers, who bring a total of 300 vehicles to the show floor. According to Autonews Canada, though, only GM and Nissan committed to participating in the show in 2023.
Held in one of Canada’s largest cities, the cancellation of this year’s show is indicative of a trend that may affect auto shows across the nation. Gillespie claimed that the only major Canadian auto shows that are still set to be hosted this year are the Montreal International Auto Show and the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto. Some of the automakers who spoke to him, though, suggested that they weren’t just pulling out of Calgary.
“I think [Montreal and Toronto are] working very hard to try to move forward with their auto show,” Gillespie said, “but when manufacturers say they’re not going to participate, generally they’re not participating in the country.”
He pointed, specifically, to Ford, which told the Calgary Motor Dealers Association that it will not participate in any Canadian auto shows, and only in a few major American shows. That may explain why the likes of the New England International Auto Show were cancelled this year, too.
