Talent, EV readiness and cost of living were key topics this year.

AIA Canada’s 2026 Canadian Auto Care Conference(CAIC) which ran from March 10-12 was a sellout! Attendees had much to think about following the sessions that were so well presented by ‘people in the know’.

Tuesday’s session on March 10, was geared toward Young Professionals—a Speed Mentoring Roundtable and had many in attendance.

Wednesday, March 11, saw Tony Kuczynski, Chair AIA Canada and Emily Chung, current AIA Canada President and CEO lead off the presentations. Awards were presented with the Distinguished Service Award going to Tony Canade, from the Boyd Group. Young Leader of the Year went to Adam Malik of Turnkey Media Solutions.

Shifting gears
Emily Chung presented ‘Shifting gears: The here, now and next of Canada’s auto care sector with AIA Canada’. Following that was a panel discussion: ‘No talent left behind: Building a future-ready workforce—our industry growth depends on talent!’ Stephanie-Cooney-Mann, moderated the session with panelists Chris Theodorates, and Saifullah Sanaye.

Concurrent business operations and performance sessions followed—Murray Voth, President of RPM Training, presented Technician or Operations Challenge: What’s holding back repair shops?

Repair shops have workforce challenges—plus evolving processes and customer expectations… and these are more varied than ever! Today, household budgets are strained—rising living costs are to blame and because of this repair decisions and loyalty are influenced. Voth presented practical strategies to align operations, training and culture and how to retain skilled techs, and meet customer expectations while maintaining your profitability.

Then came business operations and performance: Bridging the Talent Gap: How young professionals will future proof the auto care industry by Pruthvi Brahmbhatt, from UAP Inc. He showed that young professionals are stepping up as key drivers of change in areas like EV readiness, sustainability and digital innovation. AI, automation and employability skills are reshaping roles! This session delivered strategies to thrive in our rapidly evolving industry.

Market research and data—Ryan Robinson, Deloitte LLP spoke on Canadian auto sector trends: Navigating uncertainty breaking down the trends, risks and opportunities that’ll define Canada’s automotive landscape. He also added Trends—the Canadian Auto sector is shifting faster through technology, policy and economic forces.

A panel of CEOs and senior leaders got into the real issues shaping the auto care sector—Lorraine Sommerfield hosted with panelists Nick Brunet, President, CEO, Bestbuy Distributors; Alain Primeau, President, UAP Inc. and Nick Field, VP Sales, Uni-Select Inc.

Beyond just co-op
Engaging with younger students was headed up by Lucas Chang. He shared recent case studies concerning students from manufacturing, construction and automotive industries in Ontario. He related that these partnerships taught the students new skills, enabled networking with industry professionals therefore providing many opportunities for these students to apply classroom learning in situations of today’s world!

Emily Holtby, VP AIA Government Relations moderated ‘From the ballot to business: One year later and what it means for Canada’s auto care industry—a fresh look at the federal election’. David Coletto, founder and CEO, Abacus Date spoke on this subject. He related that consumer and voter sentiment has ‘shifted’; he told what trends have emerged… and what this all means for the auto care industry today. The landscape today is rapidly changing, you need to know the latest insights and stay ahead of the swing.

This industry conference provided a great deal of knowledge for all attendees… but you must think ahead!