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Canadian International Auto Show coming back to Toronto in 2022

Organizers are expecting the show's absence last year will translate into pent-up demand

The Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS) will return to Toronto for 2022 thanks to new and higher capacity limits for large events in Ontario, organizers revealed mid-October.

CIAS general manager Jason Campbell said the government decision to lift restrictions came as a wonderful surprise. “Holy cow, it can be wide open again,” Campbell said of the country’s largest consumer show in a recent interview with Automotive News Canada.

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Slated next year to run at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from February 18 to 27, the auto show used to average about 360,000 visitors over 10 days.

Now it will be all hands on deck to figure out the logistics, Campbell says. Automakers already committed to CIAS will take up about 70 per cent of the floor space available. The extra space, Campbell says, will give new brands an opportunity to feature new products, that could include a good showcase for electric vehicles.

While the CIAS does not know what capacity limit will be set for the convention centre, it’s expected crowds of about 15,000 at a time will be allowed.

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Provincial health and safety rules dictate people working at the show and those attending must be double-vaccinated and masked. A ticket system designed to limit the time visitors can stay at the show will be in place. Campbell says most show-goers typically stay just over three hours.

CIAS has introduced new evening events in the past to try and spread crowds out evenly during show hours. That could be used in 2022 to help control visitor numbers.

Organizers last year considered hosting a virtual 2021 auto show in lieu of the physical event usually held in Toronto, but those plans were later scrapped . They are predicting a huge appetite for the auto show after a year’s absence.

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