Determined Canucks attend Canada Night in snowy NOLA

January 30, 2025

They are a hearty and determined bunch, these Canadian dealers and suppliers. 

Most of the attendees who made it to the Canada Night at NAD’eh party in New Orleans January 24th battled through multiple flight cancellations, airport closures, and some even flew to distant cities, rented cars, and drove for hours through wintry conditions to arrive in New Orleans in time for the party. 

“It’s like we were all NADA Survivors,” said Alan Bird, Chairman and CEO of taq Automotive Intelligence (and President and CEO of SCI LeaseCorp), in a Zoom interview with Canadian auto dealer after he returned safely back to Canada. “We didn’t greet one another with handshakes, it was high-fives. ‘Hey! You made it! How’d you make it here?” 

Bird said the vibe of the event, although smaller in scale than organizers had hoped, was upbeat and positive. “There were a lot of dealers down for NADA. More than I thought. They were there for a purpose,” he said. 

Bird, Lara Appleton, and others at his company are the key drivers doing a lot of the heavy lifting for an event that has become a staple in the Canadian auto industry circuit. This year they were also aided by David Cook, the owner of InStyle Promotions, who was brought in to help manage the event, which is also supported by a volunteer committee featuring some of the sponsors. 

“It didn’t go as planned, 100 per cent. But what we were able to pull off was a lot of fun,” Cook told Canadian auto dealer. “We were joking that when we turned the venue into Canada House for the party, we brought all of Canada down — including the weather!” 

“People went out of their way and persevered to get there,” said Cook. “They found a way to get to the party. They wanted to attend it and see who was there.”

“The dealers seemed to come in groups. There was definitely some excitement to see them.” he said. 

The party was initially planned for Thursday night, but with so many airport closures and flight cancellations it was moved instead to Friday night. To get there himself, Cook flew to Atlanta, then rented a car and drove first to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, then the rest of the way to New Orleans. He said the drive was good until they were about 50 miles north of New Orleans, where they encountered bad driving conditions, closed roads, and bridges. 

For their part, Alan Bird, Appleton, and their colleagues flew to Houston, Texas, rented a car, and made the 10-hour trek to New Orleans. Those that did make the event had similar travel tales. 

“We never really talked about not coming. It was not ‘if.’ It was ‘how’. We just figured it out. As long as it wasn’t going to put anyone’s health and safety in jeopardy. We had an event to run and support. And whether it was 10 people, 100 or 300, they are all customers and we had to get there,” said Bird. 

Bird said it was a proud moment to see the historic Cornet balcony all adorned with Canadian flags and for Canadians to be throwing red and white beads on Bourbon Street. He said some Americans were even trying to sing their best rendition of O Canada as the beads were raining down. 

“I would tell you personally that I had better strategic conversations in New Orleans than I had during the past three NADA events,” said Bird. “We weren’t there to sign up dealers, we were there to thank dealers.” 

The sponsors who underwrite the costs for the dealer event are:  Universus Media Group (Canadian auto dealer), TD Auto Finance, taq, Sym-Tech Dealer Services, SiriusXM Canada, Safe-Guard Products Canada, RBC, Quorum Information Technologies, PBS Systems, Keyloop, iA Dealer Services, iA Auto Finance, EBlock, Canadian Black Book, CDK Global, CARFAX Canada, AutoTrader.ca, Cherokee Media Group, Automotive News Canada, and Ally.

Bird said he now can’t imagine not having an event at NADA where dealers and their Canadian suppliers get together. He likened it to the bar from the popular TV sitcom Cheers, where you walk in and: Everybody knows your name. “That’s why we started it. It was one night when whoever was down there got together – it was good for our industry,” he said.

Canadian auto dealer was one of the media sponsors this year, and Purpose Automotive was the social media sponsor and provided the photos for this article. 

About Todd Phillips

Todd Phillips is the editorial director of Universus Media Group Inc. and the editor of Canadian auto dealer magazine. Todd can be reached at tphillips@universusmedia.com.

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