This year’s show looked amazing! The booth designs, and clever use of space in combination with thousands of products on display made for an engaging indoor pet product marketplace for visitors to enjoy. Kudosto the exhibitors for all their amazing work. Over two thousand pet professionals came together creating a festive atmosphere to celebrate 35th years of PIJAC, now Pets Canada. Between a party, awards, seminars,special guests and a big announcement, this was an event for the history books. Here are the highlights!
Spectacular Sponsors
We had so much fun shouting about our sponsors for the Toronto Pets Canada Industry Show. Our sincere thanks go to Dienon, Leis Pet Distributing, Nutram and Nature’s Hug Pet Food. These four companies added their own touch of class to the event. Thank you for your amazing support.
Best New Product
It is our distinct pleasure to announce that Optimum Combinations Wet Dog and Cat Food by Nutram was the visitor choice for Best New Product of the show. Optimum Combinations™ is a line of products that combines nutrients found in wholesome ingredients to give pets Holistic benefits beyond complete and balanced nutrition. There are 19 Optimum Combinations™ in their new recipes. Congratulations to Nutram on this new fan favorite!
Check pictures from the show by clicking here.
Simply the Best – The Canadian Pet Community Awards were presented on Sunday night, honoring those in our industry who reach beyond their job description and truly work to help their clients and their pet communities. The winners are Distributors Sales Representative: Carl Eldridge, Leis Pet Distributing Inc., Manufacturer Sales Representative: Daemon Stott, Open Range, Independent retailer: Blue Ribbon Pet Supply, Chain Store retailer: Global Pet Foods (Hespeler), and Pet Service Provider: Cat Sitter Toronto. It was with great pleasure that we added the John and Kelly Ayres Philanthropy Award in 2023. This award specifically focuses on aiding the pet community through support events and initiatives, involvement in animal and pet business advocacy issues, supporting the right of responsible pet businesses to offer healthy pets to the community, and mentoring up-and-coming pet businesses. John and Kelly Ayers presented the inaugural award to Petcurean. Their focus on animal welfare, environmental sustainability in their product lines, and mentorship efforts make them most deserving of this award. You will be able to read the full details of Petcurean’s efforts in the coming week.
Please help us congratulate and thank all the nominees and award recipients for their leadership in our industry. See the official video celebrating all nominees and winners.
4 Special Guests
Marshall Meyers, the guest of honor for our 35th-anniversary celebration, was instrumental in getting PIJAC Canada (now Pets Canada) up and running in 1988. Marshall is a walking encyclopedia of pet industry history, and has continued to actively support the Canadian pet industry. We were so very honored to have him with us this year.
Federal Minister of Small Business Rechie Valdez toured the show to speak with members about what it means to be a pet business in Canada and the important service our sector provides to Canadian pet families.
Maninder Sidhu, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, took time out of his weekend to meet up with members involved in our International Canadian Pavilion efforts at global pet trade shows and get their input on the reality of creating and exporting pet products
The welfare of animals is top of mind for the Solicitor General’s office which is why it was very meaningful to us to have Christine Hogarth Ontario Parliamentary Assistant to the Solicitor General with us to speak with participants about why they chose the pet sector and what they do on behalf of pet wellbeing. We also wanted to thank Robert Brissette for flying in from Winnipeg for the day to offer his anniversary wishes and lend his support. It was a wonderful surprise.
Big News – Sunday’s Anniversary Cocktail was the perfect venue to spread the word about our biggest news of the year. Pets Canada has submitted a request to the Federal Government to remove GST from all pet food. October 17th is the date for our first ever Parliament Hill Day where a group of member companies will meet with politicians and their staff to discuss this matter and the urgently important issue of adding pets to the national emergency strategy.
Champions – Our sincere appreciation goes to the following organizations for their support in delivering seminars and speaking with show participants about important business and welfare topics.
Nelsen IQ – Pets Canada preferred research partner
Canadian Association of Mental Health (CAMH) and Nutram
Canadian Federation of Independent Business
Canadian Association of Invasive Species
The Alberta Reptile Society of Alberta
This event was a brilliant wrap-up to a very successful season of industry shows attended by pet professionals from within Canada and beyond our borders. This isn’t just our anniversary, it’s yours as well. The success of our sector is due to the collective will of those within it to continually raise the bar on improving the products and services created to care for this country’s pets. Happy Anniversary to You!
