2026 Canadian International Auto Show — Exotic to Vintage

By George Dyke….

The 2026 Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS), held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from February 13 to 22, opened with significant highlights. This year’s show is themed “Driven by Choice” and features over 45 automotive brands showcasing more than 650 new vehicles across various segments, offering choices of EV, hybrid, and internal combustion engine powertrains.

The opening ceremony kicked off with Hyundai announcing that its Hope on Wheels initiative continues its mission in 2026 by funding pediatric cancer research and supporting children battling cancer. The organization has committed over $4 million to Canadian pediatric cancer institutions and launched a new $1 million research grant fund to enhance outcomes for young patients.


The young cancer survivor, Arri, who spoke at the Canadian International Auto Show, inspired the crowd in a heart warming speech (the first he has ever given in public) to which Hyundai Canada President and CEO Steve Flamand commented that the company would love to hire him as speaker!

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), one of Canada’s most storied motorsport venues, with a legacy dating back to 1961, was represented by its new ownership group led by partners Peter Thomson, with Chris Pfaff and Alek Krstajic, who expressed their commitment to preserving Mosport’s history, supporting its existing community of fans, teams, and event partners, and ensuring that all scheduled activities and operations continue uninterrupted. The existing management team and staff, led by Myles Brandt, will remain in place.

Volvo followed with a presentation by Åsa Haglund – Head of Volvo Cars Safety Center, that showed their commitment through real world environment crash tests and accident analysis that goes beyond government mandates.

It was especially pertinent to me as just before New Years I had a careless driver on Toronto travelling way to fast on an icy road, loose control and impact into the side of my lovely Volvo 1998 S70. The structure of the car saved me from serious hurt, but unfortunately CAA insurance would not agree to repair to it and it was written off.

Markham mayor Frank Scarpitti – came on stage to proudly show a teaser for the Honda Indy that will held for the first time in Markham this year from August 14-16.

With the recent Government of Canada announcement to allow Chinese automobiles being sold into the country, I thought we might see a last-minute display from BYD, which appears to be the only major Chinese automaker that is formally registered to import passenger cars into Canada, according to a Transport Canada database. It’s unclear whether that is a new development, as the company opened a bus assembly plant in Newmarket, in 2019.

Chinese companies like BYD receive large amounts of support from the Chinese state in terms of loans, money support, and weaker labour laws. While is generally recognized that Canadian manufacturers cannot compete with a car company where a certain percentage of every car is effectively subsidized by the state, Federal Minister of Development for Ontario and Minster of AI, Evan Solomon, took to the stage along with Auto Parts Manufacturing Association, President Flamio Volpe to unveil the government funded Arrow Borealis — the latest demonstration vehicle of the APMA.

The Borealis along with the Vector demonstration vehicle that was introduced at the 50th anniversary of the Canadian international Autoshow were on display. Both are Canadian-built but not something you’ll be able to buy. Instead, they are demonstrative vehicles for all the components and technology that show exactly what we can do in Canada. These cars travel around the world to encourage companies come to Canada and ask us to build their parts. Solomon touted that government support helps to open up the doors for many small, independent start-ups and connects many teams that otherwise wouldn’t have known each other and helps them build better foundations for their work to come.

With those announcements out of the way, the 2026 Canadian Car of the Year Award winners were announced as determined by 53 jurors from Coast to Coast. They are:

• 2026 Canadian Car of the Year – HONDA CIVIC

• 2026 Canadian Electric Car of the Year – PORSCHE TAYCAN

• 2026 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year – HYUNDAI PALISADE

• 2026 Canadian Electric Utility Vehicle of the Year – KIA EV9

As for the show itself, there is plenty to see;

For the kids and fanatics a 1956 full size pink Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special convertible made from 418,556 LEGO bricks, including a record 123,426 pink bricks came from Las Vegas where Terry Crews recently drove it to transport the top three drivers of the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix 2025 from the finish line to the podium celebration.

Weighing more than 2,100 kg, stretching over five meters, the ambitious project required nearly 4,000 hours of development and construction by a team of 17 master LEGO builders, designers, and engineers. Capable of reaching speeds of up to 25 km/h, it features working headlights, taillights and vintage-style tires.

The highlight of the show from a concept standpoint is the Hyundai Crater, an off-road adventure vehicle featuring rugged styling, off-road lighting, and bold details built for adventure.

Audi has the most elegant area of the show where after you pass by their new Q3, you enter subdued room where their Formula 1 car is showcased.

If speed is your thing, Chevrolet is showing the Corvette ZR1X with a 5.5L V8 engine that works in concert with an electric motor to produce 1,250 hp — getting you to 100 km in about two seconds!

Along with a 56 production vehicles from major manufacturers that can be driven on the indoor test track, there is a full compliment of exotic and classic cars in display.

On the lower mezzanine level of the show you can find to original Ghostbusters Cadillac, and behind that nicely preserved examples an Audi Quattro, Honda CRX, Nissan Pulsar and a Ford RS2000.

Cobble Beach Classics returns this year to show these beauties:

• 1906 Russell Model B

• 1924 Delage GL Skiff Torpedo by Labourdette
• 
1927 Duesenberg Model X 
1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing
• 1961 Chevrolet Mako Shark I Corvette

• 1971 Plymouth Cuda

• 1972 Lamborghini Miura S
• 2003 BMW Alpina Z8 Roadster

There is an amazing micro car collection from Donna and Kenn Poore in Sarnia who have on display:

• 1956 Solyto
• 1962 Gogomobile
• 1960 Berkley
• 1962 NSU Prinze
• 1968 Vespa
• 1957 Messerschmidt
• 1958 BMW Isetta
• 1968 Subaru

Plenty of exotic cars were on display. They included:

And tucked away on a lower hallway is the rather sad Sarit, back again for the 3rd year with a sign saying that it is the future of urban mobility. It stands in stark contrast given the advancement of other micro-mobility EVs.

And finally, check out this photo gallery with 60 more pics of the Canadian International AutoShow 2025: