Under the terms of the initial three-year partnership agreement that kicked off today, any TIA member with operations in Canada will be eligible to become a member of the CTA with one membership fee; current CTA members will pay a single set of dues to access the benefits of CTA and TIA membership. A representative of each organization will sit on the leadership committee of the other body. CTA will maintain its Canadian incorporation, as well as its own mission and bylaws.

Every CTA member is now in the TIA membership database and has unrestricted “Members Only” access to TIA’s online products and services – including free educational webinars; proprietary reports on market research and industry best practices; legislative bulletins on pressing industry issues; guidance documents on complying with U.S. federal safety and privacy standards; and much more.

Among the benefits of a strengthened partnership between the organizations, TIA and CTA will now be able to represent the North American toy industry’s interests in advocacy messages to the governments of both nations. Both CTA and TIA will leverage resources to provide more robust technical and economic arguments to their respective legislative bodies. Additionally, TIA’s go-to-market events – New York Toy Fair and Fall Toy Preview – will be further enhanced to offer U.S. and Canadian manufacturers and retailers targeted business development opportunities, greater efficiency and cost-savings.

“After nearly eight decades of working side-by-side on behalf of the North American toy community, I am thrilled about the transformative new relationship between CTA and TIA,” said Carter Keithley, TIA President & CEO. “We already share many of the same members and have been working cooperatively for several years on matters related to the alignment of cross-border safety standards. I look forward to building on our existing positive relationship and accomplishing great things together on behalf of the North American toy industry!”

“Recognizing the shifts within the toy industry in Canada, this exciting new agreement will provide our members with enhanced value and services that meet their evolving needs,” added Serge Micheli, Executive Director of CTA. “We firmly believe that the new CTA-TIA affiliation is in the best interest of the Canadian toy industry at large and CTA’s members.”

Over the past few weeks, CTA staff has been reaching out to its members to further discuss the affiliation agreement and how it affects individual companies. Any questions or comments for CTA may be directed to Danielle Russell, CTA’s senior association manager. Questions for TIA may be directed to Ken Ebeling, TIA’s vice president of strategic development and member services.