lot has happened since the last update.

September was a busy month for the Canadian Self Storage Association (CSSA), with two conferences to attend and two complimentary CSSA lunch and learns in Alberta.

On Sept. 3, at the SSA Fall Conference in Las Vegas, the CSSA held its annual VIP Networking Cocktail and Welcome Reception for Canadians. We had record-breaking attendance this year. The room was full, the food was great, and the networking was outstanding. A big thank you to all who attended. We look forward to seeing you this year.

On Sept. 5, also at the SSA Fall Conference in Las Vegas, we took part in a lively and animated Canadian/American self-storage panel discussion.

Alberta Luncheons took place Sept. 16 and 17 in Edmonton and Calgary. It was wonderful to see so many new faces joining us for great food, fabulous conversations, and connection opportunities!

As always, fall is a busy time for conferences and events, and September quickly flew by and had us getting ready for our next event: the CSSA 19^th Annual Eastern Canadian Conference, Trade Show, and Self-Storage Facility Tours in Toronto, which was held Oct. 22 to 25 at Beanfield Centre at the Canadian National Exhibition Place.

As usual, we kicked off the event with our two-day Canadian Self Storage Association Operators Certification Course. We were happy to certify more than a dozen people new to the industry at the 2024 event.

The evening of Oct. 23, the Canadian Large Operators Council met in person and had a successful and progressive meeting discussing many issues that will surely help to improve the self-storage industry for all operators in Canada.

On Oct. 24, 2024, we had record breaking attendance in both attendees and exhibitors. That day was also jam packed with events, from recognizing Brenda Williams of Vaultra Storage with our annual Manager of the Year award, to a lively Investors Forum Panel Discussion and a session of round-table discussions. In 2024 we added a new feature at the conference and had a concurrent session on facility operations in self-storage that ran alongside the Investors Forum. The well-attended session received overwhelmingly positive feedback. As such, this will become a regular at our future conferences.

The day ended with our traditional wrap-up networking reception. Beverages, great food, and prizes, generously donated by the sponsors of this annual CSSA event, were some of the highlights of this end-of-day tradition. With so many new and rekindled relationships being formed within our wonderful industry, it was the perfect ending to the day! Following the reception, the Canadian Young Leaders Council met for a fun and productive networking event and dinner at The Rec Room in Toronto, Ont. They had the honour of sitting down with another terrific mentor in our industry: Ishan Byrde, vice president of operations at StorageVault Canada. Byrde shared his wisdom and experience with the group while answering questions and assisting where he could with the next generation of self-storage leaders in Canada.

On Fri., Oct. 25, we headed out for our annual self-storage facility tours. The day was unusually warm, and it started out sunny and bright. We toured three facilities. First was Green Storage on Birchmount Road in Scarborough. This stunning facility was a treat to tour. We even took the bus through the facility in a “drive-thru” experience, which was definitely a first for our bus driver. The treats at the end were delicious and appreciated. We thank you for your hospitality!

Bluebird Self Storage was our next stop, and they pulled out all the stops by graciously touring us around the facility. We never grow tired of seeing what everyone is doing. These tours are always a learning experience; it does not matter how long someone has been in the industry. The tours this year were no exception, as we are hearing from many of our participants. Bluebird, thank you for the great tour.

Our final stop of the day was at XYZ Storage on Eastern Avenue in downtown Toronto. This incredible site is also home to their head offices, although if you didn’t know they were there you might not find them. Their clever branding is seen throughout the building. It is a beautiful site. They went all out and had a catered lunch provided to us along with having all their staff on hand to mingle throughout lunch and answer our questions. A huge shout out to the entire XYZ team for your hospitality and for making us feel so welcome.

The CSSA 19^th Annual Eastern Canadian Conference in Toronto experienced record-breaking attendance in members, potential members, exhibitors, and sponsors. Thank you to everyone who made this event the success that it was!

2025 is the CSSA’s 20^th anniversary! We continue to grow and improve with each year that goes by.

Celebration events kick off in January with our CSSA’s 4^th Annual Executive Ski Workshop in Mont Tremblant, Que., from Jan. 28 to 31. Join us for a welcome reception, presentations, round-table discussions, our annual snow tubing event, gala dinner, and much more!

The festivities continue in May of 2025 in Whistler, B.C. We are again offering the CSSA Operators Certification Course on May 12 and 13. Our 20^th Annual Western Canadian Conference then begins on May 14, which includes the exhibition hall, conference, annual general meeting, 20th Anniversary Celebration Gala Dinner, and concludes on May 15 with our annual facility tours.

The 20^th Annual Eastern Canadian Conference is scheduled for Toronto in November. The CSSA Operators Certification Course will be held on Nov. 18 and 19. The conference begins on November 20, which includes the exhibition hall, conference, 20^th Anniversary Celebration Gala Dinner, and concludes on Nov. 21 with our annual facility tours.

We look forward to seeing everyone and celebrating this milestone together!

The CSSA continues to grow both in size and in the value that we offer to our members. Our website offers several resources that are invaluable to our membership, including white papers on self-storage contracts and thefts and break-ins, a best-practice guide, and delinquent customer management. We are currently working on setting up several initiatives and projects. We are actively working on PR and marketing, membership, and government issues, including property taxes and the active/passive issue. We are looking for volunteers to join a team to work on these projects and initiatives.

Please contact Sue Margeson at the CSSA for more information on getting involved.

We would love to hear from you, so please call us anytime at (888) 898-8538 or email us at info@cssa.ca.