Canadian Automobile Association
Encyclopedia
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Association canadienne des automobiles), commonly known as CAA, is a non-profit federation, founded in 1913, of nine clubs across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, providing roadside assistance service, a complete range of auto touring and leisure travel services, insurance services, and member discounts with preferred companies.
The CAA is the leading advocate for Canada’s motorists and travellers, and is affiliated with the American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
(AAA) of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Many English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-language TourBook
TourBook
TourBook is the brand name of a series of United States travel guides published by the American Automobile Association . The books are published annually in editions that cover one to five states each . Editions covering Canadian provinces are also available, created in association with the...
s and maps about Canada distributed by CAA clubs are published by AAA, and carry both CAA and AAA branding. CAA is an active political lobby
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
for Canadian car-owners, pursuing the interests of drivers in public consultations over urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
and public transit.
CAA Manitoba can trace its origins to the creation of the Winnipeg Auto Club in 1904, the first club of its kind in Canada. The organization later evolved into the Manitoba Motor League, becoming an integral part of motoring history in the province - from developing the first road map, to marking highways, to implementing road safety programs. The MML was renamed CAA Manitoba in 1993. Today CAA Manitoba represents more than 190,000 members and has expanded beyond emergency road service to include a full service travel agency, home and property insurance and travel products. CAA Manitoba is actively engaged in advocacy issues, most recently with its 'Move Over Manitoba' campaign to convince the provincial government to extend to tow truck operators the same protective measures that cover emergency roadside personnel.
CAA Saskatchewan, formerly the Saskatchewan Motor Club, has been in operation since 1917 and includes automotive sales and service facilities, a travel agency and an insurance agency. Besides providing a full range of travel services and packages, CAA Saskatchewan also owns and operates its own motorcoach company, WestWorld Tours, which offers fully escorted tours to a variety of North American destinations. CAA Saskatchewan's insurance agency offers a wide range of insurance products, from basic coverage to all-risk comprehensive policies, for home and property, auto, health & dental, travel and life insurance, with added benefits and savings for CAA Saskatchewan Members. The Show Your Card & Save program also provides Members savings at thousands of attractions, retailers and merchants throughout the world, with point-of-sale discounts and the opportunity to earn CAA Dollars which can be redeemed on CAA merchandise and services.
In Ontario, the CAA was formerly the 'Ontario Motor League'. It facilitates Ontario's Drive Clean
Ontario's Drive Clean
Ontario's Drive Clean is an automobile emissions control program in Ontario, Canada. It applies only to vehicles in the program coverage areas, which are largely the lower half of Ontario, from Windsor in Southwestern Ontario to Ottawa in Eastern Ontario. It is unlikely it will be expanded to...
program from the CAA locations that double as Ministry of Transport licence renewal and vehicle registration offices. The Ontario Motor League originally was not affiliated with the CAA or AAA.
CAA is not affiliated with the Dominion Automobile Association
Dominion Automobile Association
The Dominion Automobile Association is a privately-owned company that provides roadside assistance and other automotive services to customers in Canada...
or consumer groups such as the Automobile Protection Agency.
CAA clubs and territories
- BCAA British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
-- British Columbia and Yukon - Alberta Motor AssociationAlberta Motor AssociationThe Alberta Motor Association is a non-profit membership organization serving Alberta and the Northwest Territories. The organization, founded in 1926 and headquartered in Edmonton, is affiliated with the Canadian Automobile Association and the AAA and had 855,000 members as of October 2008...
-- Alberta and parts of the Northwest Territories directly north of Alberta and Saskatchewan - CAA SaskatchewanCAA SaskatchewanThe Canadian Automobile Association of Saskatchewan is a non-profit membership organization serving Saskatchewan affiliated with the Canadian Automobile Association and the AAA...
-- Saskatchewan - CAA ManitobaManitobaManitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
-- Manitoba and Nunavut - CAA North and East OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
-- Ontario: counties of Dundas, Glengarry. That portion of Leeds-Grenville formerly known as Grenville County, Lanark, Prescott, Renfrew, Russell, Stormont, Ottawa, Sudbury, Districts of Cochrane, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Sudbury, Timiskaming, Kenora (including area of Patricia), Rainy River, Thunder Bay - CAA South Central Ontario -- Ontario: counties of Wellington, Perth, Oxford, Middlesex, Elgin, Norfolk, Hastings, Prince Edward, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, Peterborough, Northumberland, Haliburton, Essex, Lambton, Grey, Bruce, Huron, Dufferin, Brant, Simcoe, Peel and the portion of Leeds-Grenville formerly known as Leeds and the Regional Municipalities of Chatham-Kent, Durham, Haldimand-Norfolk, Hamilton-Wentworth, Halton, TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Waterloo, York, and the city of Kawartha Lakes and the Districts of Algoma and Muskoka - CAA Niagara -- Niagara region
- CAA-QuebecCAA-QuebecCAA-Quebec is the affiliated club of the Canadian Automobile Association within the province of Quebec, Canada. It is a non-profit organization with its head offices located in Quebec City. CAA Quebec provides roadside assistance for the broken down cars of members across its territory- History...
-- QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level.... - CAA Atlantic -- New BrunswickNew BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Prince Edward IslandPrince Edward IslandPrince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
and Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...