Canadian Carpet Institute : The Canadian Carpet Institute (CCI) was a national non-profit association representing the carpet manufacturing industry from late 1962 until early 2015. As an organization of national scope, the CCI follows the rise and fall of traditional small town manufacturing. The Canadian carpet industry began to form in the early 1920s and by the mid-1950s it was represented by the Carpet Section of the Canadian Woollen & Knit Goods Manufacturers Association. In 1962, that association divided into distinct institutes, each governed by its own constitution and bylaws. Thus, the Canadian Carpet Institute began operation in August of that year as an affiliate of the Primary Textiles Institute (later renamed the Canadian Textile Institute).
The primary goals of the institute included serving the industry with practical, technical, educational, and issue-related information as well as lobbying government both with regards to manufacturing and safety standards for the industry, and in an effort to make Canadian carpet manufacturers more competitive on the global stage. CCI also placed a great emphasis on research and development, believing that keeping up with the latest trends of technology gave Canada a fighting chance in global competition. The introduction of tufted carpet-making technology in the late-fifties was seen as especially significant, as it allowed Canada to compete on an even basis with other countries. It was based on this technology that the Canadian carpet industry experienced its "golden years" until the eighties. During its peak, CCI represented over 22 firms that included a total of approximately 7000 employees, or approximately 90% of the Canadian industry. Throughout this period, the institute continuously lobbied the federal government to keep tariffs high on imported carpet, keeping the market share of international product, especially American-produced carpet, at low levels.
In the late-eighties, the Mulroney government rolled out its free trade platform which had a profound effect on the Canadian carpet industry. Despite initial optimism for the opportunities that the changes might offer, the Canadian domestic market share dropped sharply from 92% to as low as 53% in 1991. CCI would spend much of the nineties lobbying to the government for enforcement against the dumping of cheaper, foreign carpets into the Canadian markets. Overwhelmed by the forces of free trade, global competition, and unrelenting technological change, CCI membership was reduced to just four full members and two associate members representing approximately 1500 employees in the twenty-first century.
In August 2009, the management of CCI was taken over by a private management company after long-time executive director Jean-Claude Carisse retired. The institute closed its doors in January 2015.