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[BHMike]

Let me preface this by saying that I love G.I. Joe.
Seriously. When I was a kid, my Star Wars figures merged into my G.I. Joe world and Han Solo became the co-pilot of the Skystriker w/ Ace. Some of my Masters of the

Universe figures became mutant creations of Cobra, and many times the Joes didn't win against them. As I said, I LOVE G.I. Joe.

Over 10 years ago, I took my money and with the help of a couple of other people, held a gathering for people of G.I. Joe. People came from various parts of the

country the first year, then parts of the world in the years that followed (U.S., Japan, UK, Australia, etc). Even during a time in my life when money was VERY tight

(just bought a house), I went into debt to ensure that you guys had a convention to attend, with guests, and trading cards to give away. You don't do these things if

you're not passionate about something. You do it because you care about the hobby, or in this case, the longevity of the brand of G.I. Joe.

However, it doesn't look like Hasbro does anymore. We're in the 50th Anniversary of the original "Man of Action", and Hasbro has had nothing to show for this year so

far. To a fan of G.I. Joe, this is a swift kick to the nards (Wolfman Style).

Due to actions from another local convention, Hasbro Canada no longer attends any cons in Canada. We had to bend over backwards for them to attend in 2012, knowing

full well that they may never come back to a Canadian Joe Con again.... And they're not.

Last year, the 2013 Canadian Joe Con was put on hiatus due to no product being available for our exclusive sets. NO other reason. Hasbro had nothing to offer us since

they pulled all Movie product to re-release it when Retaliation came out. That made perfect business sense, and that was fine. We looked for alternative avenues to get

items for our Con Set, but prices were either too high, or there wasn't enough in stock via the places we contacted. Why didn't we run one without the exclusives?...

Simple, they pay for the con, the guests, advertising, the comics, etc etc. No exclusives, no con. Simple logic, and nothing else behind it.

This past year (2013), I was told that Hasbro would still be able to help us out with something in 2014. Last week, I was told otherwise. Once again, we're at a point

with no figures to use for our con set. On top of that, the Sheraton Hotel has just informed me that the entire banquet hall section is being re-done this summer,

thus, we lose our date & location. (Which would of been Aug. 1st and 2nd).

In short, that's two years in a row that influences outside of my control have worked against me, and things I thought were confirmed, weren't. So, unfortunately, after 10+ years of sharing our love of this hobby, I am officially declaring the Canadian G.I. Joe Convention done.
Thanks to everyone who made this con as great as it was.

I'm thrilled to of offered a place for fans of G.I. Joe to gather and enjoy their hobby. Most conventions don’t last ten years, nevermind becoming a world-wide known event. It started in a small toyshop in Hamilton, Ontario, and who knows, it may return again at some point. But as of right now, the Canadian Joe Convention is finished.

Thank you again to all involved over the years.
Michael Heddle

[NeoDragonKnight]

Thanks for putting all the effort in the Canadian Joe Con all these years Mike.  Joe had a resurgence due to the 25th Anni but started a slow death after the first movie and now GI Joe as a whole is pretty dead.  It was honestly a great run and you should be proud of what you accomplished.  The convention sets are pieces Ill never part as with the friendships that have come from the con all these years.   I hope maybe some of us can come together for a friendly Joe Meet and just chill.  Don't be a stranger everyone!

[bandonov]

Thank you to you and your Team for making GI Joe Fun again for me. I wish it will come back sooner rather than later.

[silentdusty]

Mike,

Thank you to you and your team that were able to put these Conventions together year after year. I am disappointed I was never able to make it to one, but that is neither here nor there. We know that is through no lack of effort on your part that you are unable to keep things going. Hasbro can take the brunt of that blame. It was a great thing while it lasted, and it makes me wonder about the future of the big GI Joe Convention in the US as well. Heck if they keep putting out these horrible convention sets, it may happen, lol. Thank you again for all the work, and hopefully maybe some day in the future, the CanJoeCon will be resurrected.

[5h4rK]

Thanks for everything Mike!

[GI.Suicide]

I have always been a fan of Gi Joe. To be honest I thought it was a lost hobby or simply just forgotten. Not Knowing where to look or where to come across any ARAH in Canada (aside from Ebay) my Gi joe needs never excelled untill I was introduced to JoeCanuck...... Holy SHIT!! A whole new world opened up before me. "This is what I ve been missing out on."
"A community where people help eachother out along with a Canadian convention just for Gi Joes " Well that was easily the greatest thing I could have learnt from the interent.
Any ways I never got the chance to experience a Canadian JoeCon and it sucks but thank you Mike for this website and all your hard work.

R.I.P
CanadianJoeCon   

[kurt_eh]

I wish I could have made it out for one.

But I think we're glossing over the most important aspect of Mike's post:

Wolfman's got nards?

In all seriousness, a big thank you to those who did put in the effort to do CJC.  I've worked on other large events, and I know how much time and effort goes into them, so thank you.

[martin-montreal]

I attended the 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 CJC and each year I had... not enough sleep :-) but a lot of fun! Thanks for for all these years.

I don't want to create a big debate on Hasbro Canada participation, they made their choices. Too bad they only see us like fan of the brand. Because we are also consumers for ourselves and buyers for our kids, nephews, ... For a big company like that, sponsoring an event like this cost nothing and they are given the opportunity to keep the brand alive. Anyway, nobody knows the future...

[Realboss]

This is sad but understandable news.  Not only for us Collectors but for the Brand itself. 
The past efforts are much appreciated and at least (because of Mike and the hard work of many others)we did have the opportunity to have our own conventions and exclusives which is a mile stone in itself.

Thank you guys and who knows what the future may bring.

[darth cujo]

Wow, such a bummer. Can't say I'm too surprised with the lack of info that has been coming out. I had a bad feeling that in this case no news was bad news. 

Really disappointed to hear of the lack of support from Hasbro. A few years ago it was fantastic. Not only did they attend the con, they unveiled a new wave of figures there. I got to have really good conversations with the Hasbro rep who was great. Their participation seems to have really deteriorated over the past couple years. Makes you wonder what happened with that other con to put Hasbro off.

Also, hearing that Hasbro had nothing available for the con set makes one wonder about those Joes showing up at Dollarama. I don't know all the ins and outs of the arrangements CanJoeCon had with Hasbro, but perhaps some of those figures could have went towards supporting the con rather than blowing them out at a measly $3. That wave was pretty weak, but there were a couple gems in there and the CanJoeCon guys have shown to be very creative.

As for the brand overall, well, this has been an ongoing discussion throughout the Joe community. Seems Hasbro has no faith in it, which is a real shame. You'd think that with two recent relatively successful big budget movies and the 50th anniversary Joe would be on a high, but it feels like it is in one of its all-time lows. But the past 5 years or so have been so schizoid with the brand. I think they really need to find a new direction and focus everything on it rather than going to multiple directions and constantly pulling the plug after they just get started.

Anyway, thanks to Mike et al. for organizing and running a con for the years it was around. I'm sure it was a lot of work, and involved a lot of logistical headaches, so it was appreciated. I'll hold out hope that perhaps it will have a revival one day...

[Jon S.]

I'll second this             

[Sundance]

I'm so disappointed I'll never get to attend one of these and meet some of you guys who I have become matey with. I thank everyone for their involvement in the cons if only for my cool set of cards and my con comics.

and thanks again to the guys like pdaat who helped hook me up with the stuff.