Momentum Media President Shawn Smith has announced that NAB Show tradition, the Great Canadian Suite, won’t be going ahead this year.

With a history dating back six decades, the annual gathering of Canadians in broadcast media and entertainment and the industry vendors that serve them, was set to take place at the Flamingo Las Vegas on April 7.

Smith, the publisher of broadcast and telecom industry trade publications Broadcast Dialogue and CARTT.ca – who were to host the event – said the company has made the “very difficult decision” to not move forward this year as uncertainty grows amidst the Canada-U.S. trade war and indications fewer Canadians than usual may choose to attend the international trade show and conference this year.

“A growing number of attendees and potential sponsors are reporting a change of travel plans due to the tariff war on Canada and the resulting decline in economic conditions,” said Smith, in an announcement. “These developments have introduced a level of risk that is quite frankly not acceptable, neither for us as the organizers, nor for our confirmed key sponsor supporters.”

Supporting companies for this year’s event included ATEME, Dome Productions, Gerr Audio, HD Radio/Xperi, IJES/Miller Tripods, Nautel, and Radioplayer Worldwide.

“While this a great disappointment for us all, I want to reassure you that Broadcast Dialogue and CARTT.ca are committed to our industry partners and will therefore make efforts to cover NAB and give our sponsors extra visibility in front of the Canadian community in the days ahead,” Smith added. “We hope that this is a temporary correction and that we will see you all again in person next year.”