Lavigne's Car Audio

Meet Pat Lavigne, the Owner Behind Lavigne's Car Audio in North Bay

When you bring your truck, boat, or sled to Lavigne's Car Audio, the person who talks you through it is Pat Lavigne. Pat owns Lavigne's Canvas Co., and the car audio shop is a division of it, working out of the same building on Booth Road with the same crew.

Pat has been an electronics guy since he was a kid. His first car had a big sound system in it, and he has been wiring his own vehicles and his friends' ever since. He likes a challenge, and car audio gave him a new one.

Boat Canvas in North Bay Since 1995

The Lavigne name started with canvas. Pat's father, Pat Lavigne Sr., opened Lavigne's Canvas in 1995. For years it was a part time business while his dad built custom boat tops for another company to support the family, and in 2013 he went at it full time.

Pat worked alongside him, helping out evenings and weekends while he held a day job at City Centre. The work got busy enough that in 2015 Pat took a shop, left his job, and has run the business full time ever since. He bought it in 2021. His dad is stepping back at the end of October, after working beside him for all of it.

How a Wakeboard Boat Started Car Audio at Lavigne's

Around 2018 or 2019, a customer brought in a wakeboard boat for a complete restoration and wanted an all new sound system in it. Pat called two other local shops that offered audio. Neither wanted the job, because they figured it would cost too much. Pat did not want to do half the job and send his customer out of town, so he took it on himself, and it turned into a fifteen thousand dollar audio build.

From there he did more and more marine audio, brought the suppliers on board, and invested in inventory so the shop could carry the product itself. That became Lavigne's Car Audio.

The Lavigne Touch: Factory Clean Remote Start and Audio Installs

Lavigne's Canvas is known in North Bay for the fit and finish of its work, and Pat brings that same standard to every install. On his website he calls it the Lavigne Touch: clean wiring, proper connections, secure mounting, and a finish that looks like it came from the factory.

When a vehicle goes back to the dealer, an aftermarket remote starter is usually the first thing that gets blamed. Pat's goal is that the technician will not even know it is there. Where a T harness is available for your vehicle, the shop uses it, so installing the starter means unplugging factory connectors and plugging the harness in between, with no room for error. When there is no harness, like on a 2025 vehicle the shop did recently, every connection is soldered and properly sealed, and the factory harness is wrapped again in proper loom. No Scotch locks, and no wire peeled back and taped.

For remote starters, Pat chose iDatastart because the brand keeps evolving and its tech support is top notch. Remote starters start at $525 plus tax, installed.

What to Know Before You Hire a Remote Starter Installer in North Bay

Pat's advice is simple: know what you are buying. Before anyone installs a remote starter or a stereo in your vehicle, you should understand the product, its features, what it can and cannot do, and whether it depends on a subscription.

You should also feel confident in the person installing it. For a lot of people their vehicle is their only way to get around, and a bad install can leave you stranded. Pat puts it this way: quality over quantity.

Marine and Powersports Audio in North Bay

Boats, side by sides, sleds, and bikes are a core part of the shop, not a sideline. On a boat or a side by side, loud matters, because you are competing with wind, engines, and a helmet. Pat's aim is to keep the balance between loud and clear, so he sticks with brands known for sound clarity instead of racing to the bottom on price. The lines he carries are price protected, so you pay the same price for the product at his shop as you would find it online. Marine speakers start at $199.99 installed.

Because the car audio shop shares a building with Lavigne's Canvas, a boat owner can have canvas, upholstery, flooring, audio, and 12 volt accessories handled in one place.

Custom Fabrication When the Part Does Not Exist

When an off the shelf part does not fit, the shop builds one. The marine audio demo stand you may have seen at their booth was built in house from MDF, and it looks identical to the factory version from the manufacturer. The shop has also done custom interior work and sound systems in vintage cars.

Car Audio and Remote Starters for North Bay, Sturgeon Falls, and Callander

Lavigne's Car Audio installs remote starters, speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, backup and dash cameras, LED and auxiliary lighting, USB charging, switch panels, marine audio, and audio for ATVs, UTVs, snowmobiles, and motorcycles. Customers come from North Bay, Sturgeon Falls, Mattawa, Powassan, Callander, Burk's Falls, Temagami, and New Liskeard. Financing is available through Financeit.

Community: Sponsor of the PartSource Charity Car Show

For three years Lavigne's has been a major sponsor and vendor at the PartSource Charity Car Show, which raises money for kids and sports, with all of it staying local. Pat has shown his own cars there for years; right now it is his Genesis coupe. This year the booth had the marine sound board, a full custom car, and a local business owner's vehicle with a complete interior done by the shop. It rained in the morning, and Pat still calls it their best year yet for real conversations with people who wanted to learn.

What to Expect When You Call Lavigne's Car Audio

Call or text 705 410 6872, Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm. Text is the fastest way to start a quote: send the year, make, and model, and what you want it to do, and the shop will come back with a straight answer on what it takes and what it costs. Booking is by phone or text.

What Pat wants you to say afterwards is not about the stereo. He wants you to say you were taught what you were buying, that the shop was easy to deal with, that they gave you a ride when you dropped the car off, and that the text updates kept you in the loop. This winter the shop has stocked up on remote starters so you are not waiting on parts, and Pat's goal is sixty installs before the season is out.