Canadian online advertising revenue soared to an unprecedented $1.01 billion dollars in 2006, according to a report by the Toronto-HQ’d Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada. This represents a 26% increase over the $801 million originally estimated by the IAB for 2006, and it is an 80% increase over the 2005 actuals of $562 million.

The French-Canadian online market accounted for approximately $208 million, or 21%, representing growth of 68% over the 2005 tally of $124 million.

Broken down by ad medium, display (including banner, direct response, contests, sponsorship and microsites) was 36%; search was 35%; classifieds/directories was 27%; and email advertising was 2%.

Industry sector breakdowns were: 16% automotive; 14% consumer packaged goods; 9% entertainment (music, film, TV); 16% financial; 14% leisure (travel, hotel, hospitality); 16% retail; 15% other.

The IAB projects that growth in 2007 will be 32%, reaching an estimated $1.337 billion. And while it took Canadian online ad revenue 13 years to reach the billion-dollar mark, the IAB predicts it may take only two or three more years to hit $2 billion.

For more information on the report, visit www.iabcanada.com.