In the last month, the Ontario Government purchased just under 10,000 radio ads in the Toronto market alone.

The most recent Media Monitors report, which covers the week ending April 19, shows that the provincial government added 2,327 ads to its current information campaign on COVID-19. While provincial and municipal governments have been big radio spenders during the pandemic, the finance category also remains a prominent advertiser.

CIBC, for example, was the second-most prolific advertiser (up from fourth last week) with 724 ads in Toronto. Canadian Tire followed with 634 ads.

Rounding out the top-five spenders in the Toronto market were the Subaru Dealers Association and WSIB.

Public service was the largest spending category with 3,122 spots purchased in total. The finance category held strong in second place with just under 2,500 ads. Several other categories rose in their buying, most notably retail stores (648, up from 195), podcast streaming and distribution (614, up from 397) and car and truck dealer associations (592, up form 201).

In the Montreal market, the Quebec Government kept up its hefty buying pace at 830 ads. CTV also stayed in second place with 342 ads, although it purchased over 100 ads fewer than last week.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation, Electrika and Accent Insurance solutions rounded out the top-five in the market.

Governments and unions remained the top buying category, although total ads slid to 836 from 1051. Sound categories did increase in Montreal, however, including public service (792, up from 722) and restaurants and night clubs (432, up from 343).