Toronto’s radio market might have been otherwise dull for the first full week of September if not for the prevalence of auto advertisers.

Several auto brands and associations dominated the charts in Toronto, despite some having not been active the previous week. The biggest individual spender was the Toyota Dealers Association, which hit the ground running with 1,007 ads for the week ending Sept. 13.

That was followed closely by Sleep Country Canada at 933 ads and Shoppers Drug Mart with 922 ads. The Government of Ontario boosted its buy slightly to 904, while last week’s top finisher Bell Canada reduced its purchase slightly to 883.

In terms of categories, Toronto saw big increases among auto, insurance and finance.

Auto dealer associations shot way up to 2,695 (from 1,422) and Asian factory autos increased nearly tenfold to 1,192. Insurance providers also increased to 1,082 total ads, up from only 56 the previous week. The finance category also saw a notable purchase of 2,054 ads, up from 1,647. The only significant decrease was in the bedding category (1,159, down from 1,939).

Meanwhile, in Montreal, the provincial government stayed on top – increasing its buy once again to 1,035 – and Hyundai entered the charts with 325 ads. Shoppers also shot up the charts with 314 ads, followed by Bell Internet (305) and furniture retailer Brault & Martineau (302).

The government and unions category saw growth (1,371, up from 1,086), while auto dealer associations more than tripled to 613 ads. Other significant increases came from home furnishings (up 60% to 601), Asian Factory Autos (taking 585 total ads after no activity the week prior), food and beverage retailers (doubled to 465), domestic factory autos (up 57% to 451), pharmacy (up 60% to 431) and consumer electronic sales and services (up more than fourfold to 426).