Despite several retailers and brands making post-holiday pushes, it was governments that had the biggest radio presence in the country’s two biggest radio markets, according to Media Monitors data for the week of Dec. 27 to Jan. 2.

The Government of Quebec is usually the most active radio advertiser in Montreal, holding the top spot week-to-week over the past year, with only a few exceptions. But the Government of Ontario also made a big buy last week, continuing a push that it made in the week leading up to Christmas. And while the province is currently trying to curb the spread of the omicron variant and putting certain public safety measures back into place, many of the ads were actually focused on renewing things like vehicle permits and license plate stickers, reminding people that those services are available online.

Several other brands made leaps into the list of top buyers behind the governments, several of which might be expected following the holidays and into the new year.

In Toronto, Peloton (#2) made a push to reach people pursuing fitness goals in the new year, The Bay (#3) promoted its Boxing Week sale and Kijiji (#4) ran a campaign encouraging people to sell gifts they don’t need so they can buy “what they really want.”

In Montreal, some of the other top advertisers were a bit more unexpected. InventHelp – a service to help people patent their ideas – increased its plays to get the number two spot. It was followed by furniture retailer The Brick promoting its post-holiday sales, as well as health clinic Elna Sexual Wellness.

Categorically, government ads had the biggest presence in Toronto, followed by public service and wireless ads. In Montreal, home furnishing ads aired the most, followed by government and medical ads.