Magna Global is the latest media intelligence firm revising its ad sales outlook, predicting 5.3% growth in ad sales by Canadian media owners in 2025, to $25.9 billion CAD.
That’s down from the 6.3% growth forecast in December by Magna’s bi-annual Global Media Landscape Report, due mainly to the economic uncertainty caused by tariff and trade disputes with the U.S.
“Despite showing some resilience in 2025, the Canadian advertising market continues to be influenced by economic volatility and an evolving media landscape,” Leanne Burnett-Wood, president of Magna Canada, said in a news release.
“Given the market’s close ties to broader economic conditions, ongoing scrutiny of trade dynamics and consumer confidence is critical to navigating future growth.”
The report comes on the heels of research from WPP that also forecasts slower growth in global ad revenue for 2025-2026.
The driving force behind the Canadian industry’s growth this year is the dominance of digital-pure players, which are expected to increase by 8.9%, to $18.9 billion CAD, and account for nearly three-quarters of all ad sales.
This includes search ad sales that are predicted to rise by 7.7%, and social media sales that will jump 11.3%. Combined, those two channels will account for nearly 70% of all advertising sales in the country, likely because of the integration of AI.
For instance, the report cites Meta’s Q1 results that showed a 30% increase in the number of advertisers using the company’s AI tools. In addition, Meta’s test of a new AI-powered ad recommendation tool in Reels increased conversion rates by 5% and increased users’ time spent on Facebook and Instagram by 6% to 7%.
The forecast for traditional media owners this year is not as positive, as ad sales are expected to continue to drop by 3.4%, to $7 billion CAD. Cross-platform TV sales are predicted to decline by 4.7%, to $2.8 billion CAD, due to the lack of cyclical spending such as the Summer Olympics in 2024 or the Winter Olympics in 2026, as well as lacklustre demand from key spending verticals. That lower demand along with the increase in supply from streamers like Amazon has put downward pressure on pricing, although live TV events remain popular in Canada.
Looking at other traditional media, OOH is the only linear channel seeing growth, with sales up by 6.4%, to $600 million CAD, but down from the 9.3% growth it experienced in 2024. Radio sales this year are predicted to decline by 4.7%, to $1.5 billion CAD, with print sales expected to decline by 2%. The drop in sales will be driven by cuts from verticals such as auto, restaurants and telecom, while there is some growth from the entertainment category.
Magna forecasts that between 2026 and 2029 ad sales in Canada will average 4% growth. Digital advertising sales will average 6% growth during that time, while TV sales will drop an average of 5%. OOH sales will grow an average of 6%, while radio and print sales will fall 4% and 2%, respectively.
Magna says the Canadian advertising market will cross the $28 billion CAD ($20 billion USD) milestone in 2027.
