Canada: Transit and place-based lead substantial out-of-home ad revenue growth in Q2 2026
Monday, August 17, 2026 · Promoted content
Toronto, ON — Canadian Out-of-Home advertising revenue reached $259.0 million in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of $45.2 million or 21.1% reported in the second quarter of 2025. Every reporting category recorded year over year growth.
Growth by Environment:
• Transit led all categories, growing 47.1% to $69.1 million;
• Place-based revenue rose 35.5% to $36.6 million;
• Roadside and outdoor, the largest category by revenue, grew 9.6% to $153.3 million;
• Programmatic revenue was stable at $17.3 million.
Digital and classic formats grew at comparable rates. Digital revenue increased 20.5% to $149.7 million and classic revenue increased 22.0% to $109.3 million.
The second quarter coincided with the FIFA World Cup, with Canadian matches hosted in Toronto and Vancouver. The tournament drew substantial domestic and international audiences to both cities during June and contributed to elevated advertiser activity in the quarter.
The impressive results in the second quarter demonstrates the medium’s ability to deliver for advertisers during periods of concentrated public attention with transit inventory performing particularly strongly.
The breadth of these results speaks to the underlying strength of the medium. Growth was not confined to a single category or format. All four reporting categories advanced in the second quarter, and on a first half basis classic revenue grew 9.0% while digital revenue grew 13.2%, leaving digital share of total revenue broadly stable at 58.8%. This matters because it indicates that digital conversion is expanding the market rather than simply redistributing revenue within it.
Classic inventory continues to appreciate while digital inventory scales, and advertisers are evidently finding value in both. The pattern is further reinforced by transit, where classic and digital revenue grew 43.6% and 54.8% respectively in the quarter, demonstrating that when audience attention concentrates in a market, the medium captures it across the full range of available formats.
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About COMMB:
COMMB is the national organization for the Canadian OOH industry comprised of advertisers, advertising agencies and OOH companies. COMMB is responsible for developing and verifying audience measurement methodologies, providing audience data and planning resources, marketing and communications, government relations and member services. www.commb.ca
For more information, please contact:
Lara Menzies
Director, Marketing & Partnerships
lmenzies@commb.ca
