PATTISON Outdoor would like to congratulate the many talented and dedicated staff working at Sign Media Canada for reaching their 20th anniversary edition! As regular contributors to the Out-of-Home (OOH) industry magazine, we’ve had the pleasure of being featured several times. For this anniversary edition, we contributed an insight-led thought piece on the sustained and growing relevance of OOH media as a critical advertising channel.
Around the world and here in Canada, OOH is continuing to grow with increased relevance in the media landscape. Audiences are increasingly on the move and using public transit at higher rates. OOH makes an impact by meeting audiences in the real-world.
OOH Revenue Report
The Canadian OOH Marketing and Measurement Bureau (COMMB) released its first revenue benchmarking report on the Canadian OOH industry, aggregating revenue for 2024 and 2025. The Canadian OOH industry performed well above projections, growing 30% more than analysts had projected. Growing 5.8% year-over-year in Canada, with digital OOH growing by 11.5% as the driving force in our industry.2 The combined total spend on OOH advertising in Canada for 2025 is $842 million, which is a 6.5% increase over 2024’s $790 million.1
Attractions on the Rise
Canadians have been chasing more in-person experiences, attractions, venues and live events have been drawing out larger and larger crowds since 2024:2
· Rogers Centre up 55%
· Scotiabank Arena up 34%
· Canada’s Wonderland up 66%
· Concert tickets sales up 118%
· Live-theatre ticket sales up 153%
· Pro-soccer game attendance up 44%
· Pro-hockey game attendance up 69%
Canadians are craving cultural enrichment and ways to spend time with friends and family outside the home; where OOH and Digital OOH placements engage audiences, building trust and authenticity.
Public Transit Moves Canadians
With more people on the move for work or recreation, there’s been a dramatic rise in the use of public transit across the country.
In Ontario:2
· TTC ridership up 22%
· GO Train ridership up 165%
· GO Bus ridership up 223%
In Alberta:3
· Calgary LRT ridership up 305%
· Edmonton Transit ridership up 63%
The effectiveness of transit advertising is reinforced by data that shows, 63% of Canadians have noticed an ad on transit vehicles within the past month, a 33% increase in attention since 2024.4
Trust in a World of Misinformation
OOH’s solid position and continued relevance is built on its trusted, real-world presence that creates authenticity due to frequent, repeated sightings, and natural placement in the environment. An Angus Reid forum survey, of more than 1,500 Canadians in March of 2026 found that half the respondents trusted OOH advertising more than social media ads.5 Meanwhile, online channels are experiencing unique challenges.
Generative AI during online search reduces click-through and Agentic AI contributes to Invalid Traffic. A growing issue where bots interact with ads, blurring the effectiveness of online campaigns on platforms like TikTok, LinkedIn and X.
Out-of-Home advertising is uniquely positioned to provide brand-safe, impactful and measurable ROI for brands in an increasingly oversaturated and inefficient online landscape. Making OOH an essential component to any marketing strategy for today and tomorrow.