TORONTO, Aug. 18, 2026 /CNW/ -- The Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study (CSLS), Canada's longest-running and only national-level benchmark of the sponsorship industry, is marking its 20^th anniversary. The 2026 edition, released today by T1 and its partners IMI International (IMI), Sponsorship Marketing Council Canada (SMCC) and SponsorshipX, finds sponsorship spending in Canada has grown to $4.7 billion, with brands committing more to rights fees in a stable and balanced way across categories. Brands and properties reported planning to spend more next year.

Professional sport remains home to the largest and most impactful sponsorships, but brands are expanding into more categories. Cause is now the second-largest category by proportion of budgets and the third-largest for total sponsor spending, a drastic shift over the past decade. The 2026 FIFA World Cup also mattered to Canadian brands this year, with numerous activations planned around the tournament, reinforcing the pull of global mega-events.

The findings also point to real pressure points. Sponsorship's share of the marketing communications budget at Canadian brands has slipped from 25 per cent to 21 per cent over the past five years, even as total spend climbs. Property servicing of brand partners took a step backward this year, with brands reporting unmet expectations. ROI remains the top issue for brands, properties and agencies, with the focus increasingly on maximizing value and demonstrating effectiveness.

"Twenty years ago, there was no Canadian-specific data for this industry to plan against. Today, the CSLS provides the numbers that brands, properties and agencies use to benchmark their decisions," said Dr. Norm O'Reilly, partner at T1 and lead author of the CSLS, and professor and director of The Sponsorship Lab at the University of Florida. "This year's findings show an industry that keeps maturing, from record investment in evaluation to how quickly brands moved on FIFA 2026."

Looking ahead, sponsors and properties are bullish on 2026, forecasting a 12 per cent increase in spend, though agencies are more cautious about future billings. Evaluation has become a bigger investment priority than ever, with brands spending more on evaluation and pre-sponsorship evaluation than the CSLS has recorded in 20 years of tracking the market, a sign that brands are being asked to prove sponsorship works, not just fund it.

"Twenty years of data confirms what we see every day: sponsorship succeeds when it earns a real place in people's lives, not just visibility on a logo board," said Lindsay O'Brien, vice president, partnerships, T1 and co-author of the CSLS. "This year's findings on evaluation and servicing tell us brands and properties are being held to that higher bar, and the ones investing in real relationships with their communities, not just rights fees, are the ones getting rewarded."

The 20^th annual CSLS draws on responses from 188 Canadian brands, properties and agencies (114 brands, 50 properties and 24 agencies), continuing two decades of tracking the size and scope of the market, spending by sector, activation trends, evaluation practices and where the industry is headed next. The study is produced by lead author Dr. Norm O'Reilly with co-authors Lindsay O'Brien and Mike Alcorn, alongside partners the SMCC, IMI, SponsorshipX and the Association of Canadian Advertisers. The full report is available here.

About the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study

The Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study (CSLS) is Canada's longest-running barometer on the sponsorship industry and the only national-level study of its kind. Now in its 20^th year, the study launched after delegates at the inaugural Canadian Sponsorship Forum in Vancouver flagged a gap the industry could not ignore: no Canadian-specific data to plan against. Every edition since has tracked the scope and scale of the market, spending by sector, activation trends, evaluation practices, strategic priorities and where the industry is headed next. The research draws on both academic and industry sources, built to be rigorous enough for a researcher and useful enough for a sponsor deciding where to invest next year. The CSLS is led by Dr. Norm O'Reilly, professor and director of The Sponsorship Lab at the University of Florida and partner at T1, with co-authors Lindsay O'Brien, vice president of partnerships, T1, and Mike Alcorn, senior manager of partnerships, T1.

About T1

T1 is a full-stack sponsorship and experiences agency, driven by purpose and powered by community. In a world where brands are skipped, blocked and ignored, T1 builds what lasts: bold partnerships and unforgettable activations that earn real presence inside the fandoms that shape identity, habit and choice. From strategic sponsorship consulting to live experiential, T1 turns big ideas into moments that move people, and turns people into fans.

SOURCE The T1 Agency