For the first time ever, PPAI has produced a Canadian Sales Volume Study, assessing the state of the promo industry in Canada for 2023.

  • The full study, including in-depth insights on product and market categories, is now available to all Professional tier members via Premium Research. Standard tier firms can upgrade their PPAI membership here to receive access to the full study.
  • The study was produced in collaboration with PPAI partner organization Promotional Products Professionals of Canada (PPPC), which supported the study by marketing the opportunity to participate in sales surveys to Canadian distributor firms.

“PPAI is investing more than ever in providing our members with meaningful research to make business decisions,” says Josh Ellis, publisher and editor-in-chief of PPAI Media. “We have members all over the world, including nearly 1,100 Canadian member firms thanks to our strategic partnership with PPPC.”

  • The sales volume study estimates the 2023 market size for promotional products in Canada to be $1.33 billion in Canadian dollars (CAD), which amounts to approximately USD $984.2 million.

$1.33 Billion

Canadian Distributors’ 2023 Promotional Products Sales (CAD)

“The collaboration between PPAI and PPPC on the inaugural Canadian sales volume study has provided groundbreaking insights into the market,” says Alok Bhat, market economist and research lead at PPAI. “This study marks a significant step in expanding our research efforts beyond the U.S., and we look forward to further collaborations that enhance our understanding of global markets.”

A Smaller Market Than Expected?

The inaugural Canadian sales volume study produced a lower-than-expected estimate. Whether referring to population, GDP or other metrics, Canadians often rely on a rule of thumb that the country is 10% the size of its American counterpart.


Despite many efforts to check and re-check the results to find potential errors in the process and calculation, Ellis says, the results bear that the size of the Canadian promotional products market doesn’t match with typical assumptions or some other past estimates.

The methodology used to reach this conclusion is the same one used by PPAI to conduct the U.S. market estimate since 1965, which has annually led to the industry’s most widely trusted measure. The study and calculations were conducted by the same third-party research partner that produces the U.S. market estimate each year.

As part of its commitment to Premium Research, PPAI has invested in a rigorous methodology, and along with PPPC, the Association is confident in the results it reached, Ellis says. He adds that increased participation in future years is expected to further crystallize PPAI’s findings.

“PPPC is always striving to provide our members with the information and tools that set them up for success with their business and planning strategies,” says Jonathan N. Strauss, president and CEO of PPPC.

“Our inaugural sales volume study produced lower-than-expected results, but there are many factors at play, including this study being based solely on survey respondents and not other methodologies. This year’s study positions us nicely for future studies and we now have comparative data for future ones. We thank PPAI for providing us with this opportunity to provide members with something they’ve been requesting: Canadian-specific research data to help them make solid business decisions.”

Upon close inspection at the individual company level, this estimate becomes more solidified. Considering the combined revenue of large distributors who offered results in the recent PPAI 100 survey process – including a generous Canadian estimate for those distributors doing business on both sides of the border – the result leaves ample room for the collective sales of “hidden” distributors.

Numerous factors may contribute to the Canadian promotional products market’s lower-than-anticipated sales. Canada’s geography and demographics are not a scale replica of the United States. Its population is more clustered, yet a greater percentage of citizens live in rural areas, Bhat notes.

Naturally, these and countless other differences between the two countries will combine to create differing outcomes. Advertising of all types in Canada is significantly below the rule-of-thumb, coming in a just less than 5.5% of the U.S. market, according to a recent market study by Statista.

“This discrepancy highlights the unique geographic and demographic factors at play in Canada,” Bhat says.

“We expected the size of the Canadian promotional products market to be larger, as I’m sure many of our members did,” Ellis says. “While the number may be smaller, it is what the proven methodology determined despite our efforts to investigate reasons why it did not more closely match expectations. The smaller overall market should be promising to our members, as it clearly has room to grow.

“PPAI is looking forward to our part in ensuring Canadian organizations of all types recognize promotional products are essential to every brand.”

Other Key Findings

Beyond the overarching estimate that Canadian promo market size for 2023 to be $1.33 billion (CAD)/$984.2 million (USD), the study includes multiple other key insights that create a snapshot of the Canadian market.

  • Companies with annual sales exceeding $2.5 million ($1.85 million USD) dominate the market, contributing to nearly 75% of the total sales volume among Canadian promo distributors.

By comparison, the PPAI Sales Volume Estimate of the industry for 2023 – released earlier this year – found that large distributors captured a 53.72% share of the promo market.

  • The study also found that median sales volume for companies across various sizes stands at $695,000 CAD (approximately $514,300 USD).

Sustainable products prove to be important in the Canadian market, making up 23% of the overall revenue.

“At 23%, the portion of sustainable product sales in Canada reflects a growing desire in the market for more responsible merchandise offerings,” says Denise Taschereau, founder and CEO of Vancouver, British Columbia-based distributor Fairware and incoming chair of the PPAI Board of Directors.

  • Looking ahead to 2024, approximately 67% of distributors expect sales growth, though fewer expect profit increases.
  • The study was built on surveys conducted in late 2023 and early 2024.

Robert Spector, a Canada native and CEO of Las Vegas-headquartered Spector & Co. – the No. 35 supplier in the PPAI 100 – says that while 2024 has anecdotally proven to be a struggle for many Canadian distributors so far, he has seen an uptick over the past six weeks.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that the industry will rebound on the back nine,” Spector says.