Canadian brands should sponsor Canadian podcasts: Takeaways from the 2025 Canadian Podcast Listener Report.
Noteable takeaways from the 2025 Canadian Podcast Listener Report.
It’s my favourite time of year! The Canadian Podcast Listener has released it’s 2025 report and it’s full of notable insights for this community! Here are some of my favourite takeaways:
The #1 way Canadians discover new podcasts is online and social media.
Long gone are the days where word-of-mouth and marketing on other podcasts held the top slots for podcast discovery in Canada. Though I’d still argue that word-of-mouth and podcasts remain the best ways to convert someone to an actual listener, we simply can’t ignore just how much the act of being on our phone is a part of all of our lives. With both TikTok and podcasts exploding in 2020, it was almost inevitable that podcasts would thrive in shortform content and online. These days tech giants are doing everything they can to hold our attention and stay on platform, and of course they’re going to use podcasts to do that.
What this means for podcasters now is that our podcast packaging (titles, artwork, thumbnails) has to be extra tight. These days especially, people are listening with their eyes first. I’ll be discussing this more in my upcoming session at PodCamp!
The rise in podcast discovery online also means we should expect a mindset shift in how we think about our audience. Listeners don’t just exist on podcast apps anymore. “Listeners” are binging our shortform content on TikTok and Instagram, watching VOD segments on YouTube, and the good old fashioned way. If brand awareness or community building is your goal, you’re now in business of making a “show”, not just a podcast. You’ll need to adapt to the fact that much of your audience is never going to listen to your episodes in full. Success exists in verified listeners and average listen times, and view counts and followers.
Canadian brands need to advertise on Canadian podcasts.
Canadian advertisers take note. This has been an especially brutal pain point for this community over the years as we continue to beg and plead Canadian brands to understand the value in supporting Canadian podcasts and support local creators.
According to this latest CPL report, 43% of the podcasts that Canadians consume are made in Canada, with early seven-in-ten podcast consumers saying they have taken an action after being exposed to a podcast ad, and fewer than one-in-five skipping podcast ads “all the time”. Canadian podcasts are a MASSIVE opportunity for Canadian brands, and still significantly untapped.
Canadian podcast consumers value Canadian content, and highly engaged with the ads they hear on the shows they listen to. My question to Canadian brands now is where they’d rather have them hear an ad for Dunkin’ Donuts or Tim Hortons? At this point, not only is the proof there for advertisers to finally take the leap, but the ones that do it in 2026 are going be in the wave of firsts to ever do so. With so little competition, how can you say “no” valuable ad inventory that’s just sitting there, waiting for you?!
And hey, if you’re a Canadian brand reading this: let me help you connect to the right shows! Please reach out!
Podcasts from Canadian newcomers could make it this medium!
According to the report, new Canadians actually over-index for monthly podcast consumption compared to listeners born in Canada. This signals a great opportunity for podcasts focused on an immigrant audience. At this point in time, making podcasting a career I imagine would still be tricky for anyone based in Canada, but the listenership is there and significant for immigrants. I could see a lot of success for podcasts from Canadian newcomers if they tap into their communities for regular sponsorship from local businesses, crowdfunding on patreon, and even live podcast events in native languages!
There’s plenty more to unpack from the report, so be sure to download the free summary for yourself and take a look. It’s well worth a review!