As we close out 2025, I find myself reflecting on a year that stretched our industry in profound ways, commercially, creatively, and humanly. Canada’s $21-billion digital economy continued to grow at a remarkable pace, expanding opportunities for advertisers and powering the engine of innovation across every sector. This year it was plain to see that digital is no longer simply a channel. It is a living ecosystem that connects businesses and communities, fuels economic growth, and shapes how Canadians discover, choose, and trust.
Alongside this growth, 2025 ushered in some of the most fundamental shifts our industry has ever seen. We are transitioning into a world where automation, AI-enhanced decisioning, agentic media buying, and new regulatory expectations are rewriting long-standing rules. The very foundations of digital advertising including identity, signals, measurement, safety, and supply chain trust are transforming.
These shifts can feel daunting at times. They are reshaping jobs, workflows, business models, and in some cases, our sense of stability. In my State of the Nation address earlier this year, I spoke about this moment as one that demands courage, clarity, and community. I stand by that more than ever.
We Need to Talk
Toronto 2024
State of the Nation Address
With every disruption comes new possibility and with every challenge, a chance to build better. With every change, an opportunity to reaffirm what truly matters: people.
At IAB Canada, our commitment has always been to serve the industry by grounding progress in humanity. Whether we’re navigating complex policy files, building new standards, championing small business adoption, examining AI’s commercial pathways, or strengthening the ecosystem through education and research, our work is powered by the belief that people, not platforms, define the future of advertising.
This year, I’ve been especially moved by the resilience of our community. Many of you are navigating career changes, restructuring, talent shortages, and shifting market pressures. Others are reinventing your organizations in real time. Through all of it, you continue to show up to collaborate, to advocate, to innovate, and to push our industry forward.
Your engagement, your expertise, and your trust make IAB Canada’s work possible. You are the reason we can continue to build the infrastructure that supports a healthy, competitive, and future-ready digital marketplace.
As we look to 2026, we do so with a clear understanding that it will be a year that requires full energy, full imagination, and full collaboration. The changes underway are accelerating, not slowing and they will demand our best. But they also hold extraordinary promise for those prepared to lean in with intention, intelligence, and heart.
Before we step into that next chapter, I hope you take time over the holidays to rest deeply, reconnect with what grounds you, and find some well-deserved peace and joy. We all need it. And we all deserve it.
On behalf of the entire team at IAB Canada, thank you for your partnership and for being part of this remarkable national community. We are honoured to work alongside you and excited for what we will build together in the year ahead.
Wishing you a safe, peaceful, and joyful holiday season, and a re-energizing start to what promises to be a powerful 2026.
Warmest regards,
Sonia Carreno
President, IAB Canada