Canadian Tire Corp. says it has achieved its commitment to direct at least half of its sports sponsorship investment to women’s professional sport, shifting its focus toward increasing visibility and building long-term fan engagement.
Earlier this week, the retail giant announced what it described as a “landmark” commitment for sponsorship of women’s professional sports, saying it will direct a minimum of 50 per cent of its sports sponsorship investment to women’s professional sport, the only major Canadian company to publicly declare an equal investment across women’s and men’s professional sport.
The milestone fulfills a commitment first announced through CTC’s Women’s Sport Initiative in 2023, it added.
In an interview with Retail Insider, Eva Salem, senior vice-president of marketing at Canadian Tire Corp., discusses the company’s strategy, the role of brands and media partnerships in growing audiences, and its efforts to make women’s sport easier for Canadians to discover and follow.
Why did Canadian Tire commit to equal investment in women’s and men’s sport?
Canadian Tire believes great sport deserves equal support. The company saw significant potential in women’s professional sport and believed leadership meant investing early to help that potential grow, rather than waiting until the market was fully established. The commitment was about deliberately creating more opportunity for women’s sport while continuing to invest meaningfully across sport overall. It also builds on Canadian Tire Corporation’s long history in Canadian sport, including its support for women and girls through athletes, leagues, teams and Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.
The commitment was first announced through CTC’s Women’s Sport Initiative in 2023 and we are thrilled that we’ve achieved that landmark commitment to direct a minimum of 50 per cent of CTC’s sports sponsorship investment to women’s professional sport, the only major Canadian company to publicly declare an equal investment across women’s and men’s professional sport.
What is the We’ll Make a Fan Out of You campaign?
We’ll Make a Fan Out of You is Canadian Tire’s national rallying cry to grow fandom for women’s professional sport. The idea is that becoming a fan often starts with one moment, whether that is discovering an athlete, choosing a team, attending a game or getting drawn into a great rivalry.
Canadian Tire wants to use its partnerships, platforms and presence across Canadian sport to create more of those moments and make women’s sport easier to discover and follow.
The campaign brings that ambition to life through media partnerships, broadcast and social content, and fan experiences, with the broader goal of making women’s sport impossible to ignore and acting as a catalyst for greater fandom in this country.
What does the 50/50 milestone mean for the future of women’s sport in Canada?
Canadian Tire Corporation has achieved its 2023 commitment to direct at least half of its sports sponsorship investment to women’s professional sport; the next chapter is about turning investment into greater visibility and sustained fandom.
Canadian Tire Corporation will continue investing meaningfully in women’s sport while putting greater focus on helping Canadians find games, follow athletes and experience the moments that turn casual viewers into lasting fans. The broader ambition is to strengthen the audience and ecosystem around women’s professional sport over the long term.
This includes ongoing investment by Canadian Tire and Sportchek in the professional leagues to help women’s sport grow, including the PWHL, Northern Super League and Toronto Tempo, giving young women more opportunities to see women competing at the highest levels and to see what is possible for themselves.
Why does Canadian Tire feel visibility and fandom are the next frontier for growth?
Because investment alone does not build a sustainable sport ecosystem. Fandom is what turns investment into momentum. Fans watch games, follow athletes, attend events and bring sport into everyday conversation. That sustained attention can support stronger audiences, media attention and commercial investment.
The interest in women’s sport is already there: 75% of Canadians say they are fans of women’s sport, yet 62% of fans say they do not know where to find the sport they want to watch (Canadian Women & Sport, It’s Time: From Milestone Moments to Market Permanence, 2026). The challenge now is making it easier for people who are interested to consistently engage with it. Fans need to be able to find games, follow teams and athletes, see highlights and analysis, attend events and participate in the broader sports conversation. That is why Canadian Tire’s next chapter is focused on making women’s sport easier to find, follow and experience.
How can brands play a meaningful role in increasing exposure, growing audiences and strengthening professional women’s sport?
Brands can go beyond traditional sponsorship and use their reach, media investment and platforms to create meaningful pathways to fandom.
That can include investing across leagues, teams and athletes, but also putting significant support behind media amplification, storytelling, broadcast visibility, fan experiences and access. Canadian Tire Corporation began this work through dedicated broadcast, digital and social investment with partners including TSN, CBC and Sportsnet, as well as custom storytelling and other fan-focused initiatives.
As part of this next chapter, we are expanding our focus on visibility to help more Canadians find and follow women’s sport.
Examples include:
- Our newly announced presenting partnership of the PWHL on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada;
- A new sponsorship with Bell Media (TSN and RDS) to drive discovery and put women’s sports in front of more fans including:
o Use of high-profile men’s sports broadcasts, including Leafs and Raptors games, to promote upcoming women’s sport programming, letting fans know when and where to watch
o Weekly SportsCentre highlights integrations on TSN, showcasing key moments from the PWHL, Northern Super League, WNBA and other women’s sports featured on the network
The goal is a reinforcing cycle: greater visibility helps build fandom; stronger audiences can attract sustained media attention and commercial investment; and that creates more opportunity for leagues and athletes. Canadian Tire’s position is that no single company can build the ecosystem alone, which is why meaningful, sustained investment from more brands across leagues, athletes, media and fan experiences matters.
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