Twenty years of the data that shaped an industry.

On Aug. 18, the next chapter of the CSLS arrives. Until then, look back at the reports that got the industry here.

In 2005,

sponsorship professionals across Canada agreed on one thing: they were flying blind. There was no national data, no year-over-year benchmark, nothing built specifically for how sponsorship works here. So the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study was born, and it's been the industry's most trusted read on itself ever since.

Twenty years later, it's still the only study of its kind in Canada. Sponsors, properties and agencies have used it to size the market, track where the money moves, and understand what's actually working before making their next bet.

Before the 20th anniversary report lands on Aug. 18, revisit two decades of findings below. Download any report from the archive and see how the industry got here.

Download the 20th Annual Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study

About the Authors

The Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study (CSLS) is led by Norm O'Reilly, Partner at T1 and Professor and Director of The Sponsorship Lab at the University of Florida, with co-authors Lindsay O’Brien, Vice President of Partnerships at T1, and Mike Alcorn, Senior Manager, Partnerships at T1. 

Norm O'Reilly

  • Norm O'Reilly is partner at T1 Agency, where he has spent 20 years working with brands including Nike, UFC, Pepsi, Nissan, Esso, Mondelez, Hockey Canada and the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees to build and measure sponsorship strategy. He leads T1's Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study, now in its 20th  edition and the longest-running study of the sponsorship industry in Canada. 

    Norm is also professor and director of The Sponsorship Lab at the University of Florida, where he researches analytics, sponsorship and sport marketing. He has authored more than 20 books and 180 peer-reviewed journal articles, and previously served as dean of business schools at the University of New England and the University of Maine, following more than 15 years in academic administration. 

    Norm is a regular media contributor, an expert witness in legal cases and a board member for several non-profit organizations. His work has been recognized with the Distinguished Career Contributions to the Scientific Understanding of Sport Business Award from the American Marketing Association's Sport Marketing Special Interest Group, and he was named one of the Globe and Mail's "Five to Watch" in Canadian sport business. He is a lifetime research fellow of the North American Society for Sport Management and currently serves as treasurer of the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada. 

    Norm has represented Canada in official capacities at the 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and attended the 2012 and 2024 Olympic Games and the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cups in a research capacity. 

  • Lindsay O'Brien is vice president of partnerships at T1 Agency, where she leads partnership strategy, measurement, negotiation and portfolio management for some of Canada's leading brands. She helps organizations build partnership portfolios that drive business impact while creating meaningful community connections. 

    With more than 15 years of experience across sports, entertainment and talent partnerships, Lindsay has worked across the full ecosystem spanning property, brand and agency roles. She brings a consultative marketing approach to developing partnerships that elevate brand positioning and unlock new opportunities for brands. 

    Prior to joining T1, Lindsay held roles at MLSE and Molson Coors, developing integrated marketing partnerships across professional sports and entertainment. 

    Outside of work, she's a mom of three (plus a dog!), a sports and music enthusiast and a passionate believer in the power of sponsorship to bring people together. 

Lindsay O'Brien

  • Mike Alcorn is senior manager, partnerships at T1, where he leads sponsorship strategy, negotiation, measurement and portfolio management for clients including Thorne, Mondelez Canada, Uber Eats and Esso. He has also worked on programs for Dairy Farmers of Canada, Firehouse Subs and Pet Valu, supporting properties such as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Ottawa Redblacks and University of Saskatchewan, and with non-profits including Diabetes Canada, St. Michael's Hospital Foundation, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and Kids Help Phone. 

    Mike has contributed to T1's proprietary valuation model and built partnership alignment scorecards and brand health studies used across client engagements. Before and alongside his agency work, he spent a decade coaching University of Guelph rowing (2014-2023) and worked with Sealy Coaching and Performance (2021-2025), supporting students in the REACH Alliance and Loran Scholars Foundation. That coaching background shapes how he approaches partnership measurement: less about hitting a number, more about building programs that hold up under scrutiny. 

    Mike has been a co-author of the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study since 2023. He has also contributed a case study to Case Studies in Sport Management and a chapter to the Research Handbook on Sports Management and Marketing. 

Mike Alcorn

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About the 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. It launched after delegates at the inaugural Canadian Sponsorship Forum in Vancouver flagged a gap the industry couldn't 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.