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Canada’s fitness equipment market has undergone a structural reset since 2020, emerging larger, more diversified, and more resilient than its pre-pandemic form. What began as a short-term demand shock driven by lockdowns has evolved into a durable rebalancing between home-based fitness and commercial facilities. By 2024, the market reached an estimated value of approximately USD 357.9 million1, reflecting a materially higher baseline than the pre-2020 period.
A defining characteristic of the current market is the permanence of home fitness adoption. During the pandemic, Canadian households accelerated spending on cardio machines, free weights, and accessories as gyms closed. While some demand normalized once restrictions lifted, a significant installed base of home gyms remains active. Average home gym setup costs were reported at approximately CAD 2,530, indicating that consumers increasingly view equipment purchases as long-term health investments rather than temporary substitutes2. This shift has reshaped product mix, pricing tolerance, and replacement cycles across the industry.
At the same time, the commercial segment has regained momentum. Fitness and recreational sports centres rebounded strongly after 2021 as memberships recovered and operators reinvested in equipment upgrades, functional training zones, and differentiated experiences that cannot be replicated at home3. By mid-2023, the number of fitness facility locations in Canada had largely returned to pre-pandemic levels, supporting renewed institutional and B2B purchasing activity. Commercial demand now complements residential demand rather than competing directly with it.
Technology has become a central axis of competition. Connected fitness equipment, digital coaching platforms, and app-integrated machines now represent a substantial share of new equipment sales. An estimated 68 percent of newly sold fitness equipment includes some form of smart connectivity or interactive content integration2. This trend has raised average selling prices, introduced recurring subscription revenue models, and increased customer lock-in for brands with strong ecosystems.
From a structural standpoint, the Canadian fitness equipment market remains fragmented. No single brand dominates nationally across all segments, and competitive intensity is high across price tiers, channels, and use cases4. Global manufacturers, digitally native brands, and domestic retailers coexist in a landscape shaped by omnichannel buying behaviour. Consumers increasingly research online, compare pricing and features digitally, and still rely on physical retail or commercial distributors for delivery, installation, and servicing of large equipment.
Looking ahead, the market’s growth trajectory appears steady rather than explosive. Forecasts project mid single digit annual growth through the end of the decade, driven by health awareness, hybrid work patterns, connected product innovation, and ongoing commercial facility investment1. While the extraordinary surge of 2020 is unlikely to repeat, the Canadian fitness equipment market now rests on a broader and more stable demand foundation than at any point prior to the pandemic.
Prior to 2020, Canada’s fitness equipment market was structurally weighted toward commercial demand. Gyms, recreation centres, universities, and sports facilities represented the dominant buyers of high value cardio and strength equipment, while consumer demand was more supplementary and replacement driven. The broader fitness and recreational sports centres industry generated approximately CAD 4.5 billion in operating revenue in 2019, reflecting a mature ecosystem of physical locations tha