Fitness and Recreational Sports Centres in Canada: Market Outlook and Trends
Canadian fitness and recreational sports centres generated $6.1 billion in operating revenue in 2025, up 9.4% on 2024 and 46.8% above 2018.
Operating expenses were $5.4 billion, leaving $780.7 million between revenue and expenses, an operating margin of 12.7%. In 2020 that margin was negative 1.9%.
Figures cover fitness and recreational sports centres in Canada under NAICS 713940, which includes gyms, fitness studios, athletic clubs, ice and roller rinks, swimming pools and other recreational sports facilities.
Revenue has risen in every year since 2021. Growth was 33.3% in 2022, 20.7% in 2023, 13.5% in 2024 and 9.4% in 2025, so the pace is easing year on year while remaining well ahead of general inflation.
Across the full period, revenue rose 46.8% between 2018 and 2025, a compound annual rate of 5.6%. Measured from the 2021 trough the rate is 18.9% a year.
Revenue Is 36.3% Above Its 2019 Level
Revenue fell 24.0% in 2020 to $3.4 billion and a further 10.3% in 2021 to $3.1 billion, leaving the industry 31.8% below its 2019 level at the trough. It has since doubled, rising 99.7% from that trough to 2025.
In 2020 and 2021 expenses exceeded revenue, which the margin column shows as negative. Rounded to the nearest tenth of a billion the two figures read the same in 2021.
Operating Margin Reached 12.7% From Minus 1.9% in 2020
The industry recorded negative operating margins in both 2020 and 2021, at negative 1.9% and negative 0.8%. The margin returned to positive in 2022 at 2.8%, reached 5.9% in 2023, 10.8% in 2024 and 12.7% in 2025.
The 2025 margin sits 8.0 percentage points above the 2019 level of 4.7%. The gap between revenue and expenses widened from $189.3 million in 2018 to $780.7 million in 2025.
Revenue rose 46.8% between 2018 and 2025 while operating expenses rose 34.2%. Expense growth has also slowed, at 7.6% in 2024 and 7.0% in 2025 against revenue growth of 13.5% and 9.4%.
Payroll Fell From 39.8% to 33.3% of Revenue
Salaries, wages, commissions and benefits reached $2.0 billion in 2025. Measured against revenue, that is 33.3%, down from 39.8% in 2018 and 40.0% in 2019.
Payroll rose 22.7% between 2018 and 2025 while revenue rose 46.8%. The share has fallen in every year since 2020, from 39.9% to 37.2%, 36.1%, 35.2%, 34.0% and 33.3%.
That 6.5 percentage point decline since 2018 accounts for most of the margin improvement. Automated entry, app-based booking, self-service check-in and 24-hour access models reduce the staffing a site needs, and group formats serve more members per instructor than one-to-one training.
Payroll and Rent Together Are 55.7% of Operating Costs
Measured against operating costs rather than revenue, payroll is 38.1% of the cost base in 2025 and rental and leasing 17.6%. The two together are 55.7%, and no other single line reaches 8%.
Applied to the $5.4 billion cost base, payroll is $2.0 billion in 2025 and rental and leasing $944.8 million. Amortization and depreciation follow at $375.8 million.
Payroll as a share of costs behaves differently from payroll as a share of revenue. Against costs it fell from 41.7% in 2018 to a low of 36.9% in 2021, then rose back to 38.1% in 2024 and held there in 2025. Against revenue it has fallen every year since 2020. Both readings are correct: labour is taking a slightly larger share of the cost base again, while revenue is growing faster than labour cost.
Rent and amortization together, the two lines a facility cannot cut when revenue falls, rose from 23.9% of costs in 2018 to 28.7% in 2022 before easing to 24.6% in 2025.
Rent Rose From 15.3% to 17.6% of Costs, Peaking at 19.4%
Rental and leasing took 15.3% of operating costs in 2018. The share rose every year to 2022, reaching 19.4%, then eased to 18.9% in 2023, 17.9% in 2024 and 17.6% in 2025.
Applied to total operating expenses, that is $612.1 million in 2018 and $944.8 million in 2025, an increase of 54.4% against revenue growth of 46.8%. Rent has grown faster than the top line across the period.
The 2022 peak reflects a denominator effect as much as a rent effect. Rent is contracted and does not fall when a facility closes, so during 2020 to 2022 it absorbed a larger share of a smaller cost base. The subsequent decline in share comes from other costs growing rather than from rent falling.
Amortization and depreciation followed the same pattern more sharply, rising from 8.6% of costs in 2018 to 10.3% in 2021 before falling to 7.0% in 2025.
Franchise and Royalty Fees Rose From 0.7% to 2.5% of Costs
Royalties, franchise fees and memberships rose from 0.7% of operating costs in 2018 to 2.5% in 2025. In dollar terms that is $28.0 million to $134.2 million, an increase of 379.2%, the largest proportional move of any cost line in the table.
A rising royalty and franchise fee line across a whole industry points to franchised operators taking a larger share of activity. For an independent operator weighing a franchise agreement, the figure sets a benchmark: the industry now pays roughly 2.5% of its cost base in fees of this kind.
Three other lines rose by a percentage point or more. Cost of goods sold went from 2.6% to 3.8%, which reflects retail, supplement and food and drink sales inside facilities. Subcontracts went from 2.7% to 3.7%, consistent with more contracted instruction and cleaning. Insurance rose from 0.8% to 1.2%.
Utilities moved the other way, from 4.3% of costs to 3.3%, despite energy price increases over the period.
Four Provinces Hold 90.5% of Revenue
Ontario generated $2.7 billion in 2025, 44.5% of national revenue. British Columbia follows at $1.1 billion and 18.0%, Quebec at $916.3 million and 14.9%, and Alberta at $804.9 million and 13.1%. Together those four hold 90.5% of the market.
Provincial shares have shifted since 2018. British Columbia rose from 15.9% to 18.0% of national revenue. Alberta fell from 15.3% to 13.1%. Ontario slipped slightly from 45.4% to 44.5%.
British Columbia Grew 16.3% in 2021 While Ontario Fell 20.7%
2021 separated the provinces more sharply than any other year in the series. British Columbia was the only province to grow, rising 16.3% to $637.9 million. Ontario fell 20.7% and New Brunswick 29.5%. Quebec fell 3.5%, Saskatchewan 1.3% and Prince Edward Island 0.7%.
The divergence tracks how long facilities were closed or capacity-limited in each province. British Columbia's 2021 figure put it above its 2019 revenue while Ontario was still 42.8% below.
Over the full period British Columbia has grown fastest among the large provinces, up 66.7% between 2018 and 2025, against 59.6% in Quebec, 43.8% in Ontario and 25.5% in Alberta.
New Brunswick and Newfoundland Sit Below 2019 Levels
Eight of the ten provinces now exceed their 2019 revenue. Two do not. New Brunswick is 2.4% below its 2019 level and Newfoundland and Labrador 6.9% below, six years on.
Prince Edward Island shows the fastest growth in the country at 82.2% since 2018, from a base of $12.9 million. Growth rates on bases that small move sharply on a handful of openings or closures.
Quebec and Saskatchewan Post 16.1% Margins Against 5.8% in New Brunswick
Operating margins in 2025 range from 16.1% in Quebec and Saskatchewan down to 5.8% in New Brunswick, a spread of 10.3 percentage points.
Ontario and British Columbia, the two largest markets, sit close to the national figure at 12.7% and 12.8%. Alberta runs below it at 9.8% despite holding 13.1% of revenue, and Nova Scotia at 9.9%.
The margin figure includes unpaid remuneration to partners and proprietors, which is not recorded as salaries or wages. Margins therefore read higher in provinces where unincorporated gyms and studios make up more of the market, and the provincial spread partly reflects differences in business structure rather than differences in trading performance alone.
Looking for Detailed Custom Market Research?
The figures above are national and provincial. They do not describe conditions in a specific city or catchment, and a membership business is decided locally.
Questions that need primary research:
How many people live within a ten-minute drive of a proposed site, and how many already hold a membership somewhere
What the nearest competitors charge, including joining fees, contract length and the price of the tier most members buy
What lease rates are available in the trade areas you can afford, and the break-even member count that produces at 17.6% of costs going to rent
Which format the local market will pay for, from 24-hour access to small-group strength, recovery and wellness, or family multi-sport
Whether a franchise agreement is worth its royalty against operating independently in the same catchment
What we do at Bridging Local
We run custom research for businesses that need answers national datasets cannot provide. For fitness operators that covers trade area definition and member catchment sizing, competitor mapping with verified pricing and capacity, a site recommendation ranked against alternatives, format and positioning guidance, revenue modelling to break-even, and a go-to-market plan for pre-sale and launch.
For operators, franchisees and investors, that usually means sizing the addressable membership base in a defined area, understanding competitive pricing and retention, testing a format with the people who would buy it, or building the evidence a lender or board will ask for.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the fitness industry in Canada?
Fitness and recreational sports centres generated $6.1 billion in operating revenue in 2025, up 9.4% on 2024 and 46.8% above 2018. Operating expenses were $5.4 billion, giving an operating margin of 12.7%. The 2025 figure is preliminary.
What are the main costs of running a gym in Canada?
Salaries, wages and benefits take 38.1% of operating costs and rental and leasing 17.6%, so the two together are 55.7%. Amortization and depreciation follow at 7.0%, repair and maintenance at 4.6%, cost of goods sold at 3.8%, subcontracts at 3.7% and utilities at 3.3%. No other line reaches 3.2%.
How much of a gym's costs go to rent?
Rental and leasing took 17.6% of operating costs in 2025, up from 15.3% in 2018 and down from a peak of 19.4% in 2022. In dollar terms the industry figure moved from $612.1 million to $944.8 million, an increase of 54.4% against revenue growth of 46.8%.
Has the Canadian gym industry recovered from the pandemic?
Nationally, yes. Revenue is 36.3% above its 2019 level and has doubled from the 2021 trough, rising 99.7%. Eight of the ten provinces exceed their 2019 revenue. New Brunswick sits 2.4% below and Newfoundland and Labrador 6.9% below.
What profit margin do Canadian fitness centres run on?
The industry operating margin was 12.7% in 2025, against 4.7% in 2019 and negative 1.9% in 2020. By province it ranges from 16.1% in Quebec and Saskatchewan to 5.8% in New Brunswick. The figure is before income tax and includes unpaid remuneration to partners and proprietors, so it is not a net profit margin.
Why have margins improved so much?
Revenue rose 46.8% between 2018 and 2025 while operating expenses rose 34.2% and payroll rose 22.7%. Payroll fell from 39.8% of revenue to 33.3% over the same period, a 6.5 percentage point decline that accounts for most of the margin improvement.
Is franchising growing in the Canadian fitness industry?
The cost data points that way. Royalties, franchise fees and memberships rose from 0.7% of operating costs in 2018 to 2.5% in 2025, from $28.0 million to $134.2 million, an increase of 379.2%. That is the largest proportional move of any cost line in the table.
Which province has the largest fitness market in Canada?
Ontario, at $2.7 billion in 2025 and 44.5% of national revenue, followed by British Columbia at $1.1 billion, Quebec at $916.3 million and Alberta at $804.9 million. Those four provinces hold 90.5% of the market.
Which province is growing fastest?
Prince Edward Island at 82.2% since 2018, though from a base of $12.9 million. Among the larger markets British Columbia leads at 66.7%, followed by Manitoba at 60.4%, Quebec at 59.6% and Nova Scotia at 58.3%. Alberta is the slowest of the large provinces at 25.5%.
About This Analysis
This analysis was produced by Bridging Local (RC Research & Insights Inc.), a Vancouver-based market research and business consulting firm. We run primary research across B2B and B2C markets, including surveys, in-depth interviews, competitive analysis, local market deep dives and go-to-market strategy.
If you are sizing a market, testing a concept, or working out where demand sits in your category, our market research services are built for exactly that.
