A year when consumer behaviour, evidence, and policy momentum aligned.
By Erin Phelan
Fitness Industry Council of Canada
Some years confirm what industry leaders know — and what the Fitness Industry Council of Canada (FIC) has championed for more than a decade: Canada’s long-term health depends on how we support physical activity today.
Across the country, operators, researchers, policymakers, and consumers moved in the same direction. These are the defining trends shaping the industry now, and the ones driving FIC’s advocacy into 2026.
Trend 1: Strength Training Became the Foundation of Canadian Fitness
In 2025, strength training stopped being a trend and became the backbone of Canadian fitness. Racks, rigs, platforms and leg presses replaced the after-work treadmill rush. Canadians turned to resistance training for metabolic health, injury prevention, mental well-being, and longevity.
Strength is no longer about aesthetics — it’s about preventive health. And Canadians can’t meet national activity guidelines without it. Walking alone isn’t enough; research is clear that resistance training is essential. Gyms are where that happens — and policy must now reflect that reality.
Trend 2: Affordability Became the Nation’s Biggest Barrier
One theme dominated 2025: Canadians want to move, but too many can’t afford structured exercise. In January, Health and Fitness Association released a groundbreaking report that showed:
- Only 16% of Canadians belong to a fitness facility
- 62% of non-members cite cost as the top barrier
- A 10% reduction in price could bring millions more into gyms and community facilities
When fitness is unaffordable, the people who need it most — younger adults, women, lower-income households, and those with chronic conditions — are the first to opt out.
This isn’t a business problem.
It’s a population-health problem.
When affordability fails:
- preventive health declines
- chronic disease rises
- mental-health outcomes worsen
- community engagement drops
- and the healthcare system absorbs the cost
The research is clear: price is the lever, and it is shaping behaviour at scale.
Trend 3: Exercise Became Essential Mental and Physical Healthcare
Canadians increasingly exercise to manage anxiety, regulate stress, improve sleep, sharpen cognitive clarity, and strengthen emotional well-being. Strength, mobility, group fitness and coaching are now seen equally as tools for physical and mental health.
But while public behaviour evolved, policy did not.
Healthy food is tax-exempt because it supports health. Exercise — which reduces chronic disease, improves mood, lowers healthcare use, and supports mental health — is still taxed as if it were optional.
This isn’t a pricing issue; it’s a valuation issue.
Canada tells people to exercise for stress, aging, and chronic disease — and then taxes the very behaviour it promotes. This misalignment is now one of the clearest policy gaps in the health system.
FIC’s position is direct:
Exercise must be recognized and treated as essential health infrastructure, not a luxury purchase. This will remain a central advocacy priority in 2026.
Trend 4: Gyms Are Canada’s New Third Space
With loneliness rising and digital fatigue intensifying, Canadians are seeking connection — and finding it inside fitness facilities. Research shows gym members report higher life satisfaction, stronger trust, and deeper social ties than non-members.
Across the country:
- members stay after class to talk
- friendships form in small-group training
- young people find positive, in-person spaces
- older adults build routine and community
- newcomers use gyms to anchor themselves
Gyms have become authentic third spaces — places where people gather, decompress, and build belonging. They are social and mental-health infrastructure, and must be recognized as such in policy.
Trend 5: Active Aging Is Expanding — and It’s Cross-Generational
Older adults continue to enter gyms in record numbers, looking for strength, balance, independence, and community. But this is not an isolated trend: Canadians at every age now see exercise as long-term health insurance.
Priorities span generations:
- Strength for fall prevention and longevity
- Mobility for independence and productivity
- Group exercise for social connection and reduced loneliness
- Regular movement for cognitive and emotional resilience
Active aging is not a niche program — it’s a national health strategy. FIC continues to push for activity-friendly aging policies, physical activity tax credits, and investment in community-based preventive health programs.
Trend 6: Music Licensing Emerged as a Hidden Barrier to Access
Music is central to motivation and mental well-being in gyms — especially in group fitness. Yet every song played requires licensing through SOCAN and Re:Sound. In 2025, proposed fee increases of up to 300% threatened small and mid-sized operators.
This isn’t a minor issue. It affects access, community, and the quality of group fitness experiences Canadians rely on for mental health.
FIC is advocating for fair, transparent, proportional licensing that protects operators and preserves the environments Canadians love.
Trend 7: Leadership Alignment Is Accelerating National Advocacy
A major development in 2025 is the alignment between FIC’s nonprofit leadership and government voices who understand the industry from within.
Under Executive Director Zach Weston, FIC is taking a more structured, policy-driven role in Ottawa. Meanwhile, former FIC ED Gabriel Hardy now serves as a Member of Parliament — giving Canada an elected official who knows the sector’s health, economic and community value firsthand.
This dual structure — advocacy from the outside, insight from inside government — strengthens every priority: tax modernization, affordability, preventive health, community well-being, and active aging.
This is momentum that matters.
Join Us on December 17
We’ll break down the trends shaping 2025 — and the ones that will light 2026 up — alongside journalist Krissy Vann.
Fitness Industry Council of Canada (FIC) is the not-for profit trade association that represents the voice of fitness facility operators across Canada. Representing more than 6,000 facilities with more than six-million members nationwide, FIC pursues a legislative agenda in the hope of bettering the fitness industry for both consumers and operators. FIC aims to work with both industry and government to improve the health and physical activity levels of Canadians.
