Why Canada Needs a National Fitness Membership Drive
By Erin Phelan
Fitness Industry Council of Canada
Canada’s fitness industry knows how to sell.
We run free trials, waive enrolment fees and launch January promotions. We have more programming, better equipment and more inclusive facilities than ever before.
And yet, we are falling behind.
The newly released 2026 HFA Global Report puts Canada’s fitness-facility membership penetration at approximately 16 per cent of adults. In the United States, it is 26.1 per cent. In New Zealand, it is 26.5 per cent.
That 10-percentage-point gap represents roughly four million Canadians.
Is this ambitious? Of course. But look at what it represents: Four million more people – of all ages, genders and sizes – building strength, managing stress and connecting with others. Four million more people who could experience the benefits our industry talks about every day.
Does Canada need a national fitness membership drive?
The Fitness Industry Council of Canada believes it is time. But it cannot be another national free-pass campaign.
More Than a Number
Four Million More is not an arbitrary slogan. It represents the distance between Canada and two of the world’s strongest fitness markets.
The methodologies are not perfectly comparable. Canada and New Zealand report adult penetration, while the US includes people ages six and older. But the direction is unmistakable. Canada reaches approximately one in six adults. The US and New Zealand reach more than one in four.
The HFA report estimates that Canada already has 5.2 million members and approximately 9,400 facilities. This is not an industry without scale. It is an industry with infrastructure, expertise and room to grow.
Four million more is also more than a commercial target. It means four million opportunities to help someone build strength, manage a chronic condition, protect their independence or find a place where they belong. It asks our industry to become a larger part of Canada’s preventive-health infrastructure.
Before We Fill the Bucket, Fix the Leak
The most sobering Canadian statistic in the report is not our penetration rate. It is our churn. HFA identifies a six-month membership churn rate of 50 per cent as a critical structural headwind.
That changes the assignment. We cannot build Four Million More while replacing half the bucket every six months. Growth has three jobs: retain current members, reactivate former members and reach people who have never joined.
Former members should not be treated as failed prospects. They once chose us. They filled out the forms, walked through the door and imagined themselves succeeding. We need to understand when the relationship broke down. Was it cost, intimidation, an injury, an inflexible contract, a life transition or simply the feeling that nobody noticed when they disappeared?
Retention begins long before cancellation. It means noticing declining attendance, creating human contact and supporting members through the fragile first 90 days.
The goal is not four million transactions. It is four million lasting relationships.
The Better Invitation
A free pass provides access. It does not create confidence, competence or consistency. For a first-time exerciser, a fitness facility can feel like entering a country where everyone else speaks the language.
What equipment should I use?
Where do I stand?
Am I fit enough to be here?
The answer cannot be one generic campaign because ‘the gym is not for me’ means something different across a lifetime.
We have one image of Gen Z crushing HYROX workouts and Friday night Run Club. But, according to ParticipACTION’s 2026 research, Gen Z adults aged 18 to 27 reported more barriers to physical activity than any other generation, including self-consciousness, fear of judgment, negative past experiences and not having someone to exercise with. Some younger Canadians are not choosing between the bar and the gym. They are choosing to stay home. They need belonging, social entry points and judgment-free beginner experiences.
ParticipACTION found Millennials were more likely to identify post-work fatigue, competing priorities and work-family responsibilities as barriers. Many may once have crushed workouts before careers, children and caregiving consumed their time and money. Millennials are not failing to fit in fitness. Fitness is failing to fit their lives.
For Gen X, physical discomfort, injury concerns and boredom appeared more frequently. Boomers were more likely to report health conditions associated with aging. ParticipACTION’s survey ended at age 64, so older adults require a separate lens. They may care less about a personal best than carrying groceries, getting off the floor and remaining independent.
Each audience needs a different invitation, but every invitation needs a clear first step, credible coaching and a reason to return. That work matters because only 46 per cent of Canadian adults meet the weekly aerobic recommendation, while just 35 per cent meet the twice-weekly strength-training recommendation. Among youth aged 12 to 17, only 21 per cent meet national physical-activity recommendations, falling to just 8 per cent among girls.
Affordability Is a Growth Strategy
We cannot discuss national participation without discussing price. Canadians are managing higher costs for housing, food, transportation and childcare. Fitness may be essential to health, but household budgets still treat it as discretionary.
The HFA report offers an important business lesson: Canada’s high-value, low-price segment proved more recession-proof than the traditional mid-market. Fit4Less alone announced a $50-million national expansion and franchise launch. Globally, HFA says budget models continue to dominate because they lower the financial risk of saying yes.
Affordability cannot rest entirely on operators. FIC continues to advocate for fitness memberships to be recognized under Line 33099 of the Medical Expense Tax Credit. Newfoundland and Labrador already provides a Canadian model through its Physical Activity Tax Credit, allowing families to claim up to $2,000 in eligible expenses.
If governments want Canadians to move more, policy must make structured physical activity easier to afford. If operators want to expand the market, we need flexible options that reflect how people actually live.
A National Goal
Four Million More would unite chains, independent studios, municipal facilities, fitness professionals, healthcare providers and governments around one objective: expand the number of Canadians who participate consistently instead of circulating the same members around the existing market.
Canada does not need another campaign explaining that exercise is good for us. We need affordable entry, a first experience that builds confidence and enough support to keep people moving after motivation fades.
We know how to bring people through the door. The next era of growth depends on whether we can give them a reason to stay.
Sources
- Health & Fitness Association, 2026 HFA Global Report
- Statistics Canada, Canada’s Population Clock
- Statistics Canada, Directly measured physical activity and sedentary time, 2022 to 2024
- Canada Revenue Agency, Medical expenses you cannot claim
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Physical Activity Tax Credit
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.
