By Scott English, Global Director, Elite Franchise

If 2024 was a confident stride for Canadian franchising, 2025 was the year it showed its full reach. We saw growth, investment, education, and real community participation. As we close out the year, it’s clear that franchising in Canada isn’t slowing down. In fact, it’s becoming more structured, more collaborative, and more globally connected.

For Elite Franchise Canada, the year brought several standout achievements—culminating with the launch of the EF100 National Awards program. Indeed, after more than a decade operating the Elite Business brand in the United Kingdom, the EF100 idea was finally brought over to Canada—a market we had long believed in.

On February 26, 2025, we hosted the inaugural EF100 Celebratory and Awards evening and welcomed an impressive mix of franchisors, suppliers, and service partners. The energy in the room confirmed the impressive standard of excellence and community spirit of the Canadian franchise industry.

Across the Canadian franchising community 2025 saw a full calendar of education, networking, and advocacy. One standout achievement was World Franchise Day. This wasn’t just another awareness campaign. Spearheaded by the CFA, World Franchise Day connected countries on a global scale. It positioned Canadian franchising as part of an international conversation and encouraged cross border collaboration. This campaign also helped raise awareness of and exposure to franchising among policymakers, entrepreneurs, and the general public.

Another important addition to the CFA’s annual portfolio of events was Franchise Development Day in the summer, which gave franchisors a way of learning from subject matter experts on growth planning, strategic marketing, and expansion fundamentals in a practical, hands-on way. This format, supported by case studies and real examples from brands, added depth to the CFA education portfolio.

Several other CFA events continued to strengthen the industry throughout the year. Franchise Awareness Day at Queen’s Park sparked meaningful dialogue between elected officials and franchising leaders. Meanwhile, the 2025 CFA National Convention in Niagara Falls welcomed a record number of attendees. Elsewhere, weekly Learn & Grow Webinars, Evening Education Sessions, and Meet & Greets kept momentum going all year.

In addition, topic-specific days such as Franchise Law Day and Marketing and Operations Day continued to provide targeted training for franchisors across sectors. Webinars focusing on both Canadian and international companies seeking to expand beyond their home territory have also lead to valuable cross-border connections.

From a legal perspective, 2025 highlighted the continued evolution of franchise regulation. Saskatchewan implemented franchise disclosure regulations under its Franchise Disclosure Act, becoming the seventh Canadian province with franchise specific legislation. The new rules strengthen disclosure expectations and refine definitions relating to earnings projections and officers.

Franchisors operating in multiple provinces should take note that compliance is no longer simply about delivering disclosure documents. It also requires updated templates, clear compliance procedures and attention to employment law developments, and especially joint employer considerations and evolving worker protections.

Overall, in 2025, the franchising sector grew in a way that felt both energetic and organized. At Elite Franchise Canada, what stood out most was the rise of new brands and younger founder led companies—many of whom showed strong clarity of purpose and managed to define their customer audiences. These new market entrants exude confidence since they are more educated in franchising fundamentals at the outset and are better supported by advisors, suppliers, and peer networks.

If this year demonstrated anything at all, it’s that Canadian franchising thrives when our community stays connected. Education, compliance, and recognition have continued to shape a sector that understands both responsibility and opportunity. Looking ahead, the focus is on further professionalization and continued cross border expansion supported by a growing ecosystem of legal, financial, marketing, and operational expertise.

Based on what we saw this year, 2026 is set to be another banner year.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Scott English is the Founder and Global Director of Elite Franchise Online, the UK’s leading content platform for the franchising sector, and creator of the Elite Franchise Top 100 (EF100). He recently launched Elite Franchise Canada and EF100 Canada, extending the platform’s reach while continuing to provide franchisors and franchisees with recognition, exposure, and insight.