Is Toronto Becoming the Podcast Capital of Canada? 📊 Here’s What the Data Says

Toronto has always been known for film, music, and media. But in the last few years, podcasting has started to take up serious space in the city’s creative scene. If you’ve noticed more studios popping up, more local creators launching shows, or more Toronto voices hitting the national charts, you’re not imagining it.

Here’s what the numbers are telling us—and why our lovely city might be on track to lead podcasting in Canada, especially when looking for a Toronto podcast studio for audio & video podcast recording.

🎧 Podcasting in Canada: The Growth Snapshot

Let’s start with the basics.

📈 Canada’s podcast audience is growing steadily year-over-year. According to data from The Canadian Podcast Listener report (Signal Hill Insights), over 11 million Canadian adults now listen to podcasts each month. That’s nearly 1 in 3 adults.

💡 More specifically:

• 🕒 Average weekly listening time has passed 5 hours per listener

• 🎙️ Over 50% of listeners say they’ve followed a Canadian-hosted show

• 📱 90% of podcasts are streamed on mobile

It’s not niche anymore. It’s normal. And Toronto is leading the pack when it comes to production and hosting.

🏙️ What’s Driving Toronto’s Podcast Boom?

Toronto isn’t “getting into” podcasting—it’s already doing it. A few key factors are fueling the growth:

1. 🎤 Studio Access and Infrastructure

There are more professional podcast studios in Toronto than in any other Canadian city. This means creators can start strong without needing to invest thousands in gear. It’s also easier to record, edit, and publish consistently.

2. 👥 A Large, Mixed Audience Base

Toronto’s population density and variety of communities mean there’s room for every kind of podcast—from sports and comedy to politics and language-specific shows.

3. 💼 Business Adoption

Local organizations and businesses have started using podcasts as part of their marketing and internal communication strategies. This pushes even more production demand into the city.

4. 🎓 Education and Creative Programs

Schools, universities, and media training centers in the city have added podcasting to their curriculum. Students are launching shows, collaborating with studios, and experimenting early.

📍 Where the Data Gets Interesting: Rankings and Reach

Several Canadian-hosted shows that chart on Apple Podcasts and Spotify are based in Toronto. While some keep their recording location private, many list Toronto studios or production teams in their credits.

🧠 Industry researchers have also found:

• 🎧 Toronto-based podcasts are overrepresented on the Canadian Top 200 lists

• 🏆 Sponsorship deals are most frequently offered to creators based in the GTA

• 🏙️ More podcasting-related businesses (production, training, consulting) are headquartered in Toronto than anywhere else in Canada

This isn’t anecdotal—it’s quantifiable momentum.

🧑‍💼 Creators Are Turning Pro

There’s a shift happening from hobbyist to professional. More Toronto podcasters are treating their shows like businesses—investing in branding, scheduling guests, monetizing through ads or Patreon, and booking time in real studios instead of recording at home.

📌 You can see this in:

• Better sound quality

• Structured episode formats

• Regular publishing schedules

• Cross-promotion and local partnerships

For many of these creators, the audience is growing month after month—and the numbers back it up.

📦 Local Brands Are Getting Involved

Brands are catching on too. Not as sponsors alone, but as content creators. From real estate firms to wellness companies, Toronto businesses are starting their own podcasts to build authority and connect directly with customers.

🔎 Look for:

• Podcasts from small business owners in the city

• In-house shows made by startups, tech firms, and local agencies

• Sponsored studio partnerships that include ad reads and cross-promotion

This kind of brand-backed content is pushing podcasting even further into the mainstream.

📉 What’s Still Missing?

While the growth is strong, there’s still room for improvement. Some gaps in Toronto’s podcast scene include:

• 🎙️ Support for new voices: Many first-time podcasters still don’t know where to start

• 🎥 Video podcast knowledge: As more platforms shift to video, there’s a need for better creator education

• 🔄 Consistency: A lot of shows launch and stop after 3–5 episodes (this is true everywhere, but still worth noting locally)

These aren’t blockers—they’re opportunities for new creators and businesses to step in.

📬 So… Is Toronto the Podcast Capital of Canada?

There’s no official crown, but if you look at the metrics—volume of creators, number of studios, commercial activity, and listener base—Toronto is ahead.

🗺️ Other cities are growing too, but none have the same density of podcast-related infrastructure and output.

And the pace isn’t slowing down.

✅ Summary: What the Data Shows

Here’s the takeaway, supported by numbers and trends:

✅ Over 11M monthly podcast listeners in Canada

✅ Toronto-based podcasts are consistently charting

✅ Local studios, creators, and brands are all active

✅ The audience is large, engaged, and still growing

If you’re planning to start a podcast or move your show to a professional level, there’s no better place to be right now than Toronto.