From Winter Chill to Summer Thrill: Canada’s Economy Finds Its Groove

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Market Update

Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads

Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:

After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.

“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.

Learn more

Summary

From Winter Chill to Summer Thrill: Canada’s Economy Finds Its Groove

Canada’s economy staged a strong rebound in Q2 2026 after a sluggish winter, with monthly GDP data tracking above 3% annualized growth as activity strengthened across several parts of the economy.

A recovery in auto production and stronger exports provided an important boost, but the improvement went beyond trade, with consumer spending, business investment, housing activity, and labour market conditions all showing signs of strengthening.

The pace is expected to moderate in Q3 as temporary boosts fade and slower population growth weighs on headline GDP. Fresh 50% U.S. tariffs on roughly 5% of Canadian imports will also hurt targeted industries, but RBC does not expect them to derail the broader recovery, particularly with most Canadian exports continuing to receive duty-free access under CUSMA.

⏱ TLDR: Canada’s economy bounced back strongly in Q2 as domestic demand joined the recovery, and while fresh U.S. tariffs add another hurdle, they aren’t expected to knock growth off course.

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Key Takeaways 💡

The recovery is broadening: Consumers, businesses, housing, trade, and employment all contributed to a much stronger Q2, suggesting the rebound has more substance than a simple export bounce.

Tariffs remain the wildcard: New U.S. tariffs will cause pain for specific sectors, but RBC expects Canadian growth to remain positive through the rest of 2026.

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Canadian stocks over the last 30 days (end July - August 2026)

The TSX had a mixed month, with standout gains in materials and tech offset by weakness across several major financial and energy names.
Agnico Eagle (+54.13%) was the clear winner, alongside Shopify (+17.59%) and CNQ (+11.11%), while BNS (+5.82%) and Imperial Oil (+4.66%) also performed well. On the downside, TRP (-9.50%) and ENB (-9.56%) fell sharply, while RY (-2.49%), BMO (-2.83%), and TD (-1.05%) weighed on financials.
Overall, the market showed strong pockets of momentum, particularly in gold and tech, despite a more uneven performance among Canada's largest blue-chip stocks.