Franchising is a huge part of daily life in this country. Research conducted by the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA) has shown that the average Canadian interacts with three to five franchised small businesses every single day.
Despite this, public perception of franchising may not reflect the depth and diversity of this great business model. While each day, Canadians interact with the local small business owners who run the franchises they rely on, for everything from their morning coffee to their child’s after-school education program to help fixing their home or vehicle. Yet not everyone understands the power and reach of the franchise business model.
Increasing this understanding, and awareness of franchising, was part of the impetus behind World Franchise Day, an initiative to create a global day of celebration for the franchise industry.
This annual commemoration shows the world that franchisees are local small business owners who live, work, and contribute to their communities, by lifting up the stories of the savvy entrepreneurs who have built their dream business through franchising.
A global affair
The CFA’s goal is to act as the voice of franchising in Canada. While that means advocating on behalf of the industry to government, it also means being loud and proud in the public domain—educating Canadians on the impact of franchising, connecting future business owners with the brand that will help them build their entrepreneurial dream, and helping our members gain visibility in their industries.
That’s why Brand Awareness is one of the four pillars of the CFA’s strategic plan. For us, this goes beyond just lead generation for our members; it’s about increasing the profile and impact of the entire franchise industry; nationally and internationally
As part of this mission, the CFA works to develop global relationships, extending our reach beyond our borders. Our Association is part of the World Franchise Council (WFC), a global organization of franchise associations from around the world, which exists to promote ethical franchising and ensure the growth and development of franchising across the globe.
World Franchise Day was just a spark of an idea in late 2024, when I brought it to the CFA team. We developed the concept and introduced it to the WFC in November 2024, and by February 2025, the WFC had officially declared the second Wednesday in June as World Franchise Day. Sometimes, when an idea catches, it moves fast!
The CFA team worked collaboratively with Reshift Media and key stakeholders at the CFA and WFC to establish the event, including creating a launch plan and marketing assets to ensure coordinated celebrations throughout the world for the first-ever World Franchise Day in June 2025.
Building on success
June 11, 2025, saw franchisees, franchisors, support services / suppliers, and government officials from across the world celebrating the wonders of franchising.
At the CFA offices, members and CFA staff convened to honour the occasion—cake included. Along with our members, we welcomed MPP Deepak Anand and members of the World Franchise Day Canadian Sub-Committee to celebrate in style.
Our online celebration also saw members from across the country gather to connect, play trivia, and share their highlights of the day.
Overall, the celebrations garnered an impressive 21.1 million impressions across traditional media outlets, through 108 different stories in Canadian media outlets. Online, we saw 1.1 million impressions on social media, across 65 participating countries!
We know this year will be even bigger and better, and we’re looking forward to celebrating franchising on this year’s World Franchise Day, June 10, 2026! We hope you’ll join us.
For more information about World Franchise Day and to learn more about how you can participate, CFA members should visit www.cfa.ca/members-only/world-franchise-day/ and download the World Franchise Day tool kit. To learn more about becoming a CFA member, visit our website or contact Shivam Sharma at [email protected].
