Industry Intelligence

The RVDA of Canada provides authoritative RV retail RV industry intelligence including but not limited to retail sales, payroll and compensation reports, inventory levels, and comparative information within the industry.


Economic Impact of the Canadian RV Industry
 
For many Canadians, recreation vehicles (RVs) are a convenient way to travel and enjoy the outdoors while providing some of the comforts of home. For others, it is more than a way to travel; it is a way of life. Given this, it is no surprise that recreation vehicles have a significant impact on the Canadian economy. The purpose of the 2023 Economic Impact of the Canadian Recreation Vehicle Industry is to estimate the level of economic activity supported by the RV industry in Canada.
 
The economic activity generated by the RV industry is considerable and multiā€faceted including everything from the manufacturing, sales and service of RVs to expenditures to use, store, maintain and travel in RVs. In total, the RV sector generated an estimated 104,200 jobs and delivered $12.0 billion in added value to the Canadian economy from an initial expenditure of $14.3 billion in 2022. 

While manufactures and dealers contribute significantly to the total, a majority of the contribution occurs after the initial RV purchase. More specifically, expenditures associated with RV ownership and use account for 89% of the total value added to the Canadian economy. The study revealed that approximately 2.1 million (or 14% of) Canadian households own an RV. This is up approximately 3% since 2019. Post-purchase spending by this group of owners contributes to the economy through two expenditure categories:
  •  Non-travel RV expenditures are those costs associated with RV ownership and include insurance, storage, and accessories. RV owners spent an estimated $2.7 billion in these three categories in Canada in 2022. RV owners also spend on maintenance, however the value of this is included in the retail sales and service subsector expenditures. 
  • RV tourism related expenditures are costs associated with using the RV. The study reveals that the 2.1 million RV owners took an estimated 6.3 million RV trips in Canada in 2022. Further to this, Canadians who rented RVs took an estimated 1.3 million trips in Canada bringing the total to 7.7 million RV trips. When accounting for the length of trips and travel party size, these trips resulted in a total of 72.2 million person trip nights. With an estimated $10.3 billion in spending from these trips, RV tourism is the largest contributor to the overall impact by a significant margin  The results of this study continue to demonstrate that the RV industry is a significant contributor to the Canadian economy. Note, due to inconsistencies in Statistics Canada tourism data, changes were made to how expenditure data was collected and calculated for the current study. While all signs point to considerable growth, the tourism impacts are not directly comparable to the previous study. 

For the 2023 national update, click  English  
 


A national, volunteer federation of provincial and regional RVDA associations and their members, the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA) of Canada is a professional trade association that works on behalf of all retail businesses involved in the recreation vehicle industry. Advocacy, professional development and industry initiatives are developed by members, for members and delivered on their behalf by the RVDA.