What Is IAB Canada State of the Nation?

State of the Nation is IAB Canada’s flagship annual summit. This year it expands to a full-day conference, running from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET at the Sheraton Centre Toronto. Two parallel programming tracks run simultaneously, and attendees choose their path when they register.

The organizing principle: No distractions. Just insights and conversations that matter.

Two Tracks, One Big Industry Question

The 2026 summit is structured around two parallel tracks:

Track 1: The Operating Environment
For leaders who need to understand the constraints and context shaping Canadian digital advertising over the next 12 to 24 months. Economic uncertainty, privacy legislation, regulatory change, and geopolitical complexity are all on the table.

Track 2: Growth & Opportunity
A forward-looking track focused on where the next generation of digital advertising opportunity lives. Streaming, CTV, retail media, AI-driven creative, and the evolving programmatic supply chain are central themes. Ivan Pehar joins this track for a panel discussion on how CTV is reshaping the Canadian video buy.

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Canada’s digital advertising economy has crossed $21 billion. What happens next is being decided in rooms like this one.

A “Must Attend” Event in 2026

Why this year matters for Canadian media: the June 23 timing aligns perfectly with the FIFA World Cup 2026 hosted across North America. The convergence of a home World Cup, a rapidly evolving CTV landscape, and AI-driven industry transformation makes this year’s summit strategically critical for media professionals.

Ivan Pehar on the Track 2 CTV Panel

As audiences shift between streaming and traditional television, the industry is rethinking what “TV” actually means. Ivan joins the Track 2 panel to explore exactly that: how CTV is reshaping the Canadian video buy - balancing premium content, live events, audience automation, and evolving viewer expectations.

He brings six consecutive years of Canadian streaming data to the conversation, grounded in Roku’s VOD Evolution Study. If CTV planning, buying, or audience strategy is part of your job in 2026, this is the session to be in.

Ivan also sits on the IAB Canada Board of Directors - a position that reflects how deeply Roku is invested in the Canadian digital advertising community, not just as a platform but as a participant in how the industry shapes itself.

At the Roku Booth: Slice the Stream and CTV Strategy

Alongside Ivan’s panel, Roku has an activation space on the trade floor open throughout the day. The booth is built for real conversations - bring your questions about streaming strategy, audience targeting, measurement, and how CTV fits your current media mix.

We’ll have Roku’s Slice the Stream game running for prizes. Stop by, play a round, and stay for the conversation.

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State of the Nation is where the real industry conversations happen. Roku will be in the room and on the floor - come find us.

Event Details

Roku and IAB Canada in 2026

Roku’s presence at State of the Nation is part of a broader IAB Canada partnership this year. Earlier in 2026, Roku and IAB Canada co-hosted Master the Stream: Elevate Your CTV Strategy with Roku Academy - a live webinar that brought Roku’s VOD Evolution Study and Course 5: Behaviour & Insights directly to Canadian media planners and buyers.

State of the Nation continues that conversation, with Ivan on the stage and the Roku team on the floor.

Arrive Prepared

The State of the Nation conversation will cover where CTV is heading in Canada. If you want to arrive with the foundational knowledge already in place, Roku Academy is the starting point.

All courses - Programmatic Advertising, Roku Audience, Creative Strategies, Data & Analytics, Behaviour & Insights, and the upcoming Sports Marketing - are available at RokuAcademy.ca. Each takes approximately 15 minutes. Courses 1–5 are live now; Sports Marketing arrives in early fall 2026. All are free.