Canadian Tire Corporation has introduced a new initiative that will reshape its sponsorship strategy and devote half of its spending to supporting women’s sports.

The Women’s Sport Initiative (WSI) is a multi-million dollar investment that will earmark 50% of the company’s sponsorship spending for women’s professional sports by 2026. In addition, the WSI includes a dedicated media fund that will create more visibility for women’s sport across broadcast, digital and social platforms

Among the new partnerships Canadian Tire has added as part of the WSI is becoming one of the founding partners of women’s professional soccer league Project 8. The league is slated to launch in 2025, with CIBC and Air Canada also among the committed sponsors. Canadian Tire has also announced that it will be one of the sponsors of the WNBA Canada Game presented by Tangerine, the first game the league has held in Canada, set for May 13.

Canadian Tire will also be a premier national partner of Canadian Women & Sport’s Commercial Women’s Sport Initiative, which funds research that demonstrates the business case for further investment in women’s professional sports in Canada. It will be a presenting partner of the first espnW Summit to be held in Canada this May, which will bring together industry leaders in sport. Finally, Canadian Tire is also a corporate partner of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Future of Sport Lab, with funds specifically directed towards “the next generation of female leaders in sport innovation.”

Susan O’Brien, chief brand and customer officer at Canadian Tire Corporation, said that the WSI helps further extend the company’s longstanding support of gender equity in grassroots and amateur sports in the professional realm.

“Helping to pave the way for more equitable opportunities in women’s professional sport and inspire a new generation of female athletes is part of how we are bolstering our communities and living our brand purpose: we are here to make life in Canada better,” she said.

Last fall, Canadian Tire was one of the earliest and most significant sponsors to permanently pull its sponsorship of Hockey Canada after the organization continued to “resist meaningful change” to its culture. At the time, the company said that it would re-directing its sponsorship support “to hockey-related organizations that better align with our values.”

Other initiatives Canadian Tire also supports that are focused on inclusion in sport include the Hockey Diversity Alliance, The Carnegie Initiative and girls in sports programs through its own Jumpstart Charities. The company also supports Premier Hockey Federation teams the Toronto 6ix and Montreal Force, the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association and women’s national hockey teams through the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee. Canadian Tire is also the title sponsor of Hayley Wickenheiser’s Wickfest.

In addition to the Canadian Tire banner, the company’s brands also include SportChek, Mark’s, Sport Experts, Atmosphere, Helly Hensen, Party City and PartSource.