AutoCanada’s on-again, off-again relationship with AutoTrader is on again.

The Edmonton-based dealership group announced it has finalized a national advertising partnership with AutoTrader.ca, Canada’s largest automotive marketplace.

The agreement establishes a unified marketplace strategy throughout AutoCanada’s 64 Canadian franchise dealership locations, which the company said enables “consistent inventory visibility, measurable performance and scalable digital marketing execution across the group.”

The deal marks AutoCanada’s return to AutoTrader, almost a year after leaving the platform last spring during the group’s “transformation” period as it focused on cutting costs to recover from financial losses in 2024.

But during AutoCanada’s recent fourth quarter 2025 earnings call, new CEO Sam Cochrane, who also continues to serve as chief financial officer, said it turns out the expense for AutoTrader is worth it.

“So if you look back to ‘25, if we bought a used Ford at an Audi dealership — I’m just using a random example — and in the past, we’d had success selling that car, and then all of a sudden we turned off Trader, no one could see that car anymore,” he explained. “It was hard to move. And then that was compounded by [the fact] we didn’t have the right discipline on pricing. And so that car aged.

“So going forward, we are turning AutoTrader back on. It is back on in all of our stores.”

In a news release, AutoCanada cited the artificial intelligence capabilities of AutoTrader’s platform that “enhance how vehicle inventory is surfaced to in-market shoppers, improving marketplace discovery, demand allocation and performance insights for dealerships,” along with its scalability for effective digital marketing in various retail networks.

The company called the new partnership with AutoTrader a “key component” of its go-to-market strategy.

“Our strategic objectives are grounded in performance accountability and disciplined capital allocation,” Cochrane said in the release. “AutoTrader’s leadership position in the Canadian market, its ability to consistently connect our dealerships with highly engaged car shoppers and its continued investment in innovation and technology align directly with how we operate.

“This agreement reflects a shared commitment to measurable results and long-term value creation across our dealership network.”