BRP has become an official partner of the Montreal Canadiens, pairing one of Quebec’s largest powersports companies with one of the province’s most recognizable sports organizations for the 2026-27 hockey season.
The partnership was announced September 8 by BRP, which says its Can-Am, Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo brands will receive visibility throughout the season. Can-Am and Ski-Doo vehicles will also be displayed permanently at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
For Canadian powersports dealers, the important part is not simply that a manufacturer has purchased sports sponsorship. The agreement shows how a major Canadian OEM is using mainstream professional sports, physical product displays and community programs to put powersports brands in front of consumers well beyond the traditional dealership or riding-event audience.
What BRP announced
BRP and the Montreal Canadiens say the new partnership will run through the hockey season.
Can-Am and Ski-Doo vehicles will be permanently displayed at the Bell Centre, giving the brands year-round visibility inside one of Canada’s highest-profile sports venues.
BRP will also participate in community initiatives connected to the Canadiens Children’s Foundation.
The first activation is tied to the Montreal Canadiens’ annual golf tournament. BRP says participants will have the chance to win a BRP Experiences adventure or a Can-Am Outlander ATV through a silent auction, representing a total contribution of more than C$16,500.
A Can-Am Defender side-by-side finished in Canadiens colours will also be used as a refreshment cart during the tournament.
Those details make the partnership more substantial than a logo placement alone. The brands are being integrated into live events, physical displays and charitable activity.
Two Quebec organizations with national reach
BRP is headquartered in Valcourt, Quebec, while the Canadiens are one of the NHL’s oldest and most widely recognized franchises.
That shared Quebec identity is central to the announcement.
BRP reported annual sales of C$8.4 billion across more than 110 countries and employed close to 17,000 people as of January 31, 2026. Its portfolio includes Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and pontoons, Can-Am on-road and off-road vehicles, Quintrex boats and Rotax engines.
The Canadiens, meanwhile, offer BRP access to an audience that extends far beyond dedicated powersports consumers.
That audience expansion is strategically important.
A motorcycle, ATV, side-by-side, snowmobile or personal watercraft buyer does not necessarily spend every day reading powersports media. Many potential customers first encounter these products through broader lifestyle, sports and community channels.
Why the Bell Centre display matters
Permanent vehicle displays inside the Bell Centre create a physical brand touchpoint without requiring a customer to visit a dealership.
That can be valuable for products that benefit from being seen at full scale.
A Can-Am side-by-side or Ski-Doo snowmobile is visually much more impactful in person than in a small digital advertisement. Size, seating position, accessories, suspension and design are easier to understand when the machine is physically present.
The display will not replace a showroom.
Consumers still need dealers for product selection, pricing, trade-ins, financing, fitment, service and final purchase decisions.
But a high-traffic venue can introduce the product to people who may not yet be actively shopping.
That is the top of the customer funnel, and manufacturers spend heavily to build it.
Mainstream sports sponsorship can broaden the category
Powersports marketing often concentrates on riders who are already inside the category.
Motocross, snowmobile events, off-road races, watercraft competitions and motorcycle shows are natural places to find enthusiasts.
The limitation is that those environments mostly reach people who have already chosen to engage with powersports.
A Canadiens partnership reaches a much wider cross-section of consumers.
Families attending games, corporate guests, tourists and casual sports fans may encounter Can-Am or Ski-Doo products even if they did not arrive at the Bell Centre intending to think about powersports.
That can help manufacturers create future customers rather than only competing for existing ones.
The dealer opportunity begins after awareness
A national or provincial sponsorship creates visibility, but dealers determine whether that visibility turns into a useful retail experience.
A customer who sees a Can-Am display at a Canadiens game may later search for the brand, browse inventory or visit a local dealership.
That is where retail execution matters.
Dealers need accurate online inventory, strong product photography, current pricing, fast inquiry response and staff who can explain how the product actually fits the customer’s intended use.
A large manufacturer campaign can generate curiosity, but poor dealer follow-up can still lose the sale.
The strongest dealer response is therefore operational rather than promotional.
Make sure the machines being advertised are actually available. Keep specifications accurate. Respond to leads quickly. Give customers a clear next step.
Community involvement changes the tone of the partnership
The Canadiens Children’s Foundation component gives BRP a community role in addition to commercial exposure.
That is important because sponsorship can easily become transactional.
A logo on boards or signage creates brand recognition, but charitable participation creates a different association.
BRP’s contribution to the golf tournament includes both an experience prize and a Can-Am Outlander ATV, while the Canadiens-themed Defender creates another visible connection between the company and the event.
For dealerships, community engagement works on a smaller scale for the same reason.
Supporting local clubs, charity rides, safety events, trails, youth programs or community organizations can create goodwill that is difficult to reproduce through advertising alone.
The activity needs to be genuine and relevant to the local market.
Can-Am, Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo benefit differently
The partnership includes three major BRP consumer brands, but their seasonal opportunities are not identical.
Ski-Doo has the most obvious connection to the hockey calendar because winter sport and snowmobile season overlap across much of Canada.
Can-Am has year-round potential through ATVs, side-by-sides, three-wheel vehicles and motorcycles.
Sea-Doo can use the partnership to maintain brand awareness during the off-season before watercraft demand builds again in spring.
That portfolio effect is one of BRP’s advantages.
The company can remain visible across seasons without relying on one product category to carry the entire sponsorship.
What Canadian dealers should watch
The most useful question is whether the partnership creates measurable shopping behaviour.
Dealers can watch branded search traffic, product-page visits, inquiry volume and showroom conversations after major Canadiens activations.
Quebec dealers may see the strongest immediate effect because of proximity and fan concentration, but the Canadiens have supporters across Canada.
The permanent Bell Centre displays also create a potential referral point.
A shopper may arrive at a dealership already familiar with a specific Can-Am or Ski-Doo because they saw the vehicle in Montreal.
Sales staff should be prepared to continue that journey with accurate information rather than assuming the sponsorship itself has already completed the education process.
A broader lesson for the powersports industry
The partnership reflects a larger marketing challenge for powersports manufacturers: growth requires reaching people who are not already enthusiasts.
The category competes for discretionary income against travel, recreation, entertainment, vehicles and other lifestyle purchases.
That means powersports brands have to appear in places where consumers already spend attention.
Professional sports can provide that reach.
The commercial test will be whether broad awareness translates into dealership traffic and ownership consideration.
That is harder to measure than impressions, but it is ultimately more important.
What to watch next
The next useful developments will be the physical Can-Am and Ski-Doo displays at the Bell Centre, additional in-season activations and any dealer-facing programs connected to the partnership.
It will also be worth watching whether BRP expands the relationship across more of its brands or uses Canadiens events to promote specific new products during the season.
Those developments would show whether the agreement is primarily a brand-awareness sponsorship or becomes a deeper retail and experiential platform.
Bottom line
BRP’s new official partnership with the Montreal Canadiens gives Can-Am, Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo access to one of Canada’s most recognizable sports audiences.
Can-Am and Ski-Doo vehicles will be displayed permanently at the Bell Centre, while BRP will participate in Canadiens Children’s Foundation initiatives and the team’s annual golf tournament.
For Canadian powersports dealers, the significance is broader than hockey.
The partnership demonstrates how a Quebec-based OEM is moving powersports brands into mainstream consumer spaces where future riders and owners can discover them before they ever enter a dealership.
