Sandra Sanderson of Empire Company Limited/Sobeys Inc. and Catherine Roche at BMO Named Top Winners at 2025 CMA Awards

Zulu Alpha Kilo recognized as “Best of the Best” for their groundbreaking “Bipartisan Wings” campaign.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On November 7, the 2025 Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) Awards gala brought together marketers from across Canada to celebrate the nation's top marketing campaigns and the outstanding talent that brought them to life. The highest honours went to Sandra Sanderson, chief marketing officer of Empire Company Limited and Sobeys Inc., who received the CMA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her remarkable career accomplishments, and Catherine Roche, chief marketing and communications officer at BMO, named Marketer of the Year.

“Receiving this Lifetime Achievement Award is such an extraordinary honour. I am proud to be part of a marketing community that continues to innovate, and lead with purpose and creativity,” Sanderson said. “It takes a team to ‘Feed The Dream.’ At Empire, I have the privilege of working with exceptional teams and agency partners to drive transformation, build iconic brands, and connect with Canadians in meaningful ways.”

“It’s an honour to be recognized among Canada’s most talented marketers,” Roche said. “And I’m proud to lead a team of innovative thinkers who are redefining what’s possible when delivering world-class client experiences, strengthening BMO’s brand and setting the standard for creative excellence.”

In addition to Roche and Sanderson, the winners of the premiere awards include:

• Best of the Best: Zulu Alpha Kilo for “Bipartisan Wings”
• Top Cause: Publicis Toronto for “Pet-ition”
• Achievement in Marketing Award (AIM): Lindsay Chase, senior strategist at Elemental

“Canada’s marketing community continues to demonstrate outstanding multi-channel efforts that grow businesses, engage consumers and build brands,” said Alison Simpson, president and CEO of the CMA. “This year’s winners are examples of talented teams who are helping raise the bar on Canadian creativity and innovation with exceptional initiatives and delivering unparalleled value through their campaigns. We have a lot to be proud of as our profession pushes creative boundaries to strengthen our economy and build businesses within Canada and globally.”

For the first time this year, the CMA introduced its new special award category, “Best in Cinema” sponsored by Cineplex Media, honouring a brand or agency that leveraged the unique power of cinema to deliver immersive and emotionally engaging storytelling. The award went to the Terry Fox Foundation for its “Finish It” campaign.

In total, 162 awards were presented across six disciplines (listed below). Notably, Skip led all brands with seven trophies, while TD Bank earned 10 across their masterbrand. Additionally, FCB and Courage led agencies with 17 awards.

Awards Categories and Judging

Awards were presented across the following disciplines: brand building, business/brand impact, customer experience and shopper marketing, engagement, innovative media and public relations. Within each discipline, entries competed in one of nine categories, including automotive, business, consumer products and services, financial, food and beverage, healthcare, retail/consumer businesses and social causes.

There was a total of 622 submissions for this year’s awards. The awards were judged by Canadian industry experts, following a two-round process:

• Entries in the first round were evaluated on strategy, creativity and results.
• In the second round, senior judges and multi-discipline judges evaluated the top entries in the disciplines and categories. The scores from the first two rounds are combined to determine gold, silver and bronze awards in each category.
• “Top Cause” and “Best of the Best” winners were chosen from the highest-ranking entries across their respective disciplines and categories.

The judging process was co-chaired by Mary DePaoli, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer at RBC, and Stephanie Yung, chief design officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo.

A full list of CMA Award winners can be found here.

About the Canadian Marketing Association

The CMA is the voice of marketing in Canada, and our purpose is to champion marketing’s powerful impact. We are the catalyst to help Canada’s marketers thrive today, while building the marketing mindset and environment of tomorrow.

We provide opportunities for our members from coast to coast to develop professionally, to contribute to marketing thought leadership, to build strong networks, and to strengthen the regulatory climate for business success. Our Chartered Marketer (CM) designation signifies that recipients are highly qualified and up to date with best practices, as reflected in the Canadian Marketing Code of Ethics and Standards. We represent virtually all of Canada’s major business sectors, and all marketing disciplines, channels and technologies. Our Consumer Centre helps Canadians better understand their rights and obligations. For more information, visit thecma.ca.