The Canadian advertising market shrank an ‘unprecedented’ 9.3% this year, but the latest predictions by a Toronto ad firm say spending will rebound by a modest 2.4% in 2010.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that it represents the smallest year-over-year increase since 2002, when the ad market contracted sharply in the wake of 9/11. According to Ruth Klostermann, a VP at Toronto ZenithOptimedia, much of the 2010 growth will be inflationary.

‘It’s not real growth, it’s barely more than inflation,’ says Klostermann. ‘But I think that will start to come maybe late next year and slowly moving forward.’

Any return to pre-recession spending levels, however, will be measured in terms of years, not months. Zenith doesn’t expect Canadian ad spending to reach the $10-billion plateau again until 2012, with that year’s projected spend of $10.14 billion, slightly below the record high of $10.18 billion established in 2008.

The Canadian market is rebounding faster than that of the U.S., where ad spending is projected to dip an additional 2.6% in 2010 after a staggering 12.9% decline this year.

From Media in Canada