The creator economy is measured mostly in American and global figures, so this page separates the two: global numbers first, then what Canadian surveys and Canadian institutions actually report. Every figure links to its source, checked on October 6, 2026.
In short
- Goldman Sachs Research counts 50 million creators worldwide, about 4% of them professionals earning over $100,000, with brand deals about 70% of revenue.
- Social media became Canada's most-used news source in 2026, and 38% of Canadians got news from a creator in the past week.
- Canadians prefer people to brands and humans to AI by wide margins.
- The CRA taxes creator income, gifts included, and Ad Standards requires disclosure of any free product.
The global picture
1. There are about 50 million creators worldwide, growing at a 10% to 20% compound annual rate over the next five years (Goldman Sachs Research). 2. The creator economy "could approach half a trillion dollars by 2027" (same report). 3. Only about 4% of global creators are professionals earning more than $100,000 a year, a share Goldman Sachs expects to stay steady (same report). 4. Brand deals are the main source of creator revenue, at about 70% (same report).
How Canadians use creators
5. 53% of Canadians used social media for news in the week before the 2026 survey, up from 44%, making it the most-used news source in the country for the first time (Digital News Report Canada 2026, Université Laval, 2,059 Canadians). 6. 38% got news from creators or influencers in the past week; 57% of 18 to 24 year olds and 55% of 25 to 34 year olds did (same report). 7. Canadian news outlets lost 85% of their engagement on Facebook and Instagram after Meta's news block, and 212 of 713 local outlets active on social media stopped posting (Media Ecosystem Observatory). 8. Across 135 major news events from 2023 to 2025, influencers took 84% of the engagement on Instagram (Media Ecosystem Observatory, Summer 2026 brief, page 15). 9. 88% of Canadian diners at least occasionally rely on a restaurant's social media popularity before deciding to go (Harris Poll for TouchBistro).
What Canadians want from creators
10. 79% of Canadians who follow creators prefer personal or spontaneous content to brand partnership content (Leger, 2026 DGTL study). 11. 66% prefer "people like me" over people who make them dream (same study). 12. 67% trust an AI influencer's recommendation less than a human's, and 57% say knowing an influencer is AI makes them less likely to buy (Caddle for Ad Standards, 2,242 Canadians, October 2025). 13. Only 24% of Canadians feel confident they can tell AI and human influencers apart (same survey). 14. In a June 2026 test, 59% of the first 500 videos TikTok served a new account were AI-generated low-quality content, by the tester's count (Kapwing). 15. In the United States and the United Kingdom, 26% of consumers prefer AI-generated creator content, down from 60% in 2023 (Billion Dollar Boy).
The rules Canadian creators work under
16. The CRA treats creator income, including free products and trips from brands, as self-employment income reported on Form T2125, with GST/HST registration required once supplies pass $30,000 over four calendar quarters (Canada Revenue Agency). 17. Ad Standards' Fall 2025 guidelines define a material connection to include "free products with or without any conditions attached", name #ad on its own as the gold standard, and list #Gifted and #InvitedGuest as accepted tags (Ad Standards). 18. Ambiguous tags such as #collab, #PR and #spon do not make a material connection clear, and a disclosure buried in a hashtag list counts as hidden (same guidelines).
What creators are paid, and what is taken
19. Collabstr charges creators a 15% fee on their payout, plus a 10% hiring fee to brands on its free plan (Collabstr). 20. Insense charges brands a 20% marketplace fee on creator payments on its Trial and Brand plans (Insense). 21. Shopify Collabs applies a 2.9% processing fee, paid by the merchant, to every automatic commission payment (Shopify Help). 22. Onlure charges 0% commission on creators' earnings and sets no follower minimum (Onlure). 23. Fewer than 25% of gifted collaborations turn into a deeper relationship, and 90.5% of marketers say creators ghost gifting campaigns more often than other collaborations (Modash, 74 marketers, May 2026).
The platforms' rules
24. Instagram recommends reels of three minutes or less to people who do not follow the account, and says the first three seconds have to be engaging (Instagram for Creators). 25. TikTok's creative guidance puts the hook in the first six seconds at a 9:16 aspect ratio (TikTok). 26. YouTube Shorts run up to three minutes (YouTube Help).
The local market creators sell into
27. Live music venues and festivals in Canada drew 19.69 million visitors in 2023 and contributed $10.92 billion to GDP (Canadian Live Music Association). 28. 79% of 18 to 35 year olds in the United States and the United Kingdom plan to attend more events in 2026 (Eventbrite). 29. 44% of Canadian restaurants were at a loss or breaking even in Q4 2025 (Restaurants Canada). 30. E-commerce was 6.8% of Canadian retail trade in May 2026 (Statistics Canada); the rest is sold where a creator's followers can walk in.
How to read them together
Canadians get their information from people, prefer those people to be real and relatable, and spend most of their money in physical places. The businesses in those places are squeezed and want visits counted, not views. That is the opening for a local creator, and the attribution guide for creators shows how to prove the visits. On Onlure, local businesses book local creators for a campaign and see the walk-ins each creator sends; the creators page explains how to list.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the creator economy in 2026?
Goldman Sachs Research counts about 50 million creators worldwide, growing 10% to 20% a year, and projects the creator economy could approach half a trillion dollars by 2027. About 4% of creators earn more than $100,000 a year.
How many Canadians follow creators for news or recommendations?
38% of Canadians got news from creators or influencers in the past week in the Digital News Report Canada 2026, rising to 57% of 18 to 24 year olds, and 88% of diners weigh a restaurant's social media popularity before going.
Do Canadian creators pay tax on gifted products?
Yes. The CRA counts free products and trips received for creator work as self-employment income at fair market value, reported on Form T2125, and Ad Standards requires the gift to be disclosed on the post.
