The first time I noticed TikTok was reshaping Canadian investing habits, I was interviewing a 22-year-old University of Toronto student who’d built a $40,000 portfolio before graduation. When I asked about her financial education, she didn’t mention economics classes or bank advisors. “I learned everything from #FinTok,” she told me, scrolling through a feed of 60-second videos explaining ETFs and dividend strategies.
This conversation wasn’t an anomaly. A growing segment of young Canadians are bypassing traditional financial education channels entirely, instead turning to social media for investment guidance. Recent data from the Ontario Securities Commission shows that 40% of Gen Z investors in Canada made their first investment during the pandemic, and over half of them cited social media as their primary source of financial information.
“We’re seeing an unprecedented democratization of financial advice,” explains Maya Rodriguez, financial literacy coordinator at Ryerson University’s Money Project. “The barriers to entry for young investors have never been lower, but the quality of information varies dramatically.”
The platforms of choice reflect Gen Z’s preference for visual, concise content. Instagram and TikTok lead the pack, with YouTube serving as a destination for deeper dives. Reddit communities like r/PersonalFinanceCanada have also become crucial hubs where young Canadians debate TFSA strategies and critique each other’s portfolios.
The content itself is as diverse as the platforms. Some creators focus on Canadian-specific topics like maximizing TFSA contributions or navigating RESP rules. Others promote day trading strategies or cryptocurrency investments—often with considerably less nuance than traditional financial education would demand.
What makes this shift particularly noteworthy is how it’s changing investment patterns among young Canadians. A recent RBC survey found that Gen Z investors are 38% more likely than millennials to hold individual stocks rather than mutual funds, and twice as likely to have cryptocurrency in their portfolios—choices that correlate strongly with the content dominating financial social media.
“The algorithms reward bold claims and quick results,” notes Preet Banerjee, a personal finance commentator who has studied Gen Z investing behaviors. “A 10-minute video explaining compound interest over decades won’t get the same engagement as someone showing off supposedly massive returns from a risky options trade.”
This algorithmic bias creates genuine concerns. The Canadian Foundation for Economic Education reports that while financial literacy rates among 18-24 year olds have improved in some areas, understanding of risk management lags significantly. Nearly 65% of Gen Z investors surveyed couldn’t accurately explain diversification principles—despite confidently managing their own investments.
Not all social media financial content is problematic, however. The Ontario Securities Commission has found positive trends in TFSA and RRSP participation among young Canadians who engage with financial content online. And platforms like Wealthsimple have successfully used social media education to build financial literacy alongside their product offerings.
“I actually learn more from TikTok than I did in high school economics,” says Devon Matthews, a 20-year-old trades apprentice in Winnipeg who started investing last year. “My dad had a financial advisor who just put everything in high-fee mutual funds. I’ve learned to build my own ETF portfolio with way lower fees.”
Matthews’ experience highlights both the opportunity and challenge of Gen Z’s social media-powered financial education. While he’s right about fee awareness—the average MER on Canadian mutual funds remains around 2%, compared to under 0.25% for many ETFs—he’s learning through a medium with limited accountability.
Canadian regulators have taken notice of this shift. The Canadian Securities Administrators launched their first TikTok campaign last year, attempting to reach young investors with balanced information about investment risks. Meanwhile, provincial securities commissions have begun monitoring popular financial influencers for potential violations of advisor registration requirements.
What makes Canada’s situation unique is our specific investment landscape. Young Canadian investors face different tax considerations, housing pressures, and market access issues than their American counterparts, yet much of the most viral content comes from U.S. creators unfamiliar with Canadian rules.
“I see clients coming in confused about Roth IRAs and 401(k)s, which don’t even exist here,” says Toronto-based financial planner Sarah Chen. “They’re applying American advice to Canadian circumstances, and it can lead to costly mistakes.”
The generational divide extends beyond platform preferences to investment philosophies. According to Statistics Canada data, Gen Z investors show stronger interest in sustainable investing than previous generations, with 72% reporting that environmental considerations influence their investment choices. This aligns with content trends on platforms like Instagram, where sustainable investing hashtags have grown 140% year-over-year.
The pandemic accelerated these trends dramatically. With lockdowns forcing financial education online and volatile markets creating both opportunities and hazards, many Gen Z Canadians made their first investments during unprecedented market conditions. Trading volume on Wealthsimple Trade increased nearly 500% during 2020, with users under 25 accounting for the largest growth segment.
As this generation’s wealth grows—they’re projected to control over $3 trillion globally by 2030—their social media-influenced investing habits will likely reshape Canada’s financial landscape. Traditional financial institutions are already responding, with major banks launching TikTok channels and redesigning their educational content for shorter attention spans.
The real question isn’t whether social media will influence Gen Z’s financial futures—it already is—but whether regulation, education, and platform accountability can evolve quickly enough to protect young investors from the worst potential outcomes while preserving the accessibility benefits.
For now, the phenomenon represents both promise and peril. As I watch my UofT student confidently explaining her investment thesis, I’m simultaneously impressed by her engagement and concerned about the sources shaping her financial worldview. Like most technological shifts, the ultimate impact will depend less on the tools themselves and more on how we collectively choose to use them.
