It’s time for our annual report on Canadian social media use! Social media usage data indicates we’re just as enthusiastic about social media in Canada as we’ve ever been, and that’s a lot of enthusiasm. This country has always been a world leader in social media use.
More than eight in 10 social savvy Canadians access social media platforms every day, spending an estimated 1.6 hours per day there, according to Vividata. One in three of them say social media is the first and last thing they look at every day. We Are Social says Canadians spent two hours and 5 minutes using social media daily in 2023 (up 10.6% YOY). DataReportal says Canadians age 16-64 spend 115 minutes on social media every day. It isn’t unusual to find Canadians with more than one account on each individual platform as well (almost one in five do).
Experts predict over 96 percent of online Canadians (38.18 million) will be on social media by 2026. The Social Media Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University reports 94 percent of online Canadians already use at least one social media platform.
Globally, there are 4.76 Billion active social media users, up 3% year-over-year (YOY), according to a 2023 report from We Are Social. The same report says 85.7% of Canadians are active social media users (33.10 million), or 91.4% of total internet users.
Table of Contents
These reports get long so we’re including a Table of Contents this year. Just click on the link to go directly to that section.
2023 Social Media Users in Canada
Canadian Social Media Statistics 2023 Snapshot
2023 Social Media Users in Canada
It can be difficult to find Canadian-specific data and it isn’t always reliable when we do find it. When the numbers really count, I gather information from several sources and base my decisions on consensus or averages. Since social media is a huge part of digital marketing success in Canada, we pull data from a number of sources to help guide our campaigns. That’s what we’re sharing with you here.
The percentage of Canadian internet users who have an account on social media platforms and messaging apps, according research by Ressac/Leger:
“Women generally prefer visual platforms, while men gravitate to more text-oriented mediums. Gender specific behaviours exist across all platforms. Pinterest, Snapchat and TikTok have a larger female user base, while LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit and Twitch count more male users.”
Social Media Use in Canada By Location
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports the following Canadian social media users by province:
According to Google research by CasinoBonusCA.com, the top 20 most ‘social media obsessed’ cities in Canada are:
- Victoria
- Moncton
- St. John’s
- Nanaimo
- Peterborough
- Vancouver
- Thunder Bay
- Halifax
- Prince George
- Windsor
- Montreal
- Kingston
- Chilliwack
- Toronto
- Quebec City
- Kelowna
- Kamloops
- Sherbrooke
- Trois-Rivières
- Regina
Interestingly, Quebecers don’t use Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter and Reddit as much as users in the rest of Canada. That’s likely due to a lack of French content, but nobody seems certain as to why.
Messaging apps are more popular in Quebec (Messenger), however, as well as in the Maritimes. The favourite app in the country is WhatsApp.
Why Canadians Use Social Media
If you’re going to target Canadians on social media, it pays to know why they’re using it. It’s critical to keeping our Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) down and increasing organic reach.
According to Meltwater, the primary reasons Canadians 16-64 use social media are:
- Keeping in touch with friends & family 54.1%
- Filling spare time 39.4%
- Reading news stories 30.4%
- Finding content, such as videos 26%
- Seeing what’s being talked about 25%
- Finding inspiration for things to do or buy 23.7%
- Posting about your life 20.1%
- Finding like-minded communities 19.3%
- Finding products to purchase 18.3%
- Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) 18%
- Sharing and discussing opinions 17.5%
- Seeing content from brands 16.5%
- Watching live streams 15.9%
- Watching or following sports 15.2%
- Work-related networking or research 15%
Which Social Media Account Types Are Canadians Following?
Equally as important is the type of social media accounts Canadians are following. If you want to reach them online, you have to be where they are.
The types of social media accounts Canadians follow are:
- People you know (friends & family) 53.6%
- Actors, comedians or other performers 26.1%
- Bands, singers or musicians 25.7%
- TV shows or channels 24.1%
- Entertainment, memes, or parody accounts 23.9%
- Restaurants, chefs or foodies 22.4%
- Brands you purchase from 21%
- Influencers or other experts 20.5%
- Sports people & teams 18.7%
- Brands you’re considering purchasing from 18.4%
- Contacts relevant to work 16%
- Events you’re attending 15.9%
- Journalists or news companies 15%
- Wildlife organisations or animals 14.6%
- Fitness experts or organisations 14.3%
Following Brands & Businesses on Social Media
- 37% of online Canadians follow a brand or company on social media.
- 58% are age 16-34, who follow brands most often on Instagram (78%)
- 44% are age 35-54, who follow brands most often on Facebook (73%)
- 17% are over the age of 55, who follow brands most often on Facebook (75%)
- 87% say they started following a brand after visiting their website.
- 30.8% of Canadian internet users say they use social networks for brand and product research.
- Brands lose followers most often to boredom (60%), misaligned values (50%), or too many posts (50%)
- Canadian marketers spend $3.93 billion USD annually on social media advertising
Brands and businesses often see much better results if they use influencers to reach Canadians on social media. One in 10 Canadians agree, “I often buy a product recommended by an influencer I follow online”; this rate of agreement increases to 1 in 5 among those under 35. Canadian marketers are spending $445.5 million USD annually on influencer activities, an increase of 23.3% YOY ($84 million).
25% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 discover new brands, products and services on social media, according to We Are Social’s stats for brand discovery. Additionally, 17.8 percent discover brands, products and services through a recommendation or comment on social media.
12.8% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 clicked/tapped on a sponsored social media post in the past 30 days prior to taking the 2023 Digital Canada survey.
Social Media Challenges
Canadians are becoming more aware of misinformation and online advertising, which is reflected in their falling level of trust in social media. For example, only 42% of Canadian respondents to a GetApp survey use social media for searching, by comparison to 96 percent who prefer search engines. Forty percent say it’s because they don’t trust the information on social media. That said, Canada’s Hootsuite declared social search optimization to be a “make-or-break skill for marketers,” in their 2023 Social Trends Report.
Canadian businesses are still struggling to keep up with consumers through digital contact points like social media. According to Hootsuite, “Marketers don’t feel equipped for digital customer service, and the implications of unanswered DMs are further reaching than one might think.”
Canadian Social Media Statistics 2023 Snapshot
Following is a summary of the most important Canadian social media statistics for quick reference.
Facebook / Meta
83% of Canadian internet users have an account on Facebook, according to Leger.
Toronto Metropolitan University says 82% of Canadians surveyed are on Facebook.
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports 65% of Canadians surveyed use Facebook.
73.4% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use Facebook each month.
Facebook is popular among all age groups, but there is a generational divide when it comes to HOW they use the network.
Of all social media networks studied, Facebook has more than twice the number of online Canadians age 65+ (78%). YouTube has just over half as many Canadian users in that age group, but the next most popular social network is Pinterest at 33%.
23.3% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 say Facebook is their favourite social media platform.
Canadians spend an average of 15 hours & 42 minutes on Facebook each month.
34% of Canadian users follow influencers or content creators on Facebook.
Facebook sends 53.01% of social media traffic to websites.
The potential reach of ads on Facebook is 20.65 million Canadians.
The average number of Canadian business Facebook page posts per day is 0.96. 25.23% of those are photo posts, 31.32% are videos, 40.41% are links, 3.04% are status posts.
Owned by Facebook/Meta Platforms since 2012
57% of Canadian internet users have an account on Instagram.
Toronto Metropolitan University says 55% of Canadians surveyed are on Instagram.
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports 43% of Canadians surveyed use Instagram.
57% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use Instagram each month.
Instagram is most popular with Canadians age 16-34.
14.9% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 say Instagram is their favourite social media platform.
Canadians spend an average of 9 hours & 30 minutes on Instagram each month.
66% of Canadian users follow influencers or content creators on Instagram.
Instagram sends 11.41% of social media traffic to websites.
The potential reach of ads on Instagram is 15.9 million Canadians.
Owned by Facebook/Meta Platforms since 2014
39% of Canadian internet users have an account on WhatsApp.
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports 39% of Canadians surveyed use WhatsApp.
38.3% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use WhatsApp each month.
WhatsApp is most popular with Canadians age 16-44.
7.1% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 say WhatsApp is their favourite social media platform.
Canadians spend an average of 7 hours & 36 minutes on WhatsApp each month.
YouTube
Owned by Google since 2006
63% of Canadian internet users have an account on YouTube.
Toronto Metropolitan University says 91 percent of survey respondents used YouTube.
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports 54% of Canadians surveyed use YouTube.
YouTube is most popular with online Canadians age 16-44.
Canadians spend an average of 17 hours & 42 minutes on YouTube each month.
44% of Canadian users follow influencers or content creators on YouTube.
YouTube sends 2.29% of social media traffic to websites.
The potential reach of ads on YouTube is 33.1 million Canadians.
42% of Canadian internet users have an account on Pinterest.
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports 17% of Canadians surveyed use Pinterest.
33.5% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use Pinterest each month.
Pinterest is popular for all age groups, but they have a larger female user base (58%) than male (23%).
3.2% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 say Pinterest is their favourite social media platform.
Pinterest sends 14.33% of social media traffic to websites.
The potential reach of ads on Pinterest is 8.44 million Canadians.
39% of Canadian internet users have an account on LinkedIn.
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports 28% of Canadians surveyed use LinkedIn.
32.3% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use LinkedIn each month.
LinkedIn is popular with Canadians in their ’employment years’ (under age 65).
LinkedIn sends 0.6% of social media traffic to websites.
The potential reach of ads on LinkedIn is 21 million Canadians.
59% of Canadian businesses experienced LinkedIn scams this year.
37% of Canadian internet users have an account on Twitter.
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports 23% of Canadians surveyed use Twitter.
39.5% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use Twitter each month.
Twitter is most popular with Canadians age 16-54.
5% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 say Twitter is their favourite social media platform.
20% of Canadian users follow influencers or content creators on Twitter.
Twitter sends 14.13% of social media traffic to websites.
The potential reach of ads on Twitter is 10.4 million Canadians.
Snapchat
28% of Canadian internet users have an account on Snapchat.
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports 14% of Canadians surveyed use Snapchat.
29.9% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use Snapchat each month.
Snapchat is most popular with Canadians age 16-34.
3.3% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 say Snapchat is their favourite social media platform.
The potential reach of ads on Snapchat is 11 million Canadians
TikTok
27% of Canadian internet users have an account on TikTok.
A Toronto Metropolitan University study found TikTok has tripled it’s reach in Canada since 2019, with 29% of survey respondents on the app.
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports 13% of Canadians surveyed use TikTok.
41.1% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use TikTok each month.
TikTok is most popular with Canadians age 16-34.
10.4% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 say TikTok is their favourite social media platform.
Canadians spend an average of 25 hours & 54 minutes on TikTok each month.
28% of Canadian users follow influencers or content creators on TikTok.
Meltwater identified the top TikTok marketing trend in Canada as ‘TikTok for Business’.
The potential reach of ads on TikTok is 10.75 million Canadians.
“However, trust levels for social media platforms declined significantly from 2021, with just one in 10 Canadians having high trust in such apps,” concludes a study by Toronto Metropolitan University. “Trust in TikTok was particularly low, falling so far that the app replaced Facebook as Canada’s least trusted social media organization.”
20% of Canadian internet users have an account on Reddit.
28% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use Reddit each month.
Reddit is most popular with Canadians age 16-34.
3.3% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 say Reddit is their favourite social media platform.
Reddit sends 3.01% of social media traffic to websites.
Discord
18% of Canadian internet users have an account on Discord.
16% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use Discord each month.
Discord is most popular with Canadians age 16-24.
Twitch
12% of Canadian internet users have an account on Twitch.
Twitch is most popular with Canadians age 16-34
Tumblr
7% of Canadian internet users age 16-64 use Tumblr each month.
CIRA’s 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude reports 3% of Canadians surveyed use Tumblr.
Tumblr sends 0.91% of social media traffic to websites.
“Social media has never played a more central role to businesses. As businesses continue to look for ways to future-proof operations and connect with today’s tech-savvy customers, social media and digital marketing will inevitably play a part in nearly every business strategy,” said Maggie Lower, Chief Marketing Officer, Hootsuite. “In 2023, businesses that take a social-first approach to their brand and customer care strategy will be the ones to reap the benefits. Stronger brand reputation, greater customer interaction, trust and loyalty – now and in the future – depends on it.”
If you’d like to compare this data to last year, please see our 2022 Report: Social Media Use in Canada (Statistics).
Stay Tuned!
As more social media data is released throughout 2023, we’ll update this report. Please follow us on social media or subscribe to our newsletter to be notified of updates.
What are your plans to leverage social media for your Canadian business in 2023? Please share in the comments below, or join us in the Online Business Canada Facebook group.
SOURCES:
2023 Social Media Marketing Trends: Report + Actionable Insights
Capturing the evolving consumer habits of Canadians: Vividata’s SCC | Study of the Canadian Consumer | Winter 2023
TikTok is Canada’s least trusted social media platform: TMU study
Search in 2023: Do people trust the information they find online?
CIRA and Strategic Counsel 2023 Trends in Internet Use & Attitude
People spend around 876 hours per year on social media
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THANKS This is so helpful for social media sales & marketing in Canada when all I could find before was old statistics. And all for this year at that! Good job THANKS
So much value here! I’d say the only way to get anywhere on social media is to advertise these days :(.