Canada Social Media Statistics

What if your business was missing out on the marketing opportunity of a lifetime?

That opportunity is, of course, social media. Right now, 4.48 billion people worldwide use social media. Accordingly, social media is more popular in Canada than ever before.

What does this mean for the average Canadian business? By understanding the right Canadian social media statistics, you can discover potential marketing opportunities for your company.

Want to discover these stats and what they mean for your business? Keep reading to learn the answers!

How Many Canadians Use Social Media?

Right now, there are 33.3 million social media users in Canada. This means that more than 87% of the entire country regularly uses various social media platforms.

As you can see, the use of social media in Canada is staggering. If your business isn’t trying to market to these users, then you are leaving a lot of potential money on the table.

Despite this, many businesses have been slow to embrace the digital marketing possibilities of social media. If you go ahead and do so, you may be able to succeed where your competition has failed.

Social Media Users in Canada vs. Number of Users Online

Discovering how many use social media in Canada brings up another question. How many Canadians use social media compared to the number of Canadians who access the internet on a regular basis?

Right now, there are 36.89 million people in Canada who use the internet. And there are 33.3 million social media users. Therefore, over 90% of internet users in the country use social media!

In other words, we are reaching a point where internet usage is a good predictor of whether or not someone is online. And as internet access becomes even more widespread throughout the country, we will see even more people join the growing ranks of social media.

How Did COVID-19 Impact Canadian Social Media Statistics?

According to research from Insider Intelligence, Canada gained 1.2 million additional social media users since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the pandemic increased how much time the average Canadian spends online.

This increased time on social media is most prominent among those aged 15 to 34. In this group, 90% report doing more online activities since the pandemic, including social media.

Even senior citizens are getting in on the action. Of Canadians aged 65-74, 54% report engaging in more online activities. And 48% of the entire country reports trying some form of online activity for the first time since the pandemic.

Overall, these Canadian social media statistics show the powerful impact COVID had on the country and its collective use of social media.

Social Media User Growth Per Year

Research shows us that the number of social media users in Canada grew by 3.4% between 2021 and 2022. What is less clear is whether this growth will be sustained in the coming years.

Many assume that social media usage, like internet usage, got a bump during the pandemic because people were otherwise locked down. When you cannot easily see your friends or family during the pandemic, then social media provides an easy and logical way of staying in touch.

For better or for worse, many restrictions have lightened regarding COVID, and the average citizen is taking it less seriously than before. Because of this, we may not see as much of a social media user boost in subsequent years.

Related: TikTok vs. YouTube

How Smartphones Are Increasing the Use of Social Media in Canada

Ever wonder why some Canadians have not yet embraced social media? For many people, this is an issue of internet access. Once those who were not connected to the internet before gain access, they often begin using social media in very short order.

Therefore, one of the biggest factors impacting access to social media has been access to smartphones. As these phones become cheaper and more prevalent, more people within the country can use the internet than ever before.

In recent years, the number of mobile internet users in Canada has increased to 31.9 million. This helps to explain the explosive popularity of different social media platforms.

Related: Smartphone usage stats in Canada

Canadian Social Media Priorities

So far, we have focused on the increasing number of Canadians that are using social media. However, it’s also important for any growing business to understand what the country’s social media priorities are like.

Recent research has discovered that the highest priority among Canadians on social media is staying in touch with friends and family. The next most popular activities include reading the news, discovering new content, finding out what others are talking about, and (of course) killing time.

Such information is important for any business hoping to engage in digital marketing. For example, once you know how important discovering new content is to the average Canadian, you can focus on creating the kind of content your customers crave.

What Are the Most Popular Social Media Platforms in Canada?

The most popular social media platform in Canada is Facebook. The next most popular platforms include Instagram and Twitter.

Across users of social media in Canada, nearly 77% of people use Facebook. Meanwhile, a little over 58% use Instagram, and nearly 37% use Twitter.

As veteran social media platforms, it’s not necessarily surprising that these platforms are so popular (and why you should have a marketing presence on them). However, some of these apps (especially Facebook) now skew to an older generation.

Younger audiences, meanwhile, flock to platforms such as TikTok and Youtube. That makes it more important to figure out how the TikTok algorithm works.

Facebook’s Powerful Ad Reach

Many people speculate about the downfall of Facebook, but this doesn’t keep businesses from using it for digital marketing. And the reason is simple: Facebook’s ad reach is just too powerful to overlook.

As of early 2022, Facebook’s ad reach is approximately 56.7% of internet users throughout the country. And this reach is split pretty evenly: 54.1% are women and 45.9% are men.

This reach pairs well with Facebook’s extensive marketing tools. If you’re looking to market a business (especially a newer business), then Facebook is one of the best social media platforms to use!

TikTok Gains Steam

At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss TikTok and its relevance to Canada. After all, it is used by less than half of the people who use Facebook on a regular basis. But it’s worth keeping an eye on TikTok because of how it has grown in popularity in such a short time.

For example, TikTok is considered a new kid on the block. Despite this, it is used by a little over 32% of the national population. That means TikTok blew past rival apps such as LinkedIn (31.4%) and Reddit (26.70%) in very short order.

As a result of this, marketing via TikTok has become more popular and more effective. And since TikTok is only going to gain more steam in the coming years, this is the perfect time to use it as a digital marketing tool.

The Importance of Responsive Design

Remember when we pointed out that the growing number of social media users is tied to the growing number of smartphone users? That brings up a very important point: the need to use responsive design on your website.

Right now, you might not be thinking about site design because you are focused on social media. However, what is the ultimate goal of social media marketing? For most businesses, the goal is to steer more prospective customers toward their websites.

When you create a site with a responsive design, it automatically resizes to look great on both a desktop and a mobile device. This is doubly important since, in the next three years, as much as 75% of the world will only access the internet via smartphone.

Messaging Apps Gain Popularity in Canada

What do you think about when you hear the term “social media?” Most people imagine platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, with these apps providing the “likes,” “tweets,” and even the Reels we love so much. However, messaging apps are a form of social media, and they have gained major popularity within Canada.

Just as Facebook is the most popular traditional social media platform, Facebook Messenger is the most popular messaging app. It is currently used by a whopping 64.4% of the country!

Next in line is WhatsApp, which is used by 38.5% of the country. And I Message, which is sued by 38.2% of Canadians.

Compared to some of the veteran messaging programs, Snapchat is gaining major steam. Right now, it is used by 30.3%. Meanwhile, Discord, an app originally designed with gamers in mind, is used by 15.10% of the country.

LinkedIn’s Growing (and Waning) Popularity in Canada

LinkedIn is not a social media platform we associate with having fun. Rather, this app is all about making connections and landing your dream job. Because of that, it has gained major popularity among Canadians.

How popular? Right now, 37% of online Canadians have a LinkedIn account. And almost a quarter of the country reports using LinkedIn more than any other platform!

Despite this popularity, the adoption of LinkedIn has actually dropped by seven percent since 2020. Only the next few years will reveal whether LinkedIn bounces back or if this is the start of an ongoing decline.

Enjoy Tomorrow’s Digital Marketing Today!

Now you know the most important Canadian social media statistics. But do you know who can help you make the most out of this knowledge?

Here at HeyTony, we specialize in bringing social media content to life. To discover how we can maximize your company’s use of social media, just contact us today!