A 2024 TD Bank survey found that 68 per cent of Gen Z Canadians invest consistently each year — the highest rate of any age group in the country. That number has climbed fast enough that it’s not a blip. It’s a real shift in how young people think about money, and it’s being driven largely by content they find on their phones. Here’s what you actually need to know.
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This article is general information only and does not constitute professional advice. For your specific situation, consult a qualified professional.
Matthew Robertson was 18 when he opened a tax-free savings account, downloaded personal finance apps and started listening to podcasts to learn the stock market. He’s now 21, a fourth-year student at Carleton University, and part of a generation that isn’t waiting for a financial adviser to show up. A 2024 report by the Canadian Securities Administrators found about 82 per cent of 18-to-24-year-olds use investment advice from social media. For anyone trying to understand where the next generation of investors is coming from, that figure is the starting point.
Robertson puts it plainly: “Looking to our future, we kind of have to take finances into our own hands if we want to be able to afford a home one day, or to be able to raise a family.” That motivation — practical, future-focused, slightly impatient — runs through almost everything I see in this trend. And it’s worth understanding the full picture before jumping in, because the same channels that make investing accessible also carry real risks. If you’re a young Canadian figuring out how to start, a guide to building financial independence from the ground up can help frame the bigger picture.
How to Read This Trend
The key concept here is the finfluencer — a financial influencer who creates content around budgeting, investing and crypto, often without formal credentials. They’re filling a gap that schools and traditional advisers have left open. Alyssa Davies, who runs the platform Mixed Up Money and has more than 85,000 followers on TikTok, started her channel more than a decade ago because the existing financial discourse was dominated by “a lot of white men talking about how we should pull up our bootstraps and just manage our money better.” That tone caused real burnout for people managing student loans and consumer debt at the same time.
For young people who view money as a taboo topic, Davies says building a positive human connection through a screen matters, even if it’s one-sided. “We want to take advice from people who get it — people who we can relate to, people who look like us and sound like us. Not just experts walking around in suits.” That relatability is a real advantage. But it also means the line between education and entertainment can blur fast. My first move when I encounter a new finfluencer is to check whether they disclose conflicts, show their track record, and separate opinion from fact. Those three things separate useful content from marketing.
The Risks Behind the Numbers
Errol Osecki, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management, researches the mental-health effects of financial influencer content and the parasocial relationships viewers develop with creators. When a viewer feels a personal connection to someone on screen, they’re more likely to trust financial advice that would raise red flags in a formal setting. That dynamic is one of the less-discussed hazards of the trend.
Michael O’Brien, a financial adviser at SunLife Financial in St. John’s, N.L., sees the fallout directly. He says many young Canadians are “a little bit lost” and overwhelmed by 15 different pieces of advice coming from different sources. He also notices more Gen Zs who want to manage a portion of their finances on their own — a healthy instinct, but one that works best when paired with a basic framework for evaluating what they’re hearing. O’Brien hopes education systems evolve to provide high school students with financial education, because right now most of that burden falls on the student and their phone.
There’s a trade-off here that doesn’t get talked about enough. The same platforms that make investing accessible also make it easy to act on incomplete information. A 2024 report on understanding your financial protections shows how gaps in knowledge about one product can create blind spots in your overall plan. The same principle applies to investing — a hot tip about a stock doesn’t help if you haven’t understood the basics of risk, diversification, or fees first.
Where Young Investors Commonly Go Wrong
Treating every finfluencer as a fiduciary
Not everyone making investing content has your best interest in mind. Some are paid to promote products, some are speculating themselves, and some are simply wrong. Robertson’s approach is the right one: he encounters financial advice on social media but doesn’t take it at face value, and he urges other young people to do their own research and avoid blindly trusting anyone on the internet. The difference between a tip and a recommendation often comes down to whether the creator has read the prospectus, held the asset through a downturn, or disclosed their incentive.
Overestimating short-term knowledge
Watching a few explainer videos on crypto or options trading can create a false sense of competence. The research shows that young investors are more likely to chase high-volatility assets and trade frequently, which racks up fees and taxes. The TD Bank survey found that 68% of Gen Z are investing consistently — but consistency isn’t the same as strategy. A regular contribution to a diversified, low-cost fund will outperform a portfolio of meme stocks in most scenarios, and the difference grows over time.
Ignoring fees and tax structure
Many young investors jump straight into trading apps without understanding the fee structure or the tax implications of their trades. A TFSA allows growth to compound tax-free, but only if you know the contribution limit and don’t over-contribute. A simple misunderstanding of how capital gains or dividends work inside a registered account can cost hundreds of dollars a year. The table below breaks down the common vehicles and their key trade-offs.
→ Scroll right to see all columns
| Account Type | Key Benefit | Common Mistake |
|---|---|---|
| TFSA | Tax-free growth and withdrawals | Exceeding contribution room |
| RRSP | Tax-deferred growth, lower taxable income | Withdrawing early and losing the room |
| Non-registered account | No contribution limits | Forgetting to track capital gains for tax season |
| FHSA | Tax-free withdrawals for a first home | Not using the funds before the 15-year deadline |
Starting Out on Solid Ground
If you’re a young Canadian looking to begin investing, the structure matters more than the amount. Opening a TFSA with a low-cost, diversified ETF is a cleaner starting point than picking individual stocks based on a TikTok recommendation. The same principles that apply to managing a mortgage — understanding your time horizon, your cash flow, and your risk tolerance — apply to building an investment portfolio, even if the numbers are smaller.
Set up the right accounts first
A TFSA should be the first port of call for most young investors. The contribution room accumulates from age 18, and any growth inside the account is tax-free, even when you withdraw. If you’re saving for a first home, the FHSA adds another layer of tax-free growth that converts into a tax-free withdrawal when you’re ready to buy. Getting these accounts open early means the contribution room starts building whether you fund them or not.
Learn the mechanics of a trade
Before you buy anything, understand what a bid-ask spread is, how market orders differ from limit orders, and what settlement means. Most trading platforms have a demo mode or a paper-trading feature. Using that for a few weeks before putting real money in is a low-cost way to learn the interface without the pressure of losing cash. A simple stock market guide for beginners can fill in the terminology that social media posts skip over.
Build a filter for social media advice
Not all finfluencer content is useless, but it helps to have a quick mental checklist. Does the creator say whether they own the asset they’re talking about? Do they mention the risks, not just the upside? Are they trying to sell you something? Robertson prefers podcasts because they tend to go deeper than a 60-second video, but he still applies the same scrutiny. The goal is to use social media as a discovery tool, not a decision engine.
The emerging role of financial literacy in schools
Michael O’Brien hopes education systems evolve to provide high school students with financial education. Some provinces have started introducing personal finance into the curriculum, but it’s patchy. Until that’s standard, the burden falls on individual learners to seek out reliable sources. A course-based approach — even a free online module — tends to produce more consistent results than scrolling through short-form content. If you’re a parent or educator, a personal finance workbook for teens can provide structured learning that social media can’t replicate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age should a Canadian teen start investing? ▾
How much money do you need to start investing in Canada? ▾
Is it safe to take investment advice from TikTok or Instagram? ▾
What is a finfluencer? ▾
Do I need a financial adviser if I’m just starting out? ▾
What’s the biggest mistake young investors make? ▾
What Comes Next
The trend of young Canadians learning to invest early isn’t slowing down. The data shows Gen Z is already the most investing-active generation in the country, and the next cohort behind them is being raised on the same platforms. The question isn’t whether social media will play a role in financial education — it already does. The question is how well young people learn to separate useful content from noise.
The ones who do that well — who use social media as a starting point, not a finish line — will have a real advantage. They’ll start earlier, make fewer expensive mistakes, and benefit from the compounding that happens when you give your money more time to grow. The rest will learn the same lessons, but at a higher cost.
Remember: this article is general information only. For advice on your specific situation, speak to a qualified professional.
If this was useful, you might also want to read Save Money with Community Supported Agriculture in Canada.
Sources and Further Reading
From Employee to Entrepreneur: A Canadian Guide to Starting Your Own Firm — A practical look at the financial steps involved in making the leap from salary to self-employment, including budgeting, tax structure, and business registration.
Tips for Scoliosis Brace Reimbursement in Canada — Understanding how insurance claims and reimbursement processes work in Canada, with lessons that apply to managing other health-related financial products.
BNN Bloomberg (2025). Gen Z’s growing interest in financial advice and investing fuelled by social media. 🔗
Toronto Star (2025). Gen Z’s growing interest in financial advice and investing fuelled by social media. 🔗
TD Bank (2024). Gen Z investing survey. Referenced by BNN Bloomberg and Toronto Star.
Canadian Securities Administrators (2024). Social media and investment advice report. Referenced by BNN Bloomberg and Toronto Star.
