Ä¢¹½AV

TikTok continues to attract a lot of attention, both good and bad. The hype around its heavily engaged and coveted Gen Z audience is real. But concerns over alleged privacy violations have made it a target for regulators, and user trust of the platform has suffered as a result.

Canada ranks near the top of the list of countries for average daily time spent with media, with digital formats driving consumption to new levels.

TikTok is ByteDance’s global engine: Despite slowing growth in China, the platform continues to expand monetization and user base worldwide.

The news: Gander Social is an upcoming Canadian social platform built on the decentralized AT Protocol, similar to Bluesky. Gander rejects algorithmic feeds, ad surveillance, and dark UX patterns, per Metricool. As an alternative to networks like X, Meta’s Threads, and Bluesky, it offers user-controlled content, privacy by design, and community-first tools—hosted entirely within Canada. It will be available as a closed beta in August. Our take: As algorithmic fatigue and platform distrust grow, demand is rising for community-driven, ad-light spaces. Marketers should watch Gander as a testbed for the next wave of privacy-first, hyper-local platforms.

Influencer marketing in Canada is growing. It is driven, in larger part, by the expansion of social media advertising, a staple for most brand marketers.

The news: TikTok is facing unprecedented global regulatory challenges, notably in Canada, Australia, and the United States. The Canadian government ordered ByteDance to shut down its Canadian subsidiary, citing national security concerns. However, the TikTok app—which has 10 million users in Canada, per our forecast—is still accessible in Canada.

TikTok looks strong in Asia as it faces bans elsewhere: Countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand fuel the app's growth in its home region.

But the ad doesn’t appear to be running on TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram yet, which could limit the ad’s reach and impressions.

Heavy media consumption in Canada across digital and traditional channels has led to a range of effective ad formats for brands.

Moving across the US-Canada border can be the first step toward international expansion for retailers. Canadian brands like lululemon athletica and Aritzia are thriving in the US. Meanwhile, US-based companies Lowe’s, Nordstrom, and Bed Bath & Beyond recently announced they were leaving Canada. And let’s not forget Target’s famous Canadian failure. Here’s a look at how brands on both sides of the border have fared, and the lessons you can learn from them.