By Jonathan Chevreau on July 3, 2026 Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Online “finfluencers” grow up

By Jonathan Chevreau on July 3, 2026 Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Canada's top finfluencers share how they built trust, grew audiences and navigate increasing regulatory scrutiny in a rapidly maturing industry.

If you’re someone near or at retirement, has a column like the one you’re now reading ever “finfluenced” any of your financial decisions? Increasingly, many Canadian investors are turning to a new generation of voices online, a trend that regulators are starting to watch more closely. 

A finfluencer is simply a financial influencer, a contraction similar to my own “findependence” for financial independence. And while I’m tooting my own horn here, let me disclose that I am myself considered to be a finfluencer, at least here in Canada.

I say that following a Toronto gathering of many of Canada’s top finfluencers organized by BMO ETFs in early June at Cboe Canada. The Creator Insights Forum featured a scrolling highlight reel of leading content creators, including yours truly. The forum brought financial content creators together to acknowledge the growing influence of their voices and the role they play in educating Canadian financial consumers. While regulatory considerations were discussed, the broader emphasis was on helping creators navigate the space responsibly.

Back in April 2025, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) released a research report titled “Social Media and Retail Investing: The Rise of Finfluencers.” It found that investors are indeed quite influenced by finfluencers: OSC research on 655 Canadian retail investors found 35% of them had made a financial decision based on advice from a finfluencer. Furthermore, 24% of 1,465 Canadian social media users (both investors and non-investors) exposed to finance-related social media posts were found to have purchased the promoted assets, versus just 7% of those not so exposed.  

“Financial advice on social media is appealing because retail investors perceive it to be accessible, free, and informative,” the OSC said. “While retail investors believe finfluencers are generally motivated by self-interest, about 40% of investors believe that the finfluencers they follow are trustworthy. Those who have made a financial decision based on finfluencer advice were seven times more likely to trust finfluencers they follow.”

I found the forum to be eye-opening as it brought me face-to-face........

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