Study shows more Canadians are choosing YouTube than ever before

According to a new study by the firm Numeris, YouTube is the most-watched streaming platform in Canada, beating out platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney.

Numeris also noted in a Google blog post that YouTube is the number one video platform for Canadian Adults aged 18-44, outperforming all major broadcasters and streaming services in both weekly reach and total time spent.

On the topic of reach, Numeris said that YouTube has the largest ad-supported reach among streaming platforms available in Canada (Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney+, and Crave, to name a few).

The main reason why Google shared this study is that the company recently announced new scalable, AI-powered ad products for advertisers to tap into the nation-leading audience.

This includes:

• Affiliate partnerships boost: This feature lets brands boost organic content (made by an actual person) that their products are tagged in. (early availability in select markets)
• Multimodal Video Creation: This uses Google’s latest AI models (Gemini, Nano Banana, Veo) to speed up the ad creation process,  in what Google describes as moving from “creative brief to final production with just a few prompts.” (will be available globally in Q3)
• Masthead with Custom Content Shelf: Enhances the YouTube masthead, allowing marketers to add additional content alongside their main ad content across YouTube’s most prominent placement (Global Beta launch in Q4)
• Buy with GPay: allows viewers to make purchases directly from their TV with just two clicks (Global Beta launch later this year
• Custom Sponsorships: Uses AI to dynamically surface videos that are tailored to a brand’s desired moment. (early availability in select markets)