Creator content has upended U.S. politics. Now it’s influencing Canada’s elections to the tune of millions of views.

In 2023, the Canadian government passed a law that aimed to protect news providers on social media. Instead, the statute has granted more power to the nation’s creator community.

Two weeks out from Canada’s 2025 federal election, creator content related to the vote is receiving millions of views. Like in the United States, Canadian influencers have become a potent political force, and local laws are feeding that paradigm shift.

The 2023 law, known as the Online News Act, stipulates that social media platforms must compensate news outlets if they wish to disseminate content from those organizations. Perhaps the intention was to give journalists a better deal, but Meta went for the nuclear option instead: It banned news posts on the Canadian versions of Facebook and Instagram after the Online News Act went into effect.

The lost visibility for traditional news outlets has led to commensurate increases for Canada’s political creators. According to The Globe and Mail, those digital-native pundits are getting “millions of views” via platforms like TikTok.

Emily Laidlaw, the Canada Research Chair in cybersecurity at the University of Calgary, told The Globe In Mail that Meta’s ban on news posts has sent political junkies rushing to TikTok. “We are seeing influencers filling the space and conversations moving elsewhere,” she said. She added that political news seekers are “not drawing a distinction between news from traditional media and influencers on social media.”

The Online News Act is not just concerning because of its impact on news literacy. It also potentially plays into the hands of the right wing. During the 2024 U.S. presidential election, conservatives were best able to translate online viewership into desired results

. Upon President Trump’s reelection, he immediately indicated that creators would be welcome to apply for press credentials at the White House.

There is evidence to suggest that a similar phenomenon is occurring in Canada. The Globe and Mail noted that right-leaning organizations like Fox News and the Daily Mail are seeing some of the strongest gains on the Canadian version of TikTok. In the United States, Fox News’ social media success sparked a wave of young, influential conservative pundits. If conservative candidate Pierre Poilievre enjoys a similar boost in Canada’s 2025 election, north-of-the-border officials may be forced to admit that social media restrictions play into the hands of right-wing parties.

In general, Canada seems to be slow to catch up with the changes creators have brought to the political landscape. Canadian campaigns typically operate on a tighter schedule than their American counterparts, but TikTokers can advocate for their favorite candidates and policies year-round. The only way to slow them down may be a wholesale TikTok ban, which Canada seems to have considered. But even that won’t stem the tide — political influencers are already ascendant, and it may be too late to curb their rising influence.