Side Hustles Are Growing Up: Gen Z Turns Gigs Into Businesses

Nearly one in four Canadians now earns money through side hustles, according to new national data from Ownr — and the country's youngest workers are treating those gigs less like pocket money and more like startups. The finding comes from Ownr's Canadian Side Hustle Report, released in October 2026, based on an Ipsos survey of 1,501 adults conducted in early September.

The numbers paint a country of almost-hustlers. Around 23% of adults say they currently earn income from side hustles, and 24% want to start one, meaning nearly half of Canadians are in the game or knocking on the door. Money is the engine: about two in five say they are topping up their regular income, roughly a third point to the rising cost of living, and about a quarter are trying to pay down debt.

Gen Z is turning gigs into real companies

Ambition is where the generational split shows. While 43% of people running side hustles call their gig a real business, that share climbs to 55% among Gen Z respondents. Nearly one in five say they are likely to leave their job and pursue the venture full time, a figure that rises to 29% among the youngest cohort. And 22% say their hustle already earns enough to skip a regular job entirely, compared with 31% of Gen Z earners.

That matches a separate RBC poll from September 2026, which found that nearly half of Gen Z business owners juggle side hustles alongside full-time work — a trend other surveys frame as career insurance against layoffs. "There's a lot of entrepreneurial ambition in Canada, and this data proves that even more of it may be hiding in plain sight," said Jordan Casey, chief executive of Ownr. The press release adds that a side hustle eventually "becomes a business," and the report is aimed squarely at that transition: the moment when extra income starts demanding real paperwork.

The legal-readiness gap

Confidence drops as soon as things get official. About 37% of people with side hustles say they don't know when they need to register their business, and 38% don't understand the legal requirements that apply to them. That means more than a third of earners are operating in a gray area without realizing what their obligations are.

The formalization gap has a gender skew. Women are less likely than men to say they know when to register their business or understand their tax obligations, the survey found. Roughly two in five people running side hustles aren't sure whether incorporation is right for them either, which suggests the leap from gig to company is as much an information problem as a money one.

Time is the other constraint. Finding hours between a day job and everything else is the biggest challenge for about 28% of hustlers, who spend an average of thirteen hours a week on their side hustles. A quarter also cite burnout or simply not knowing where to start.

The tax part nobody posts about

Here is the unglamorous half of the dream, and the part that can cost you if you ignore it. MoneySense reports that the Canada Revenue Agency requires residents to report all self-employment income, including gig and platform work, and the agency can cross-check what platforms report. Because no employer is withholding taxes, it pays to set aside a portion of every payout — and self-employed workers owe both the employee and employer shares of Canada Pension Plan contributions.

There is also a threshold to watch: in general, you should register for GST or HST once your taxable sales pass thirty thousand dollars over four calendar quarters. The upside is real too — reasonable business expenses are deductible, so tracking receipts can cut the bill. That is the part that matters for anyone whose side hustles involve selling art, running a tutoring page, or flipping clothes online: once the money starts flowing, the paperwork starts too.

Canada is going in a different direction than the US

The formalization story looks different south of the border. LendingTree data found that fewer Americans hold side hustles than at any point in the past four years, though those who remain are earning more than ever. In Canada, the interesting shift is not the size of the paycheck — it is the number of earners deciding their hustle is a business in waiting.

A fair counterpoint: most side hustles stay small by choice, and going full time is not the only measure of success. Formalizing too early can mean paying fees and filing obligations on a venture that is still finding customers — and finding customers is the biggest challenge of all, the report says. Ownr's own advice starts with knowing your numbers: set clear income and profitability milestones before making any major change.

For young Canadians watching the cost of living climb, the message cuts both ways. The barrier to starting has never been lower, but the barrier to doing it properly is real. Side hustles only become businesses when the people behind them understand the rules — and right now, the ambition is running well ahead of the paperwork.