The gig economy is reshaping how Canadians work as more people take on side hustles without fully understanding their obligations to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), according to a new survey commissioned by H&R Block Canada.
Nearly one in five Canadians (17%) reported working in the gig economy in 2025, representing close to six million adults. Participation is highest among younger adults, with more than a quarter (26%) of those aged 18–34 saying they did gig work in the past year.
At the same time, the research found hundreds of thousands of those workers are under-reporting income, even after the introduction of new reporting rules that require gig and digital marketplace platforms to share users’ details and earnings with the CRA. More than a third of gig workers (36%) said they did not declare all their gig income on last year’s return, and 29% said they do not plan to report all of it this tax season.
“Many Canadians are taking a big risk by not declaring all their gig-related income, which can come with significant penalties should they ever be audited by the CRA,” said Yannick Lemay, tax expert at H&R Block Canada. “In 2024 the federal government implemented new legislation that requires digital gig platforms like Etsy and Airbnb to report income of its users to the CRA, meaning that the CRA is now able to cross reference these figures with what the individual taxpayers are reporting.”
For insurers, the findings point to a fast-growing, often underinsured customer segment whose work patterns, income sources and risk profiles do not fit neatly into traditional personal or commercial lines.
From an insurance perspective, many gig workers are effectively running small businesses through personal policies that were never designed for that exposure. The same cohort that is willing to take tax risks is frequently operating in gray areas of coverage.
In personal auto, standard policies in Canada often exclude carrying passengers or goods for a fee unless a specific rideshare or delivery endorsement is added. Some insurers will decline or non-renew risks that regularly use a vehicle for app-based work. Dedicated commercial or hybrid products are available in some provinces for rideshare and delivery drivers, but awareness and take-up vary, leading to disputes when claims arise.
Similar questions are emerging in home and liability coverage, as more people use their homes as workplaces, storage hubs or short-term rentals, or monetize digital services from home. Existing wordings may not fully capture exposures related to third-party injury, property damage, data breaches or business interruption tied to side hustles.
For carriers and brokers, the survey results underline the need for clearer disclosures at point of sale, more targeted questions on applications and renewals, and product development that can flex with multiple income streams and variable hours.
The survey highlighted a clear generational divide in attitudes toward tax compliance. Overall, one-third of gig workers (33%) say they would be willing to take the risk of not declaring any gig-related income to the CRA when filing their taxes. Among gig workers aged 18–34, that figure rose to 41%.
Confusion appears to be part of the problem. More than one in four gig workers (26%) said they do not feel they have a clear understanding of the tax implications of having a side hustle or gig job.
Lemay noted that gig workers are generally treated as self-employed in the eyes of the CRA and that there are “thousands of expenses you may be able to claim,” depending on the nature of the work and whether the expenses meet the CRA’s “stress test.” To qualify, costs must be documented, reasonable and genuinely required for the business rather than personal use. Filing on time and accurately, he said, is the simplest way to avoid penalties and ensure workers do not miss out on credits and deductions.
For insurers, that same lack of clarity is mirrored in coverage. Younger gig workers may not fully understand when a personal policy stops responding because an activity is deemed commercial, or what kind of riders, endorsements or separate policies they need to protect income, assets and liability tied to their side work.
H&R Block’s survey links much of the recent growth in gig work to financial pressure. Just over half of gig workers (51%) said they started in the gig economy or took on a side hustle in the last year because of rising inflation and cost-of-living increases.
At the same time, a majority of Canadians believe the traditional job model is fading. Seventy per cent (70%) think the era of a standard nine-to-five job is disappearing, and nearly one-third (31%) said they cannot imagine staying in the same job for more than 10 years. Among 18–34-year-olds, 46% said they cannot see themselves remaining in one role for a decade.
Despite that shift, most respondents still see clear advantages in conventional employment. Nine in 10 Canadians said access to benefits such as RRSP matching programs, employer pension plans, health care and dental coverage is a key attraction of being an employee rather than self-employed, a contractor or a gig worker.
For carriers, that tension between flexibility and security is already feeding demand for more portable, individually purchased protection. As more people juggle multiple roles and non-traditional work patterns, products such as standalone health, income protection, accident, life and even micro-coverage for specific gigs could become more important in closing protection gaps previously filled by group benefits.
The survey also pointed to a broader cultural change. Eighty-two per cent (82%) of Canadians feel it is harder than ever for those starting their careers to get a job. In response, many are turning to contract, freelance and platform-based work.
Three-quarters of respondents (75%) said Canadians have become more entrepreneurial by taking on side hustles or gig roles through platforms such as Uber, Etsy, DoorDash and TaskRabbit. Most gig workers are open about that activity, with 61% saying their primary employer is aware of their side hustle.
Other recent research suggests the true scale of gig activity may be even larger. A 2025 Securian Canada report found that 22% of adults – about 7.3 million people – now do some form of gig work, with four million using it to supplement a full-time job. Statistics Canada has estimated that around 2.7 million people participated in gig work in 2023 under broader definitions of contingent and platform work, and nearly 665,000 earned income through digital platforms in the 12 months to December 2024.
That evolution raises questions about how well current products capture gig-related exposures in personal auto, home, commercial liability, income protection and even cyber, as individuals increasingly monetize digital skills and assets from home.
At the same time, the growing data trail on gig income and platform usage could, over time, support more refined underwriting and pricing for this segment. Platform-level information, if accessible and privacy-compliant, may help insurers distinguish between occasional side hustlers and full-time platform workers, align coverage more closely with actual risk, and identify where customers’ work realities have outgrown their existing policies.
Ultimately, the combination of CRA reporting changes and rising gig participation is both a warning and an opening: those who can translate complex tax and regulatory shifts into clear coverage conversations may be best placed to win and retain this emerging class of Canadian workers.
