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How to Make Money Online in Canada

Written by
Gary Stevens

Updated On
December 23, 2025

Reading Time
9 min

Want to know how to make money online in Canada? We’ve got you. Whether it’s remote work opportunities or selling your own merchandise from your virtual store, we’ll cover all the best ways to earn money from the comfort of your own home.

Why Make Money Online in Canada?

Regardless if it’s doing online jobs Canada-based companies may offer, or creating your own online side-hustles, there are several ways to make money from home. The benefits of income from virtual sources include:

Tons of people are asking questions like, “Can you make $100 a day online from home?” In some cases, yes, and in others, it may be a little bit more spread out. It all depends on the kind of work you get into and how well your marketing efforts take hold. But we’ll get into all that.

Top Freelancing Opportunities in Canada

Freelancing is becoming increasingly popular in Canada, especially in online formats. It enables companies to hire for project-based needs quickly, without the fuss and time consuming wait of hiring permanent staff. It’s also a great way to cut the costs that a permanent hire brings, meaning they have a better budget to find the help they need and have a wider net of talent to pull from, since remote positions aren’t limited to local talent.

As for the freelancers themselves, there is a big draw for earning extra money and having the flexibility to make your own hours and decide which projects are right for you, and which ones you prefer to pass on.

There are several types of online freelance work, here are some examples of freelancing Canada opportunities:

The list goes on. Really, most fields of work can have a freelancing element to it, especially if you find the right employer who is willing to take advantage of technology and the flexibility it brings.

For those new to freelancing, here are some tips to get started:

Build your freelancing identity. This could mean starting a website, building a portfolio, registering as a business, creating a business bank account to help track your payments, and other such establishing factors.
Decide the type of freelance work you will do, and if you want to be specialized or offer more general services in your field. Sometimes specializing helps give you an edge with employers trying to fulfill a specific need, whereas other times filling general needs can give you more opportunities.
Start reaching out for work. This could include word of mouth, looking on sites such as LinkedIn, using platforms like Upwork, Indeed, and Fiverr, or even seeing if there are interning opportunities to get your foot in the door.
Building a network of contacts and peers in your field can also be helpful, as they may be able to send freelance work your way if they are too busy to take it on themselves.

How to Sell Products Online in Canada

For anyone wanting to sell products online, there are tons of options. You can sell handmade goods, look into dropshipping (where your customers send you an order and a third-party manufacturer fills it), print on demand, or any other number of similar methods. Regardless of the product you sell, you will need an online store to make it work.

There are lots of possible platforms you can sell from. We’ll cover two particularly popular ones, Shopify and Etsy. We’ll give you the steps to set up your own shop, below. However, regardless of the platform you choose, the instructions are overall pretty similar. Also, we’re giving you really bare-bones instructions. Setting up a business can get complex, so be sure to do your own homework and look into aspects such as tax rates, payment portals, merchandising costs and sources, marketing tactics, all that fun stuff. Now, on to the actual shop instructions:

Shopify:

Choose your Shopify plan and create your account. Keep in mind particulars like what features come with which plan, if you are going to use your own domain name or use Shopify for this service, renewal pricing vs introductory pricing, etc.
Add your products to your Shopify store. You can do this from your admin dashboard, which lets you include pricing info, images, variations like different colors or sizes, and other such important details.
Choose your theme template for your Shopify site, and also feel free to customize it through the various available controls and tools available from your dashboard.
Set up your domain. You can either link your Shopify site to an existing domain, purchase one through them, or just use their forever free myshopify.com URL.
Fine-tune your shipping settings via the shipping and delivery section of your dashboard. These will include factors such as taxes, shipping costs, delivery methods, etc.
Set up your various payment processes, such as connecting to approved payment gateways and providers.
Add other pages to your store, such as “About Us” or “Contacts.”
Connect Apps that apply to your needs. There are thousands to choose from that will help expand your online store’s functions.
Make a test order to be sure everything is working.
Launch your store.

Want to learn more? Here’s our in-depth Shopify guide.

For Etsy:

Create your Etsy account.
Fill in your preferences for your shop, such as your currency and language.
Name your Etsy shop. It needs to be 20 characters or less and not match already used shop names.
Create your various listings, which include things like photos of the product, item details, prices, shipping costs, etc.
Input your payment information and other tax information, such as your legal business address, phone number, and other identifying info needed for Etsy’s tax records.
Input your credit card info for various Etsy fees, such as listing and transaction fees.
Press the “Open your Shop” button to have your shop go live.
Enter your shop policies, such as expected wait times for items and return policies.
Add your bio and photo, if relevant.

Making Money Through Digital Content Creation

Another popular way for Canadians to make money online is through digital content creation, such as blogging or making videos. Here is a brief rundown of particularly popular types of online content you could potentially make money doing.

Blogging

Creators in the realm of blogging Canada (and beyond) can still make some decent income. No, blogging doesn’t have the same popularity it once did, as video content has taken over, but it still has relevance for making money. Some particularly successful Canadian bloggers have found their niches in areas like recipe blogs, travel tips and experiences, and even beauty and haircare. Income can be earned through monetization methods like affiliate marketing, sponsorships, ads, and even selling your own products, such as your own cookbook. There is lots of room for creativity here.

Videos and Podcasts

YouTube has been a wildly popular platform for years now, with no signs of letting up. It’s a legit way to make some money online, if you have the savvy to make entertaining videos on subjects people want to see. There are various YouTube channel earnings, including YouTube Shopping, ad revenue, channel memberships, SuperChat, and more. On that note, podcasts have similar types of revenue, especially ads and affiliate marketing, which greatly help podcasters keep their show financially supported. Podcasts are well-loved and still explosively popular, with subject matter pretty much as wide ranging as you can think of. For that reason, it’s important to try to find your own niche in an overwhelming sea of options.

Online Gaming

Another creative venue for making money online in Canada is Twitch streaming or other types of video game content. While playing games in front of “chat” is one of the most common aspects of Twitch streaming, there are plenty of channels that also do just talking or even arts and crafts in front of their audience. Most income from Twitch is side-hustle only money, but there are some streamers who make it big. If nothing else, it can be fun to play your favorite games in front of your friends and all virtually hang out.

Quick and Easy Online Tasks for Fast Money

If you’re more looking for a little bit of extra income vs trying to make online tasks your entire income, you have a lot of options to make a quick buck, such as apps that pay or online tasks. These are perfect for students short on time, busy stay at home parents, or even beginners who want to get into making a little extra money. Here are some of our favorite methods:

Online surveys: There are lots of brands that want your feedback. Some pay $5 or more per survey, making it a great choice for a little extra cash. We do caution, however, that you only choose reputable sites. When in doubt, research and see if other users call them out for being scams. Super important!
Test websites: You can get paid a small amount of money to quickly test various websites and apps, giving the creators feedback on any bugs and errors you may run across. As always, be sure you’re being careful and only using reputable sources.
Clickworker Canada: This popular platform pairs freelance workers with those who need simple online tasks done, such as researching, writing, and data processing. It’s a great way to get into beginner online jobs and earn money fast.

Unique and Weird Ways to Make Money Online in Canada

If you’re looking for weird money ideas to support your income, they definitely exist. The internet can be a pretty wild place, however, so do take caution when looking for easy online money options. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is and be very careful about clicking on strange links or giving out your personal information. Still, here are some creative and less common methods that some people can use to make a little extra something:

Domain flipping: This is the practice of researching possible future domain names that someone would want to use, purchasing them, and then reselling them at a later date for more money than you initially paid. It’s a bit of a gamble, but some users have made a decent profit, including a few stories of people who have predicted possible future political candidates, selling the domains to them when they actually happened to run later.
Niche contests: You can look into various sweepstakes and contests for prizes or cash rewards. As always, however, be super careful, especially if a platform wants a ton of your personal information as that can be a red flag for scammers.
Micro-investing apps: Being able to trade stocks, crypto, and other such assets in micro-amounts helps to lower the risk for users wanting to get into the investment field.
Poetry/Writing contests: This one obviously requires a little skill, but there are lots of these fun contests out there for those with a creative side.

Tips for Success & Avoiding Scams

We’ve already mentioned how important it is to be careful when looking to make money on the internet. Still, even work from home opportunities that seem legit can end up being iffy. Here are some tips to stay safe and increase your chances for success when making money online:

Do your homework: This applies for everything from applying for a job on LinkedIn to entering a short story contest. Make sure the company is legit and that the opportunity is too. One example of this is to find postings for work on LinkedIn, but actually look up the company separately and confirm they have an official job opening available. Also look up forums and Reddit posts to see if there are red flags to be aware of.
Be careful what information you give out: Obviously if you’re going to get paid for online work you’ll need to give out some kind of information to receive your payment, however it’s important to be very sure things are safe and legit before you do this. Consider opening a separate bank account just for these types of transactions, to limit loss should things go haywire.
Always use multifactor authentication: Protect your accounts, emails, log ins, and finances with strong passwords (don’t use the same one for multiple accounts either) and use 2FA.
Stay consistent: If you’re an online content creator, keep creating regularly, even if you don’t seem to be gaining traction yet.
Manage your time: Try to make the most of the time you have by consolidating tasks, setting aside time for specific activities, and avoiding distractions.
Utilize free marketing: Marketing yourself or product is so important. Social media is a great way to harness this for free.
Put out a good product: If you have an online store, be sure to have a quality, worthwhile product that people actually want to buy. Also, be sure to have a good refund policy and timely delivery. Your reputation is important so you want to keep your customers happy.

Conclusion

There are tons of ways to make money online. Whether it is work from home jobs, content creation, or even online stores, you have plenty of options to try your hand at. Take a look and see if any of our suggestions are up your alley to try. Some of them, like online surveys, are pretty simple, so those are legit options for beginners wanting a little extra cash.