7 Easy Side Hustles in Canada to Make Extra Money in 2026

Easy Side Hustles in Canada: Everything is getting more expensive, and our salaries are staying exactly the same. Sound familiar? While politicians talk about inflation, smart Canadians have quietly figured out how to fight back. While 51% of Canadians are struggling to make ends meet, there’s at least 7.4 million Canadians who reportedly already have side hustles.

That’s an 85% increase in just three years. People aren’t just waiting for the government to fix inflation. They are creating their own solutions.

So today, we want to share some of these solutions with you and share ideas for the side hustles that are actually working this year. It’s not going to be the typical start a blog advice that you hear everywhere, but actual real tangible strategies that people are already using to add $500 and maybe all the way up to $3,000 to their monthly income. And we’ve got the numbers to prove it.

Let’s jump right in.

Easy Side Hustles in Canada Overview

Side Hustle	Startup Cost	Work Style	Potential Income*	Flexibility
Paid research studies	Low	Online/in-person	Varies	High
Reselling	Low–Medium	Online/local	Varies	High
Etsy digital products	Low	Online	Varies	High
AI/crowd work	Low	Online	Varies	High
Freelance services	Low	Online	Varies	High
Local services	Low–Medium	Local	Varies	Medium
Investing	Depends	Passive/financial	Not guaranteed	High

1. Paid Research Studies

Did you know that you can participate in research studies and get paid for them? This is probably one of the most overlooked moneymakers in Canada. Universities, healthcare facilities, and market research companies are constantly looking for participants.

Many people who have figured it out are easily adding $300 to $500 extra monthly income for maybe just six hours of work a month. University of Toronto runs studies through their research portal. They’re constantly looking for participants for psychology, business, and health studies.

UBC has also their own human research ethics board database where they post active studies.

How to Find Studies

Finding these types of studies are fairly easy. You just Google them.

You just type in paid research studies and then you include your city name or you write focus group studies. You can also go directly to the university websites and look for their research participation portals. Most universities have a dedicated page for it.

Examples of Studies

Here’s an example of a page for UFT. There have almost 40 research studies here, both online and in person. You can just browse through these and see what’s applicable for you and how much they pay.

This study doesn’t pay that much, but check this one. This one is for women who are not physically active. You just need to be over 30 years old and have to be willing to commit to their program.

It pays 200 bucks. And I bet you get healthier as a result of this study too.

Market Research Firms

But universities is just a starting point.

Market research firms pay even more. Look, there’s even a research on real-life bathroom habits that pays 120 bucks. Or check this out.

You can actually get paid to taste cookies. So things like that can get you both money and free food. Sign me up for that.

Egg Donation

If you’re a female and are in need of cash and are under 35 years old, you can consider becoming an egg donor. Egg donors receive anywhere from 10 to $20,000 in compensation for donating their eggs. But this is an extreme example since this process requires commitment and does have some health implications.

Tips for Doing It Safely

To safely make money from research studies, the key is signing up with multiple companies because most only let you participate every few months. What I would do is I would just put a spreadsheet with contact information for all of the research firms and keep track of them every other month to see which new studies come up.

2. Selling Stuff and Garage Sale Arbitrage

Next side hustle has two angles. One is more obvious than the other.

Selling What You Already Own

First, you can sell stuff you already own but you don’t need. With inflation, people are buying less new stuff and more used items. That vintage jacket in your closet or pair of shoes you don’t wear will happily be bought and used by someone who needs it.

Garage Sale Arbitrage

But the real opportunity is garage sale arbitrage. You scan through garage sales going on in your neighborhood, and then you buy items on garage sales, estate sales, and thrift stores, and then you resell them online. Canadians are increasingly eco-conscious, and with everything expensive, the second-hand market is booming these days.

There are hundreds of stories of people buying old collectibles in garage sales and reselling them for hundreds of dollars. Many moving out sales are so eager to sell their stuff that you can buy furniture or electronics and then double the price, take your time, and resell it on Facebook Marketplace.

Reselling Rare and Sold-Out Items

Another angle you could try is finding items that get sold out quickly or are a rare find.

You time when they’re available and then buy them and then resell them with a markup. That’s something that we’ve actually done in the first few months when PlayStation 5 came out a few years ago, and it was sold out everywhere. We made around 300 bucks profit on simply buying it at the right time and then reselling it because there were so many people eager to buy it even at a premium.

Timing and Earnings

The best part is that fall is perfect timing. People are decluttering before winter and summer moving out. People generally are more prone to spending money because holidays are coming.

The next big timing is in the summer when garage sales are hot. Platforms like Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace can be a good start. Some people are making $800 and up to $3,000 monthly over the summer just from weekend garage sale runs.

3. Creative Selling on Etsy

This next point is creative selling on Etsy. If you have any creative skills at all, like any, this could be a goldmine for you.

Etsy is basically a DIY online store that anyone can set up in just a few clicks, and you can sell your goods worldwide. But here’s what most people don’t realize. You don’t really need to be an amazing artist to make serious money there.

Digital Products

Some Etsy sellers are making tens of thousands of dollars monthly simply selling things like stickers, printable planners, digital art, or even resume templates. We’re talking about products that you can create once and then sell hundreds of times in your sleep. Think about the digital downloads, for instance.

It could be a printable wall art. It could be wedding invitation designs, business card designs, budget trackers. The list just goes on.

Physical Products

It could also be some physical items if you’re handy, like a handmade jewelry or custom t-shirts, candles, or even restored vintage items that you’ve bought on the last month’s garage sale. One of the most memorable ideas that I’ve seen on Etsy is ordering a portrait of your pet drawn by a child. You end up with some wonderfully cute and original artwork.

Trending Categories

One category that’s exploding right now on Etsy is stickers. People are making thousands of dollars monthly designing a tiny sticker pack. Another huge market is printable planners and organizers, especially right now in the end of the year when everybody’s trying to get their finances and plans organized for 2026.

Why Etsy Works

The beauty of Etsy is that it handles the marketplace, payment processing, and it gives you access to millions of buyers. All you have to do is just focus on creating products that people want. And fall, as I said, is a perfect timing because people are shopping for unique holiday gifts, something personalized.

They’re trying to plan for the new year and they’re looking for new items to decorate their homes for the holiday season. That’s another idea, holiday decorations. While many of us are thinking about different additional ways to make money, many people are making from just a few hundreds to thousands of dollars on Etsy without even stepping away from their monitor.

4. Digital Crowd Work Platforms

Next one is a completely different angle that almost nobody talks about, earning money through digital crowd work platforms. These are companies that hire everyday people to do tasks that power AI, apps, and online services.

TELUS International AI

You might have heard of TELUS International AI, formerly known as Lionbridge.

They pay Canadians to evaluate search results, test voice assistants like Siri or Alexa, or rate ads. It’s flexible, it’s work from home, and usually pays around 12 to 20 dollars an hour depending on the task. You know when you search for something on Google and get results? There are actually people behind the scenes training the search engine and AI to make sure that what shows up is relevant to what you’re looking for.

Other Platforms

And it’s not just TELUS. There are large number of platforms and all pay people for microtasks. Some are more technical like testing software or labeling AI training data, but others are simpler like completing surveys or transcription or participating in usability studies.

Earning Potential

Many of these platforms let you pick tasks in your spare time and if you sign up with multiple, you can keep a steady stream of side income coming in. The money isn’t massive, but it’s perfect for a side hustle if you have time to spare. Many Canadians are making $200 to $800 a month just by putting in a few hours weekly.

And because most of these tasks are fully online, you can literally do them in your pajamas.

5. Digital Service Arbitrage

Next is the category that we call digital service arbitrage. This is where you can leverage the skills that you already have to serve other businesses that need help.

The best part is that most of such work is fully remote. All you need to do is just have a definite skill to offer.

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing, for example, is huge right now.

Canadian writers can charge from $200 to $100 per hour or per article. And with AI creating more content, businesses actually need human writers more than ever to create authentic and engaging material.

Virtual Assistant Work

Virtual assistant work is exploding too.

Most businesses need help with some of the most basic stuff like managing email, social media, customer service, calendar management, project coordination, and so on. Things get even juicier when you’re serving U.S. clients because the exchange rate will play in your favor.

The Canadian Advantage

And here’s what’s interesting.

Canadian freelancers often have an advantage because we understand both North American markets. You can help U.S. businesses understand Canadian customers or help Canadian businesses expand South.

Where to Find Clients

Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are obvious starting points, but networking on LinkedIn and reaching out directly to small business owners often pays better.

People can earn anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 and even more monthly once they build a good client base. There are also specialized websites that focus only on helping virtual assistants find gigs. One of such examples is Virtual Gurus.

6. Local Services and Community Gigs

If you’re handy, try getting paid to fix your neighbor’s sink through apps like TaskRabbit or Jiffy or start pet sitting through Rover if you’re good with animals. With workers returning to offices, pet care demand is surging. But instead of just walking dogs yourself, think bigger.

Think Bigger

You can help coordinate pet sitting services, snow removal, help seniors do a grocery run, or help big families with house cleaning. TaskRabbit is great for handyman tasks like furniture assembly or moving help. But the real opportunity is identifying gaps in your area and filling them in.

Finding Gaps in Your Area

For example, many seniors need help with technology, grocery, shopping, or yard work. Parents need after-school pick-up or tutoring services. Small businesses need someone to handle their social media.

Coordination Fees

I used Jiffy to find someone to help me do a small tiling job next to a fireplace. And you can take it one step further. You don’t have to do everything yourself.

You can connect people who need services with people who provide them and take a coordination fee. It’s about solving problems in your community and dialing into what you do best, as well as enjoying the most, of course. Earning potential is $400 to $2,000 monthly.

And, of course, fall is perfect because people are preparing for winter, getting organized for the holidays, and businesses are ramping up for Q4.

7. Strategic Stock Market Investing

Our next strategy isn’t technically a side hustle, but it’s one of the most effective ways to beat inflation. It’s strategic stock market investing.

Why It’s Included

And I know what you’re thinking. Well, that’s not a side hustle. That’s just investing.

And some of you are probably thinking that investing is gambling. Nobody knows if the stock is going to go up, down, sideways, or in circles. But here’s why we’re including it here.

Inflation is eating away all the cash savings people have now. If you’re earning any extra income from any of these side hustles that we’ve mentioned, you need somewhere smart to put it in. And I want to be clear that we’re not talking about day trading or picking individual stocks hoping that you’ll get rich.

That is gambling, if you don’t have a background in finance or a genuine interest in the stock market, as well as willing to spend hours on research.

Long-Term Diversified Investing

What we’re talking about is long-term diversified investing in index funds and ETFs that track the broader market. The Canadian stock market has historically outpaced inflation over the long term.

The Broad S&P 500 index that is composed of North America’s largest and most successful companies have largely been going up over the last 50 years. Sure, there are bumps on the road like the dot-com boom, the 2008 crisis, or the COVID drop. But you can see here that for every single one of these drops, we didn’t just recover, we also have grown significantly.

Even if you’re just putting $200 or even $100 monthly from your side hustle into a diversified portfolio, you’re protecting that money from losing value over time.

Dollar Cost Averaging

The key here is dollar cost averaging. Instead of trying to time the market, you can invest the same amount regularly every week or every month regardless of whether things are up or down.

This smooths out the volatility and removes the guesswork.

How to Start With Wealthsimple

Now, how do you do it? We personally have been using Wealthsimple app for years and it’s honestly the easiest way for Canadians to start investing. This guide is not sponsored by them, but we’re just genuinely sharing our experience. You don’t need any minimum balance, there’s no fees, and you can literally start investing with whatever amount you have even if you have $5.

The best part is that you don’t even need to make investment decisions. Wealthsimple automatically builds a diversified portfolio based on your goals and risk tolerance. All you need to do is just to commit putting some money regularly.

TFSA and RRSP

And as a Canadian, you also have an advantage. You can use your tax free savings accounts first through Wealthsimple to make gains tax free. And if you max that out, you can also move your funds to the registered retirement savings plan for the income tax deductions.

If you’re not entirely sure how these accounts work, we actually talked about both in this video. So make sure you can check it out using the description box below.

Referral Bonus

If you want to try out Wealthsimple, we actually have a referral link that we’re going to add to the pinned comments.

When you sign up and invest your first $100, both you and us will get a bonus. It’s basically free money to get you started. You can use that money to actually test ride your first investment without putting your own money in it.

The Point of Investing

The point with investing isn’t to get rich quick from stock picking. It’s to ensure that the extra money you’re making from your side hustle maintains its purchasing power over time. The inflation is making everything more expensive.

But your money that’s invested will grow and even outpace inflation.

The Numbers Behind Side Hustles

Okay, so now I want to share some numbers with you. Because that’s where things are getting a little bit more tangible.

So the average person who’s doing a side hustle is making around $500 a month from it. And one in five people are able to pull over $15,000 a year. That’s a sizable amount.

The difference between the two people is how seriously you take your side hustle. The best of the best have the privilege of finding the side hustle they enjoy and eventually turning it into their full-time work. Both Anna and I have been lucky to turn YouTube into our own side hustle.

It started just as a hobby out of doing nothing. And it took us years to get to the point where we could even afford to buy a professional camera off the money that we earned. But this line of work has been ultimately fulfilling.

Time Commitment

If you want to start considering doing some side hustles, expect that you’ll spend 10 to 15 hours a week on it. You’re going to spend even more in the beginning as you’re getting started. You can either spend a couple of hours every evening on a weekday, or you could just cram it all into a couple of weekends.

It’s really up to you.

Taxes

That is one thing that’s very important to consider. It’s taxes.

If you’re making over $30,000 a year from your side hustles, you actually need to make sure that you register for GST and HST and your provincial taxes. You always have to make sure that you’re keeping track of your side hustle income and report it to CRA appropriately. With the rise of the gig work post-pandemic, many people simply failed to report their income or reported it incorrectly.

So these days, CRA is really not messing around with a side hustle income anymore. They’ll come and find you. So all you have to do is just make sure you keep track of the money you make and the money you spend and report it in the end of the year.

And if you’re not sure how to do that, chat with an accountant. It’s going to cost you a hundred or a couple hundred of bucks, but it’s going to save you thousands of dollars in the long run. And most importantly, it’s going to save you from stressing out about it.

How to Get Started: A 4-Week Plan

So how do you actually get started?

Week 1: Pick One Thing

Week one, just pick one thing from your list. I know you want to try everything, but don’t. Just pick one and actually research what you need and have an actionable plan.

Week 2: Set Up

Week two is all about settling up. Create your profile on the app like Rover or Upwork. Figure out how you’re getting paid and maybe throw together a basic website if you need one.

Week 3: Start

Week three is where you actually start. Apply for gigs, list your stuff, reach out to people, leverage your network, just start doing it.

Week 4: Review and Improve

And week four, see what’s working and what’s not.

Ask for reviews, tweak your approach, and basically just get better at whatever’s making you money.

Why Fall Is the Perfect Time

We’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Fall is perfect timing.

Businesses are planning for Q4. People are preparing for holidays. And there’s generally more economic activity before the winter slowdown.

Plus, if you start now, you will have income flowing by the time those expensive holiday bills hit in January.

Conclusion

Look, inflation isn’t going away anytime soon. Trump’s tariffs are about to make everything more expensive.

Politicians will keep talking while your grocery bill keeps climbing. But you don’t have to just accept it. Every single one of these strategies can be started this week with minimal upfront cost.

The real power isn’t just the extra money. It’s taking control when everything feels uncertain. While everyone else complains about the economy, you are creating your own solution.

Pick one idea from today’s guide, just one, and start this week, not someday.