Nigel Branker outlines why working Canadians are taking on extra labour
Recent research has found gig work in Canada is no longer a side hustle reserved for students or the underemployed. Rather, it has become a financial lifeline for millions.
And its role in retirement planning is notably growing fast.
According to a recent pulse survey from Securian Canada, findings reveal that roughly seven million Canadians, or one in five, participate in some form of gig work. That figure has held steady since the company first studied the gig economy in the summer of 2024. But what has changed, and changed sharply, is how much Canadians now depend on it, as more than half of respondents held full-time jobs and were using gig work to supplement their income.
"The punch line is how rapidly gig work is becoming a foundational element in the financial reality for Canadians," said Nigel Branker, CEO of Securian Canada. “Gig workers are actually more focused on their financial security than non-gig workers and value things like life insurance and health and dental insurance much more.”
A follow-up pulse survey showed the overall participation rate held steady, but the role gig work plays in Canadians' finances has shifted dramatically. The average income contribution from gig work jumped from 15 per cent to 38 per cent, the 35-to-54 age group grew from 23 per cent of gig workers to 28 per cent, and those doing it as a hobby dropped from 27 per cent to 20 per cent.
“We're also seeing really specific views on using gig work to achieve certain specific financial goals, like saving for a life event, having a child, getting married,” noted Branker. “Eighteen months ago, only 3 per cent would have said that they're using it for that purpose. It's tripled now, it's up to 9 per cent. In a very short period, we continue to unpack our knowledge of the composition and the motivation of Canada's gig work.”
He believes employers need to deepen their understanding of how gig work fits into their employees’ lives, because financial security is emerging as a central concern across the workforce.
He draws a clear distinction between age groups, noting that for younger Canadians aged 18 to 34, gig work is mainly a way to boost income for short- and medium-term goals, like building a down payment, planning for major life events like marriage or starting a family, and taking first steps toward longer-term financial objectives.
Contrastingly, the 35–54 cohort, by contrast, is using gig work more aggressively to reinforce overall financial security, and that group is typically more focused on retirement saving.
Across both age bands, what matters to him is not just the different goals, but the common pattern: gig work is increasingly becoming the funding mechanism for those goals, rather than a marginal or occasional income stream.
According to Branker, gig work is closely linked to financial insecurity, highlighting that fluctuating income and the resulting mental strain are central features of the gig experience.
Whereas in traditional employment, much of a person’s financial protection is bundled into the job through benefits, retirement plans, and life insurance. Gig workers generally don’t have that built-in safety net.
He argues that this absence of security, combined with unstable earnings, is what is pushing more Canadians into gig work in the first place and is now shaping daily life for a rapidly expanding share of the population.
Branker sees two forces at work. Traditional employer benefits continue to decline, and that erosion is itself pushing more Canadians into gig work. What surprised him, though, is how financially attuned gig workers are compared to their non-gig counterparts, noting income instability and a lack of employer-provided coverage likely explain that heightened awareness.
The takeaway for employers, Branker emphasized is that one in four or five employees likely have a gig income stream, "and or more than a side hustle, it's probably materially contributing to their income," Branker said.
Additionally, a separate newcomer study from Securian Canada challenged one of those assumptions. Newcomers to Canada are underrepresented in gig work relative to multi-generation Canadians.
"Gig workers actually tend to be older and primarily Canadian born citizens," Branker noted.
He urges employers to use research like this to sharpen their understanding of workforce demographics and what drives different segments. Canada's workforce is diverse, and gig work is another dimension that needs to be tracked and planned for.
Gig work ultimately isn’t a passing fad, Branker underscored, emphasizing it’s becoming more mainstream and more foundational. Employers who cling to outdated assumptions about who gig workers are risk falling behind, he said, noting gig work can be short-term, casual contract roles that top up income as a permanent and expanding part of the labour market, driven by many different personal and financial motives.
He argues that organizations relying on gig workers need to recognize this shift if they want to compete for strong talent. In his view, they should be actively looking for ways to build financial security into gig arrangements, because that kind of protection sits at the top of gig workers’ priorities.
“Canadians are discovering and continue to discover that meeting their traditional financial goals are harder than ever before and gig work is an increasingly popular way to help them get there,” said Branker.
“Canadians are really turned into gig work, equally for short-term goals and long-term goals like retirement. It is a more mainstream option for employment income, and I think as employers, as providers of products and services, we all need to be cognizant of that and help to evolve our playbook.”
