Which platform matters depends less on the numbers you read and more on which audience your client is trying to reach. In Canada that question splits along language lines before it splits along age.

The paid social baseline

Most creator video commissioned in Canada ends up as paid advertising on Meta platforms. That is the default destination, and it dictates the format: vertical, under thirty seconds, muted with captions, and delivered without burned in subtitles so the brand can swap them.

Short video for reach, long video for intent

Short vertical platforms drive discovery and are where hooks get tested. Longer video is where somebody who already has a question goes looking for an answer, which makes it the natural home for reviews, comparisons and tutorials. Brands underinvest in the second one almost everywhere.

The French audience does not behave the same

Quebec has its own media habits and its own local personalities, and a campaign that performs in Toronto can land flat in Montreal on the same platform. That is a targeting and content question, not a platform question, and it is another reason the French version cannot be an afterthought.

What changes per platform in your delivery

Aspect ratio, length, whether sound is assumed, and how aggressive the opening has to be. A creator who delivers one horizontal file and calls it done forces the brand to re edit, which is the quickest way not to be hired again.

Where the brand actually sells

Ask it early. A brand selling through its own site, through a marketplace or through retail shelves needs different content, and the platform is downstream of that. Creators who ask this question in the first message look like partners rather than suppliers.

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Frequently asked questions

Where does most Canadian UGC end up?

As paid social advertising.

Does the French market behave the same?

No, habits and personalities differ.

What should I always deliver?

Vertical, captions separate, several lengths.

Which question opens the brief?

Where the brand actually sells.

Sources

Checked on 27 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.