8 Best Side Hustles in Canada in 2025
By Carmen Chan
From freelancing to working a part-time job or selling homemade products, Canadians are getting creative with earning extra cash to pay off their debts or cover their monthly expenses. The gig economy is thriving in Canada and more and more Canadians have taken on a flexible side hustle for extra cash. In a nutshell, a side hustle is a side job or additional work taken on outside of your 9-to-5 job. They’ve become a welcome help to supplement your regular salary in the face of rising living costs, with many either taking up the extra work for savings or to help make ends meet.
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Side hustles are also a great way to pursue your passions, charge your creativity, or get you outside of the house and active. Here’s a look at some of the best side hustles in Canada in 2025 that may inspire you to make more money to pay off debts.
1. Freelancing
If you’re skilled at writing and editing, coding and web development, or graphic design and illustrating, you may uncover plenty of opportunities to take on projects during your free time. Freelancing is a lucrative side hustle that’s flexible – you can take on a steady contract or a handful of projects, and you can do this work from anywhere in the world as long as you have a laptop and a reliable Internet connection.
Scour websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer to find jobs that suit your skills. You could work on illustrating children’s books, editing companies’ websites, or planning out a social media marketing campaign for influencers.
2. Coaching and Tutoring
Take stock of your areas of expertise – maybe you speak a second language or solving math equations comes naturally to you. Make use of your knowledge about a certain topic and tutor students – or adults – who need to brush up on the subject.
Tutoring is one of the most popular profitable side hustles. Say you’re teaching French to a civil servant for two hours a week at $70 per session, you could take home an extra $280 before taxes each month to pay off your debt. Debt repayment with part-time work like this can really add up. It’s also a rewarding side hustle as you can see students’ progress with their learning goals.
Some people do this side hustle on their own, finding clients through family and friends, while others reach out to local community colleges and universities to join established tutoring initiatives on campus. There are also online platforms seeking out tutors, which means you can do this job from the comfort of your home.
3. Uber and Food Delivery
Consider moonlighting as a driver for Uber or SkipTheDishes to earn some cash a few nights a week. These two side hustles topped the list of popular side hustles for Canadians, according to 2024 data collected by Statistics Canada, well above categories like cleaning and handiwork, house sitting and pet sitting, and selling skills like programming, coding, video editing, and tutoring.
You can set up an account as a driver on either app and get started. Keep in mind, you’ll need a valid driver’s license, a vehicle that fits the app requirements, and a completed background check. Most ride-hailing apps also ask for specific insurance before you hit the road so be sure to check into that.
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4. Retail, Dining and Hospitality
In a gig economy, the workforce is branching out to create multiple income streams and this extends into working in retail, restaurants or hospitality, and tourism. This category opens up a lot of opportunities worth considering. Perhaps your favourite bookstore is looking for extra hands on weeknights or the coffee shop across the street has an opening for Saturday shifts. Picking up a four-hour shift a week could net you $250 or more each month, depending on where you live in the country and what you do.
5. Catering
If you have a knack for baking, cooking, or putting together showstopping appetizers and platters, you might want to dabble in catering as a flexible side hustle. With some research, you can home in on how much small businesses charge to bake cakes, sweet treats, and other goodies for corporate events, social gatherings, weddings, and birthday parties. You can even carve out a niche if you specialize in vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, or nut-free catering to differentiate yourself from competitors.
Some people start a side hustle by taking on one-off projects for friends and family and within the community. Don’t forget to take photos of the final product and collect testimonials from your customers – you can branch out by setting up a social media account promoting your work.
6. Pet Sitting
Dog, cat, and animal lovers on a whole, may be stumbling upon their dream side hustle by taking up dog walking and pet sitting. With this gig, you may be taking neighbours’ dogs for a walk, pet sitting their furry family members while they’re away for the weekend, or just popping over to feed and check on their small pets.
These can be one-off gigs or they could turn into a regular occurrence where you’re walking Fido three times a week for an extra $50. Either way, it’s a great way to earn some extra cash to pay for groceries and gas while getting in your steps and some dog therapy.
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7. Airbnb Rentals
Real estate is popular side hustle that can earn you passive income. If you have a spare bedroom in your home and you’re in a big city or near a landmark frequented by tourists, you may be sitting on a goldmine for rentals. Some tourists prefer to stay in an Airbnb, in the thick of it amongst locals, than in a hotel. You can look into going rates for a one night stay in your neighbourhood to see how much you could be making by hosting tourists on the weekends.
Prices surge during tentpole moments, like the Toronto International Film Festival, the Calgary Stampede, or Canada Day in virtually any major city! Make sure you’re carefully vetting prospective visitors and creating an inviting stay for them. Do your research to better understand the do’s and don’ts of Airbnb to make it a lucrative, long-term side hustle.
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8. Selling Used Items
From Facebook Marketplace and Vinted to Kijiji and Poshmark, the resale side hustle is becoming a major source of income for households selling their like-new and gently used clothing. If you have a closet full of clothes, shoes, and accessories collecting dust, get on these apps to make some sales. Brand names tend to fare best for making sales, as long as the garments are in good condition. Take photos of the items with great lighting to showcase the details, including the label, zippers and buttons intact, and clean hemlines.
How to Get Help to Manage Your Debts
A side hustle can be a helpful way to bring in extra income, but without a budget, that money can disappear quickly. The most effective side hustles support everyday needs—like staying on top of bills or paying down debt. If you’re earning more but still feeling stretched, or unsure how to stay on track, we can help. Start by using our free budget-building guide or talk to a credit counsellor for confidential support. We’re here to help you manage your budget, tackle your debt, and reduce financial stress—no judgment, no pressure.
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