C.D. Howe Intelligence Memo on a growing challenge in Canada’s financial regulatory system: the mismatch between heavily regulated, licensed financial advice versus the growing trend of getting "guidance" from unregulated, online influencers ("finfluencers"). Current regulatory frameworks are struggling to address algorithm driven social media recommendations that are monetized opaquely.

Fragmented, growing regulation is raising financial industry costs, pricing many Canadians out of personalized financial advice. This paper analyzes the link between cumulative and uncoordinated regulation and a widened “advice gap” in Canada. The paper recommends a framework that maintains strong consumer protections but also fosters accessibility, scalability, and innovation.

In today’s economy, sound financial advice is a foundational service that helps households build security, resilience, and long-term wealth. Yet in Canada, those who stand to benefit most from professional advice, modest- and middle-income families, often face the highest barriers to accessing it. This interactive report exposes the preventing equitable access to financial advice and the opportunities to close them.