A Year On YouTube: Canada’s Top Trending Videos & Creators in 2022
In 2022, Canadians came to YouTube to drive a new class of short-form comedians to widespread success, see a celeb’s surprising reveal, and go on calming walks — yes, walks — through Ottawa. All the while, the nation was listening to “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” on repeat and trying new fruits vicariously through the eyes, er mouth, of a local chef.
Before ringing in 2023, let’s take a moment to recognize and celebrate the videos, creators and artists you took mainstream in Canada over the last 12 months.
Top Canadian Creators
Top Breakout Canadian Creators
This year’s top trending videos show that individual, online communities are more influential than ever before. Personal stories and messages allowed creators to intimately connect with their fans, while moments involving traditional celebrities like Ryan Reynolds and Will Smith gained new levels of relevance because of the ways communities reinterpreted them for their audiences through memes, parodies and more. And, of course, top creators like MrBeast continued to bring their viewers together with large-scale participatory challenges.
In this year’s top ten you’ll also find a Halftime Show that hit a note of nostalgia, a record-setting face reveal, Mark Rober’s latest attempt to foil phone scammers, The Try Guys addressing their channel’s future, and a late night Top Gun experience.
Altogether, viewership of the Top Trending Videos surpassed last year’s: These 10 videos were viewed more than 630 million times over 50 million hours. 1 The channels behind them total more than 245 million subscribers. 2
Top Trending Videos in Canada
- Guardian News: Watch the uncensored moment Will Smith smacks Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, drops F-bomb
- Technoblade: so long nerds
- NFL: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar & 50 Cent FULL Pepsi SB LVI Halftime Show
- Dream: hi, I’m Dream.
- Mark Rober: Pranks Destroy Scam Callers- GlitterBomb Payback
- MrBeast: I Built Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!
- The Try Guys: what happened.
- Ryan Reynolds: Deadpool Update
- The Late Late Show with James Corden: Tom Cruise Terrifies James in ‘Top Gun’ Fighter Jet!
- Jaiden Animations: Being Not Straight
Top Shorts in Canada
The first-ever Top Shorts list shows that when it comes to short-form, feel-good content — whether it’s sketch comedy or visually surprising tricks — reigns supreme.
- Shangerdanger: Diver Cracks Egg at 45 ft Deep #Shorts
- Hingaflips: Sarah Trust Challenges
- Chris Ivan: Dave and Busters Bet Me 1000 Tickets I Couldn’t Do THIS…
- Brodie That Dood: Come with me to shave my fluffy dog! #doggrooming #grooming #goldendoodle
- Adrian Bliss: Welcome to the stomach #shorts
- Zack D. Films: This Magic Trick EXPLAINED 😱 (America's Got Talent)
- ILYA BORZOV: Social experiment | What would you do?
- JoJo’s World: SHE PULLED THE SWORD OUT OF THE STONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME IN DISNEY WORLD
- The Kelly Clarkson Show: Anne Hathaway’s GENIUS cupcake hack!
- iKnowAyrel: HE’S WORKING LATE
Top Songs
Finally in music, the viral success of Encanto translated into lasting hits and older tracks from Kate Bush and Elly Duhé saw a resurgence thanks to their use in cultural phenomena. Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was also remembered and honoured, with his song Levels making this year’s top 10.
Top Songs
Congratulations to the incredible creators who are helping to grow and shape Canada’s vibrant creator ecosystem. Dig into top trending videos from around the world at YouTube.com/trends/2022.
