TikTok content creators worry that Canadian office shutdown will lead to app ban

Naomi Leanage learned about the shutdown of TikTok's Canadian offices through a social media post by one of the company's employees.

"I was honestly shocked and disappointed. I've been to the TikTok office in Toronto a few times. They host creators there all the time," said Leanage, a Toronto-born, Los Angeles-based content creator. "It's not just about an online platform; it’s about real people who care about your career."

The Canadian government recently ordered TikTok to close its offices in Toronto and Vancouver due to national security concerns. However, Canadian users will still be able to access the app and post as usual.

Countries like Canada and the U.S. have expressed concerns that TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, could be compelled to share user data with the Chinese government or used for foreign interference. In defense, TikTok has stated that its operations are based in Los Angeles and Singapore, with no plans to share data with China.

Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne explained that national security issues were behind the federal decision to shut down TikTok’s Canadian operations, although Canadians will still be able to use the app.

Representatives for TikTok's Canadian offices confirmed the layoffs would affect local employees and indicated plans to challenge the closure in court. However, for Canadian content creators, the office shutdown means losing access to TikTok staff who had helped them secure brand deals and had been invested in their careers. Many are concerned that the shutdown could signal a broader move toward a full ban of the app in Canada.

For Leanage, who has over 500,000 followers on her Canadian TikTok account, the shutdown brings some anxiety. "I feel like it does cause a bit of anxiety in terms of, well, what if Canada bans the app completely? I feel like this might be a bit of a slippery slope," she said.

While Leanage’s primary brand deals don’t come directly through TikTok, she had been working closely with a partner-manager from TikTok’s Canadian offices, who connected her to brands like Spotify and even gave her the opportunity to walk the red carpet at the Juno Awards.

In addition to concerns about a potential ban, many Canadian TikTok creators fear that they will no longer have the same level of attention from the platform as U.S. creators.

Philip Mai, co-director of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Social Media Lab, suggested that the Canadian government could delay a complete TikTok ban until after a federal election, to avoid alienating younger voters. "To bring Canada in line with our Five Eyes partners, they may have to ban the app completely, but that would be way after the election," Mai said.

For Mark Gaetano, a Toronto content creator, the shutdown raised concerns that a full ban could soon follow. "It really made me very apprehensive because all or most of my business takes place on TikTok, and without that, there would go a lot of my career and income," he said. "It makes me nervous because if the government has that much authority to shut something down so quickly, it could mean they’ll just shut down the app entirely."

Jess Hunichen, co-founder of Shine Talent Group, which works with creators in both Canada and the U.S., said the closure of TikTok's Canadian offices creates a gap in understanding the Canadian market. "Having local support from TikTok in Toronto and Vancouver has been really impactful for the market," she said.

Lia Haberman, an expert in the creator economy, emphasized that Canadian TikTok creators are losing crucial in-person support and advocacy with the closure of TikTok's offices. "It's a loss for Canadian content creators because they’ve lost their in-person support, their advocates," she said. "Some creators might look to shift their presence to platforms like Instagram or YouTube, which could benefit if TikTok’s Canadian presence fades."

Haberman believes YouTube could see an uptick if Canadian creators leave TikTok. "YouTube is the number one platform people watch creator content on, so I think YouTube stands to benefit if creators decide they want to shift from TikTok to another video app."