YouTube hits its significant 20th anniversary today, April 23, 2025. What started with grainy videos has evolved into a platform where Canadian and global creators have built studios, hired teams of people, and risen to global stardom. It's hard to believe that it's been two decades since the very first video "Me at the Zoo" was uploaded. Today, anyone, anywhere can load up their video and even build a thriving business on YouTube.
“In the last two decades, Canadian culture, creativity and innovation has shaped YouTube and inspired audiences on a global scale,” says Andrew Peterson, Head of YouTube Canada. “The diversity and strength of Canadian culture has found a home for itself on YouTube, and the content is driving incredible economic success in Canada and as a cultural export to the world. It’s more than just a platform for entertainment, it's a dynamic reflection of who we are, a stage for emerging and leading talent, and a place where anyone, anyone can create a thriving business.”
HERE ARE SOME MILESTONES...
2005 February 14: YouTube becomes a registered domain
2005 April 23: Jawed Karim uploads the first public video, ‘Me at the zoo,’ on YouTube
2005 December: 8 million videos are watched a day
2007 June: YouTube’s mobile site launches!
2007 December: YouTube launches “YouTube Partner Program.” Creators can now make money from the videos they make, and turn it into full fledged businesses
2010 November: 35 hours of video uploaded per minute
2011 April: Live Streaming launch
2015 October: YouTube Music launches
2020 April 23: YouTube turns 15, and it has over 2 billion monthly logged in viewers. Every day, people watch over a billion hours of video.
2020 September: YouTube Shorts is launched
2022 November: YouTube Shorts arrives on the big screen
2023 December: YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed more than $1.8 billion CAD to Canadian GDP in 2023.
2025 February: More than 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content on YouTube
KEY FACTS / STATS
- According to research by Kantar, if Canadians could only watch one service for an entire year, the #1 platform they would choose is YouTube. This is compared to Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and other platforms.
- YouTube reaches 98% of Canadians across all audiences (Comscore Video Metrix® Multi-Platform, Gen-Z 18-24, December 2022, Canada)
- On average viewers globally are watching over 1B hours of YouTube content on the big screen (YouTube Data, Global, Jan. 2024)
- YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed more than $1.8 billion CAD to Canadian GDP in 2023.
- Today more than 3 million channels are in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), which gives creators ways to earn money on YouTube.
- YPP has paid out more than any other creator monetization platform, and paid over $70 billion to creators, artists, and media companies between 2021 - 2023.
- Research from SmithGeiger (Google/SmithGeiger, YouTube Trends Survey, CA May 2024) shows that 66% of Canadian Gen Zs describe themselves as a video content creator.
- 95% of YouTube users report using YouTube to gather information and knowledge.
- 76% of users agree that YouTube is home to diverse content and perspectives.