Confluence Awards, Canada’s first national creator awards program, crowned its first-ever winners last night at a sold-out inaugural ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, marking a historic milestone for Canada’s creator economy. Eight category winners, one People’s Choice champion, and one Creator’s Choice honouree were announced live on stage before an audience of creators, brand leaders, and media.
The ceremony brought together more than 250 guests from all over the country for an evening of recognition, live performances, and a fashion show spotlighting emerging Canadian designers.
“When we launched Confluence Awards, we made a promise: recognition where it’s overdue,” said Joycelyn David, Owner and CEO of AV Communications. “The moment that stayed with me was looking out at that room and seeing creators meeting each other for the first time — people who’ve been building in parallel, across languages and platforms and communities, finally in the same space. That’s what Confluence means: the meeting point. Last night we saw it happen in real time, and we’re just getting started!”
2026 Winners
Food: Raymond Cua (Travelling Foodie) – Toronto-based food and travel creator with ~110K combined following across 8 channels. Featured in Travel + Leisure and by Google for in-depth culinary storytelling across Canada and internationally.
Health & Wellness: Lauren Obedkoff (FlabulousLo) – Canadian plus-size fitness, wellness, and grief content creator. Advocates for body positivity and holistic wellness, sharing her personal journey through loss and self-acceptance.
Education, Business & Tech: Nidhi Nagori – Toronto-based South Asian education and career coaching creator with 1M IG followers, 388.8K TikTok, and 185K LinkedIn. CA/CPA/CISA credentials. Founded Globalogy and Creaitify.
Travel: Josh Rimer – LGBTQ+ travel creator and host of “Josh Rimer Travels” on OUTtv, reaching 1.2M Canadians daily. Named GayCities Best Travel Content Creator in 2024.
Arts & Entertainment: Jenna Rutherford (From House to Home DIY) – Prairie-based DIY home renovation creator with 1M TikTok followers and 286K IG. Authentic, hands-on content with active brand partnerships.
Breakthrough Star: Hillary Kaplan – Body positivity and fashion creator with over 1M combined followers across channels. Creates content at the intersection of fashion, body image, and empowerment.
Emerging Voice: Didihood – Toronto and Vancouver-based collective co-founded by journalists at Global News and Post City. Partnerships with TikTok Canada, TIFF, 5X Festival, and TMU. Community infrastructure for diverse storytelling.
Fashion & Beauty: Kiley Langille – Fashion and beauty creator with almost 300K combined followers across channels. Strong multi-platform presence with an engaged younger demographic.
People’s Choice: Hillary Kaplan – Body positivity and fashion creator with over 1M combined followers across channels. Voted by the public as the creator whose voice, content, and community resonated most.
Creator’s Choice: Lisa (The Chinese Soup Lady) – Cantonese sisters running a family wellness project rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Voted by fellow Confluence Awards finalists as the creator whose craft earned the deepest peer respect.
Confluence 2026 winners were selected through a rigorous process combining expert jury scoring and independent online verification, while the People’s Choice Award was determined by open public vote and The Creator’s Choice Award was voted on exclusively by Confluence Awards finalists.
Runway Showcase: Emerging Canadian Designers
One of the evening’s highlights was the runway showcase spotlighting five emerging Canadian designers — Mitch Desunia, Tristan Licud (TFL Couture), Olesia Lazovaia, Lisa Davids (TJ Collectibles), and Claris Manglicmot (S and V Fashion). Collections spanned Indigenous-inspired contemporary silhouettes, Afrocentric statement pieces, Filipino textile reinterpretations, and sustainable vintage fashion, with a live opera performance woven into the runway. The showcase brought Confluence’s mission to the stage: diverse Canadian creative talent, celebrated in real time.
Official Sponsors and Partners
The inaugural Confluence Awards was made possible by the support of industry partners committed to elevating diverse Canadian creator voices:
Presenting Sponsors: AV Communications and Klever Kaos
Platinum Sponsor: Western Union
Bronze Sponsor: Estée Lauder Companies Canada
Product Sponsors: Guerlain, Echo & Ember and Miele
Tech Partner: Tulong Technologies
Media Partner: RIVO, Y Media Group
