say they haven’t gone more than eight hours without getting their online fix.
Canadians admit to logging on to the net while watching TV.
admit to using their phone while using the washroom.
How Canadians get online
(55+) are surfing the web using mobile devices.
57% in 2019 vs 24% in 2015.
The internet changing lives
46% made a purchase from their mobile devices.
87% made an online purchase last year.
*Data only available for past 4 years.
64% of Canadians prefer making online purchases from a Canadian retailer.
75% are comfortable making purchases on a Canadian retail or government site vs only 55% on a U.S. site.
of users are concerned about malware.
45 % provide informal tech support
Nearly 30% think their mobile device definitely or probably listens to them via the microphone, without their permission.
Executive summary
Canadians are spending more time online in 2019 – shopping, interacting with governments, logging onto social networks, reaching out to family and friends, and searching for jobs and soulmates.
Almost one-in-five say they haven’t gone more than eight hours without getting their online fix and only 15% report being off the grid for a week or more in the last year.
More than half of all Canadians (51%) are still using desktops and laptops when they head online, but the use of mobile is growing across all age categories, with 48% using a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device to access the internet.
Even more boomers (55+) are surfing the web using from mobile devices - 57% this year versus 44% in 2017 and only 24% in 2015.
The most common online activities include email, banking, accessing social media, catching up on news/current events and shopping, but the time Canadians spend instant messaging has increased.
More and more Canadians are using the internet for instant messaging:
32%
in 2016
47%
in 2019
As the internet evolves its impact on the lives of Canadians expands, changing the way we work, connect with friends and family and consume products and services.
Though much of the effect is positive, concerns around data privacy and security are becoming increasingly important as Canadians spend more of their waking hours online.
Every year, CIRA conducts research to learn more about Canada’s internet, as a first step to addressing these concerns and building a better online experience for Canadians.
Canada’s Internet Factbook 2019 displays data and trends on the state of Canada’s internet, as well as how Canadians use it and their perceptions of it.
State of Canada's internet
Internet at home
Of those Canadians with a home internet connection, 92 per cent have consistently said in recent years that having access to high-speed internet at home is important. More revealing, though, is that 95 per cent noted that high-quality internet access that enables them to easily and reliably download information, load web pages and use applications is important to them.
There is a slight dip in satisfaction with home internet speed.
85%
in 2018
81%
in 2019
7 in 10 internet users say they would be unlikely to purchase a home in an area that didn’t have high-speed internet. More than half (52%) say they would be ‘very’ unlikely to buy a home in such areas.
No limits at home
The number of Canadians with unlimited data packages at home is growing. Bandwidth-intensive applications like video calling and movie, TV and music streaming mean the demand for unlimited data is stronger than ever. More than half of Ontario and Nova Scotia residents have unlimited data at home.
More than 40 per cent of Canadians report having unlimited data in their home internet package, up from 29 per cent in 2016.
Satisfaction with the amount of data included in home internet packages has increased in the past five years:
42%
who were very satisfied in 2014
56%
who were very satisfied in 2019
Avg. speeds 2019
| Avg. down | Avg. up |
|---|---|
|
41.2 Mbps |
17.5 Mbps |
Avg. download speed
| Year | Avg. down |
|---|---|
|
2017 |
19.7 Mbps |
|
2018 |
20.5 Mbps |
|
2019 |
41.2 Mbps |
Avg. upload speed
| Year | Avg. up |
|---|---|
|
2017 |
10.0 Mbps |
|
2018 |
11.3 Mbps |
|
2019 |
17.5 Mbps |
Quality metrics per province/territory
|
Variability (ms) |
Latency (ms) |
Packet loss (Percent loss) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Prince Edward Island |
506.36 |
238.01 |
1.28 |
|
Newfoundland and Labrador |
301.16 |
151.25 |
1.75 |
|
Saskatchewan |
255.41 |
125.47 |
1.03 |
|
New Brunswick |
467.64 |
217.26 |
1.22 |
|
Manitoba |
234.29 |
88.91 |
1.04 |
|
Nova Scotia |
483.11 |
235.58 |
1.95 |
|
Alberta |
266.63 |
99.33 |
0.71 |
|
British Columbia |
280.05 |
82.72 |
0.63 |
|
Quebec |
289.93 |
89.8 |
0.84 |
|
Ontario |
364.03 |
119.76 |
1 |
| Nunavut | 225.54 | 141.55 | 3.8 |
| Yukon | 315.87 | 135.56 | 0.93 |
| Northwest Territories | 366.79 | 184.24 | 3.23 |
Rural vs urban
Using the Statistics Canada definition of metro versus non-metro, CIRA’s Internet Performance Test data shows that the average tester who lives in an urban area enjoys a much faster and higher quality internet experience.
However, performance is also improving for rural Canadians – download speeds increased from 11 Mbps in 2018 to 19.5 Mbps in 2019 while upload speeds inched up from 5.45 Mbps in 2018 to 7.62 in 2019.
Contact your local IXP to find out how to get connected.
Canada's Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)
-
Atlantic IXP AIXP
aixp.ca info@aixp.ca -
Calgary YYCIX
yycix.ca peering@yycix.ca -
Edmonton YEGIX
yegix.ca yegix@yegix.ca -
Manitoba MBIX
mbix.ca info@mbix.ca -
Montreal QIX
qix.ca info@qix.ca -
Ottawa Gatineau Internet Exchange OGIX
ogix.ca info@ogix.ca -
Saskatoon YXEIX
yxeix.ca info@yxeix.ca -
Toronto TORIX
torix.ca peering@torix.ca -
Vancouver VANIX
vanix.ca info@vanix.ca
Canadians' online behaviour
How Canadians access the internet: Growth of mobile continues
While desktops and laptops remain the most popular devices Canadians use to access the internet, smartphones and other mobile devices are steadily growing as the device of choice. Almost half of all Internet users use a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device to access the internet.
While only a small percentage of Canadians use voice-controlled connected-home devices such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Apple HomePod to go online, their popularity is rising – their use jumped 60 per cent in the last year.
The use of a mobile device as the device used most often to access the internet continues to climb, while the use of a computer as the device used most often has steadily declined over the last three years.
Even more boomers (55+) are surfing the web with a mobile device:
57% this year versus 44% in 2017 and only 24% in 2015.
How Canadians spend their time online
Most Canadians spend at least 3-4 hours online every day – shopping, using social media, emailing, banking and catching up on news and current events. One-in-eight Canadians spend more than eight hours a day online.
73% of Canadians spend at least 3-4 hours online per day.
The most common online activities include email, banking, accessing social media, catching up on news/current events and shopping, but the time Canadian spend instant messaging has increased – from 32% in 2016 to 47% in 2019.
66% of Canadians who say they watch TV/movies online spend at least one hour a day doing so.
41% of Canadians spend at least one hour a day listening to music or radio online.
61% of Canadians at least occasionally seek out Canadian content and 13% often/always do.
The great Canadian content search
Most internet users who watch TV, movies or video online at least occasionally seek out Canadian content. Perhaps given the dominance of French-speaking Canadians in Quebec, its residents are most likely to hunt down content specifically made by and for Canadians while almost 40 per cent of British Columbians hardly ever do.
Quebec residents (22%)
are most likely to say they often or always seek out Canadian content
British Columbia residents (39%)
are most likely to say they never or almost never seeks out Canadian content online versus the average of 32%.
Most internet users who watch TV/movies/video online
at least occasionally seek out Canadian content (61%). One-in-eight (13%) often or always do.
Only 13% admit to intentionally accessing or streaming pirated film or TV content online.
Younger people (18-34 year-olds) are most likely to say they have (24%) versus 4% for those aged 55+.
Top reasons for accessing pirated content online:
36%
It is easier/more convenient
32%
It’s too expensive
31%
It isn’t available in my region
How Canadians consume news content online
When Canadians are looking for news online, they mainly visit specific news and media sites, conduct Google searches on news events or check out Facebook. Newfoundland residents are more likely than the rest of the country to log onto a news site, while more than one-quarter of Nova Scotians say they usually catch up via Facebook.
The top methods for accessing news online are:
61%
visiting specific sites
50%
Google searches
39%
Canadians most often access news online via:
41%
News/media sites
20%
Google news searches
16%
9%
Digital newspaper subscriptions
Just over 6 in 10 (62%) say their household has a cable TV subscription.
31% say they watch TV/movie content by using the video-streaming apps of individual TV networks.
E-Commerce Trends in Canada
How Canadians shop online
Around the world, online shopping is a popular way for people to purchase goods and services, and Canada is no exception to this trend – most Canadians have made an online purchase in the last 12 months, either from computers, mobile phones or tablets.
87%
of internet users have made an online purchase in the last 12 months.
60%
of shoppers prefer making retail purchases from traditional bricks and mortar stores, and PEI residents are most likely (77%) to prefer that option.
The single most important factor when making a purchase online instead of at a traditional store is cost/savings (33%), but convenience (15%) and time savings (10%) also rank.
What are we buying?
Almost without exception, online purchases of all goods and services have increased in the last five years. Purchases of household goods have almost doubled in the past five years.
While the majority of people who ordered food online did so from a restaurant’s website or app, food delivery services such as Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes are becoming more popular.
The purchase of clothing and apparel has increased from 42% in 2014 and household goods has also increased from 26% in 2014.
Most common items purchased online:
Among people who ordered food or food delivery:
59%
ordered takeout directly from a restaurant’s web site or app.
48%
used a food delivery service like Uber Eats or Skip the Dishes.
Device used to make online purchases:
78%
Computer
46%
Mobile phone
25%
Tablet
In the past five years there’s been a steady increase in the rate at which mobile phones are used to purchase products and services. Almost half of all Canadians said they used their mobile phone to make an online purchase in the past 12 months.
Saskatchewan residents lead the pack among Canadians, with more than half saying they bought something online from their mobile phone in the last 12 months.
Approaches to online shopping
Canadians are careful shoppers who often do research online before going to a store to make a purchase. The reverse, however, is not true: few online shoppers visit a retail store to browse and then make their purchase online, a practice referred to as showrooming.
Almost half (46%) of online shoppers say they rarely or never visit a store to browse but then make their purchase online.
When making a major purchase, most agree that they almost always compare prices online before buying (80% in 2019, up from 69% in 2014).
Almost 4 in 10 (38%) agree that they prefer shopping online more than in retail stores, up from 28% in 2014.
Three-quarters of people are comfortable using a mobile payment of digital wallet service.
Buy Canadian
When given a choice, Canadians overwhelmingly prefer to buy online from Canadian businesses and retailers. More than half of those who made an online purchase in the last 12 months intentionally bought Canadian goods and services. Newfoundland and New Brunswick residents lead the pack in their “buy Canadian” attitudes.
Almost 2/3 (64%) prefer making online purchases from Canadian retailers when they have a choice.
Top reasons for preferring online purchases from Canadian retailers:
43%
It benefits the Canadian economy
19%
Canadian dollar/exchange rate
18%
To avoid custom taxes/duty
57% say they have purposefully made an online purchase from a Canadian retailer instead of a company in the U.S. or beyond North American borders in the last 12 months.
Accessing services
Government 2.0 – digital service delivery
In recent years, all levels of government in Canada have embraced digital delivery as they strive to provide better solutions and more streamlined services to citizens. Most people indicate that it’s important that governments provide online service delivery options in addition to offering offline choices.
In the past year, almost three-quarters of Canadians have accessed a government program or service online, and most people state they prefer this option to in-person, over the phone or by mail. The majority of Canadians are also confident that governments are properly protecting the personal information they share while accessing services.
72%
of Canadians say they have accessed a government service or program online in the last 12 months.
88%
of Newfoundland residents say they have accessed a government service or program over the internet, while just 60% of Manitoba residents have.
Almost 75%
of Canadians say they’re confident their personal information is properly protected when accessing government services online.
Online communications with organizations
Canadians most often communicate online with banks, government, utility companies, insurance providers and their workplaces.
Three-quarters of Canadians say they are most likely to communicate with their bank online.
56% say they go online to communicate with the government.
Canadians don’t frequently use online communications for interactions with their child’s school (12%), doctors (17%) or dentists (22%).
Internet users are confident that communications with their bank (89%), government (86%) and workplace (84%) are properly protected.
Cybersecurity
Cyberattacks and malware
Cyberattacks have become an omnipresent threat in the online world. As news stories that detail corporate data breaches and cyberattacks become the norm, Canadians are concerned about security as they go about their online business. Almost one-third say they have been the victim of a successful cyberattack, and most people are concerned about security issues when they go online.
80% of internet users are concerned about malware when using the internet.
32% of Canadians say they have been the victim of a cyberattack. Notably, 15% say they don’t know if they have or have not.
Informal IT support
Almost half of all Canadians help out family or friends with limited digital skills by providing informal tech support. Most who do say they’re concerned about the possibility of their loved ones being a victim of a bad online actor.
45%
of people say they provide informal tech support to family and friends.
79%
of those who do provide support are confident in their ability to help friends/family resolve their issues.
81%
of those who provide informal tech support are concerned about the vulnerability of their family/friends to cyberattacks
About 3 in 10 (29%) believe their mobile device “definitely” or “probably” listens to them via the microphone without their permission. Almost one-third (32%) don’t know.
Of those who believe their device listens without permission, 82% are concerned about it.
How concerned Canadians are about whether or not their mobile device is listening varies across the country:
MOST CONCERNED
Newfoundland 96%
Prince Edward Island 92%
LEAST CONCERNED
Saskatchewan 64%
More than half (55%) believe their mobile device tracks and records their movements via its GPS locator. About one-fifth either don’t know (18%) or say their device is “probably not” (13%) or “definitely not” (7%) is tracking their movements.
Social media use and online harassment
One-quarter of all Canadians have experienced or witnessed cyberbullying or harassment when using the internet. Not surprisingly more youth report harassment and cyberbullying than older people.
Almost one-third of people are hesitant about using social media or taking part in an online discussion due to harassment concerns. Notably, the number of men who express reticence in using social media for this reason is on the rise.
Canadians feel most vulnerable to online harassment while using Facebook and Twitter and less so on LinkedIn, a social media site geared to professionals.
Despite that, Facebook continues to dominate as Canadians’ favorite and most-used social media site, but at least one-third use LinkedIn, Instagram and WhatsApp. The number of people who use Twitter and Snapchat dropped slightly in 2019, with Twitter falling from 26% in 2018 to 23% in 2019, and Snapchat dropping from 19% in 2018 to 14% in 2019.
The number of Canadians who feel safe from online intimidation when using Facebook dropped five percentage points in 2019.
32%
of people are reluctant to use social media or participate in an online discussion over concerns about cyberbullying and online harassment.
31%
of men said they’re reluctant to use social media or participate in an online discussion over concerns about cyberbullying and online harassment, up from 21% in 2017.
25%
have experienced or witnessed harassment when using the internet.
2019: 39%
2018: 58%
2017: 51%
73% of Canadians says they’re concerned about potential privacy violations from using Facebook.
Upon learning that some social media companies store and share users’ personal information without their knowledge or consent,
43%
say they changed their privacy settings
32%
took no action
32%
reduced their use of social media
Canada’s domain: .CA
.CA is Canada’s online domain identifier. A truly Canadian domain, .CA is only available to individuals and businesses with a connection to Canada.
65% of Canadian internet users agree that Canadian businesses and organizations should use a .CA domain.
Canadians internet users prefer .CA to .com in many areas.
Almost half of Canadian internet users don’t trust websites with top-level domains (TLDs) that are new or uncommon, a finding that has remained relatively stable since 2017.
Do you trust websites with new or uncommon domains?
48%
Agree
11%
Disagree
42%
Neither agree nor disagree
.CA growth significantly outpaces industry growth trends
ccTLD (without .cn, .tk and .tw) Growth Rates 2013 - 2018
Source: Zook data and CIRA
Note: For accuracy, industry growth rates shown exclude .cn, .tw and .tk due to a change in registration rules within .cn, a differing business and measurement model for .tk and drastic variability for .tw in 2018.
Global domain industry
The domain name industry spans the globe and includes a variety of top-level domains. This includes ccTLDs such as .CA as well as legacy generic top-level domains such as .com or .org. In 2015 the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the global body charged with managing the domain name system, approved more than 1,000 new gTLDS.
Global TLD (without .cn and .tk) Growth Rates Q1 FY 2010 - Q3 FY 2019
Source: Zook data
Note: For accuracy, industry growth rates shown exclude .cn and .tk due to a change in registration rules within .cn, a differing business and measurement model for .tk, and drastic variability for .tw in 2018.
Top 10 new gTLDs
-
.top
-
.xyz
-
.loan
-
.club
-
.online
-
.site
-
.vip
-
.icu
-
.work
-
.shop
Source: ntldstats.com (as of April 2019)
About this report
CIRA developed Canada’s Internet Factbook through an online survey conducted by The Strategic Counsel. The purpose of CIRA’s research is to identify trends in Canadian internet use. A total of n=2,050 adult Canadian internet users (18+) were surveyed in March 2019, and the sample is proportionate-to-population for age, province and gender. Additional data was taken from the M-Lab and global domain industry statistics from Zook, CENTR and ntldstats.com.