Internet usage in Canada - Statistics & Facts

With nearly 37 million internet users, Canada counts among the most prominent online markets in the Americas. Additionally, digital audiences in Canada are projected to grow to around 39 million online users by 2024, reaching over 99 percent of the population. As of 2022, 86 percent of online adults accessed the internet via desktop or laptop computer. While the use of computers and tablets has declined over the last four years in favor of smartphones, TV and smart home devices have been growing in popularity since 2017, with 71 percent of Canadians claiming to own at least one smart device at home.

Internet being an essential part of daily life

Canadians, like most worldwide internet users, extensively consume video content. In the third quarter of 2021, the average Canadian spent 6.5 hours per day online. Furthermore, online users spent more than three hours watching TV via live broadcast or streaming. E-mail was by far the most widely performed online activity, named by nearly 85 percent of Canadian internet users as of March 2022, followed by online banking and social media. More than half of Canadian internet users can no longer imagine their everyday life without the internet, outweighing the share of online users who had concerns regarding the privacy of their data online.

Social media use in Canada

Social networks, in general, feature strongly in Canada. As of 2022, there were over 34 million social media users in the country. Facebook, the most used platform in Canada, generated around 57 percent of the visits. As a monthly snapshot of the mobile social media landscape, French social media platform BeReal, which promotes the authenticity of online users, was the most downloaded app in the Apple App Store in Canada in September 2022. On Google Play, however, the app did not see as big popularity, letting TikTok remain the most downloaded app among Canadian users of the store.

Online shopping is not popular anymore

With the onset of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns, most of the world turned to online shopping – Canada is no exception. In 2020, the Canadian e-commerce sector surged, growing by over 20 percent to 31.9 percent compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, a year later, in 2021, this annual growth declined by around eight percentage points, and in 2022 it was at 13.5 percent only. The cost of items was the leading factor for Canadians when making an online purchase. About seven in ten Canadians shopped online via computer, and almost six in ten via mobile phone.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Ani Petrosyan, Oct 24, 2022

Key insights

Number of internet users in Canada
38.08m
Internet usage penetration in Canada
99.1%
Mobile internet usage penetration in Canada
93.59%
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Number of internet users in Canada from 2019 to 2028 (in millions)

Demographics

Internet users in Canada 2019-2028

Internet usage penetration in Canada from 2019 to 2028

Demographics

Internet usage reach in Canada 2019-2028

Most popular devices used for connecting to the internet in Canada from 2017 to 2022

Use

Canada leading online access devices 2017-2022

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