Canadians love the internet and are online all the time but what are they really doing? From streaming and shopping to socializing and gaming, there are countless ways people across the country spend their time online.
Gambling and gaming
Gambling has increasingly moved online in Canada. People across the country can be found betting on their favourite sporting events, competing in online poker against people from across the world and even playing some of the highest payout online casino games. With sites taking Canadian dollars and with people from Canada using cryptocurrency for the vast array of online crypto casinos, online gambling looks like it will continue to be on the rise in the country for quite some time.
Emails
It might seem obvious but Canada’s favourite thing to do online is to read, send and check emails, with 82% of the country’s residents doing this regularly as of March 2024. Canada has quite some history when it comes to email. For instance, one of the first platforms to turn electronic mail into a fax, Digital Chicken, was developed in Toronto in the 1990s by computer scientist Robert Riley. Meanwhile, one of the very first global email services, Vancouver’s very own Hushmail, came out in 1999 and still has a loyal customer base today. It isn’t just the better parts of email that Canada has been a trailblazer, though. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) law of 2000 was one of the world’s first pieces of anti-spam legislation, while 2014’s Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act is one of the most stringent global anti-spam laws.
Social media
Canada is, like most online countries, very much into its social media. In 2023, the Online News Act mandated that search engines, such as Google and social media platforms pay news providers for their content. There is also some diversity in who uses what. The French-speaking community in Quebec tends to avoid the likes of Twitter but is keen on Facebook and YouTube and their range of Francophone communities and content creators. Also, Indigenous people have also got a high rate of Facebook usage and make use of the network’s potential for activism and community building. One platform that you won’t see as much of in Canada is TikTok. While the network itself is not banned, the company was ordered to close its Canadian offices. This move followed bans on both Federal and Provincial government-owned devices.
Online banking
Canadians have a well-earned reputation for being prudent, so it’s no surprise that online banking is a common part of daily life, with many people managing their accounts, paying bills and transferring money over the internet.
Official government statistics suggest an even higher figure, claiming that 77.6% of Canadians use both internet and online banking at some point. The same set of figures claimed that Albertan and Quebecer internet users were the most likely to use online banking, with 84% of those provinces’ internet users banking online.
Online shopping
Shopping online is a popular choice for Canadians and the sector, already strong by the start of the 2020s, got an extra boost during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the US Internet Trade Administration (ITA), online shopping in Canada has remained resilient, with strong demand across a variety of categories including fashion, hobby and leisure and electronics.
All in all, Canada has a strong internet sector and culture. With news, gambling and gaming, banking and ecommerce all growth sectors, it looks like the country will remain one of the most switched-on places in the world for quite some time.
DISCLAIMER: The information presented on this page/site is intended for entertainment purposes only. Please be aware that gambling entails inherent risks, and participation in online gambling is done at your own risk. Online gambling is not regulated in all Canadian provinces, meaning consumer protections and oversight may not be in place depending on where you live.
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