New Study Finds Atlantic Canada Uses Internet The Least

Although Canada leads the world in internet usage, a new study by StatsCan finds Internet adoption to vary significantly across the country.  It would seem that when it comes to Canada’s high Internet usage score, some Provinces are not pulling their weight.

The study, conducted on more than 50,000 people across Canada, shows that New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island all fall below the Canadian average of 76.4%, and Nova Scotia is only slightly above at 77%.  On the other hand, British Columbia and Alberta score an 84% and 83% respectively.  According Jameson Berkow of the Financial Post, while there have been changes in the way the survey is conducted, New Brunswick have typically been at the bottom of the list since 2005.

The reasoning for the geographic disparity is not readily apparent.  While the west coast is home to Canada’s tech-scene, the east coast have seen a large boost in this culture as well, seeing companies such as New Brunswick’s Radian6, Prince Edward Island’s Bight Games, and Nova Scotia’s GoInstant achieve great success.

The Financial Post claim that, according to the household portion of the same survey, it is neither an age or income-based discrepancy.  In fact, it there are no apparent relations to be drawn between the high use of Internet on the West Coast, and lower adoption by the Maritime provinces.  All I know is that I was on vacation in Cape Breton, and had to wait until I got home to write this article!