French Canada 2025

Canada’s Digital Divide Persists

Report by Paul Briggs  | Mar 11, 2025
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Canada’s digital disparity continues
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
Digital users in Quebec—most of whom speak French as their first language—have unique habits that are different from the rest of Canada. These include heavier consumption of TV and lighter usage of digital services and online shopping.
Topics
Income
Languages
Population
Canada
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Canada’s digital disparity continues
Sources
Media Gallery

The digital divide between French- and English-speaking Canada is still evident, even after decades of digital evolution. The gap isn’t huge, but it’s notable for media buyers looking to engage Quebecois consumers. It comes down to language, household economics, and a unique attachment to local media.

Key Question: How does French-speaking Canada differ from English-speaking Canada in traditional versus digital media adoption?

Francophone Quebec Watches a Lot More TV Than Ontario (average weekly hours spent with TV by adults in Quebec* and Ontario and % of total TV audience share**, Dec 2024)
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Key Stat: French-speaking Quebecois watch 11.2 more hours of TV weekly than do viewers in Anglophone Ontario.

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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Canada’s digital disparity continues
  1. Sources
  2. Media Gallery

    Charts in This Report

    Francophone Quebec Watches a Lot More TV Than Ontario (average weekly hours spent with TV by adults in Quebec* and Ontario and % of total TV audience share**, Dec 2024)Streaming Video Adoption Grows in Quebec, Along With Multi-Service Subscriptions (% of adult internet users in Quebec, Aug 2024)
    Smart TVs Are the Primary Access Point to Video Streaming Services in Quebec (% of adult internet users in Quebec, March 2024)Francophones Are the Most Trusting Population as Trust in News Among Canadians Plummets (% of adults in Canada who believe they can trust news most of the time, by language spoken, 2018-2024)
    Francophone Canadians Still Prefer TV Over Social Media as a Primary News Source by a Large Margin (% of French- vs. English-speaking adults in Canada citing select media as a main news source, 2016-2024)Francophone Canadians Rely on YouTube for News Much Less Than Anglophones (% of adults in Canada who consume news-related videos, by language spoken, Feb 2024)
    Quebec Ties With Nova Scotia for the Lowest Ecommerce Penetration in Canada (% of adult internet users in Canada, March 2024)Cost Savings Is the Factor Digital Shoppers in Quebec Consider Most Important (% of digital shoppers in Quebec who consider select factors important when shopping online, March 2024)

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    authors

    Paul Briggs

    Contributors

    Vladimir de Leon
    Chart Editor
    Bill Fisher
    Donte Gibson
    Senior Charts Editor
    Madan Kumar
    Copy Editor
    Heather Sprung
    Senior Editor
    Tracy Tang
    Senior Researcher
    Paul Verna
    VP, Content