Overall Access

It is now a truism to say that the market penetration rate of the Internet has been phenomenal since its emergence in the early 1990s. Our research shows that only a slim minority of Canadians knew what Internet was at the beginning of the past decade. Eleven years later, almost all Canadians are familiar with the term and approximately 60 per cent are considered on-line users (39 per cent in 1998 and 51 per cent in 1999) according to our definition.

An Internet user is defined as someone who has had access to the Internet in the past three months. The points of access recognize a number of locations and modes including, but not limited to, in the home, at work, at school, and at a public access point.

Despite strong growth in the mid-1990s, the latest figures reveal that growth in recent Internet usage was flat throughout 2000 — it was at 59 per cent in January and increased to 60 per cent by November [Figure 3.1]. Usage peeked in April and May (64 per cent during both months), but dropped back down to 61 per cent by July and 60 per cent by September. The strong growth seen in previous years has abated, revealing a relatively flat growth rate over the last year.