Canadians spend more money, time online during COVID: StatCan
By CP STAFF
Industry Innovation & Technology Manufacturing COVID online Statistics Canada TechnologySurvey also found that 34% of Canadians say they've received attempted identity-theft attacks.
OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says Canadians have been spending more time and money online since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency found in a survey conducted last month that 44% of Canadians had spent more money online on technology including computers, laptops and tablets, and 42% spent more on video streaming services.
Analyst Christopher Collins says the survey is trying to capture the social impacts of the pandemic.
He says Canadians have spent more time on social media, messaging services and online video platforms since March.
The survey also found that 34% of Canadians say they’ve received attempted identity-theft attacks and 14% reported at least one attack related to COVID-19 test results, a potential cure for the virus or about the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
A Statistics Canada survey from 2018 found that 48% of respondents had received a fraudulent message, including phishing attempts, over the previous year.
