A Canadian survey conducted through the first half of this year shows that 61 per cent of Canada’s small- and medium-sized business sector is connected to the Internet, up from 44 percent last year.
Results are based on 18,514 in-person interviews conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
CFIB director of research, Ted Mallett said results show Internet use strongest in British Columbia with 67 percent of smaller firms using the Internet, Alberta has the next rating at 66 percent, followed by Ontario’s 65 percent and Nova Scotia with 64 percent. Manitoba, Newfoundland and New Brunswick run close to the national average at 60, 59 and 58 percent respectively.
In Saskatchewan 53 percent of smaller firms are Internet linked, and Quebec has the smallest number at 47 percent. However these two provinces show strong gains over a year ago, with a 14 percentage point rise in Saskatchewan and a 16 point increase in Quebec.
Saskatchewan’s rate may be a reflection of the greater percentage of very small firms in its small business sector, while growth in Quebec could indicate small business owners overcoming the initial shortage of French-language Internet resources.