A Statscan report calculated that some 13 million Canadians over the age of 15 had used the Internet in the 12 months prior to a survey it conducted in 2000. That number, it said, represents 53 percent of all Canadians over 15. The telephone survey, based on the responses of more than 25,000 people, found that 50 percent of women in Canada are now using the Internet, up dramatically from a count of just 14 percent in 1994. Men now are only slightly more likely to have used the Net, Statscan said, noting the Internet access was reported by 56 percent of men in 2000, up from 22 percent in 1994.
Men are also more likely to spend more time online.
However, Statscan said the real divide between those who have used the Internet and those who haven't is most likely to be marked by age, education, or money. Statscan said that the poor and less educated are not simply uninterested in the Net. Of those who had not yet connected, just seven percent said they had no need to be online, while another seven percent cited other reasons, such as health problems, concerns about content, or a belief that they were too old. Eighteen percent of those who did not use the Internet said they didn't have enough time, and 13 percent said they felt they didn't have the training or skills to be online. Statscan said men were more likely than women to use the Internet to obtain news, while women were more likely than men to research medical information online.