Yes, there's plenty of free wi-fi in Canada. But it's best not to assume it's safe. Open wi-fi internet connections are prone to hackers because they often don't authenticate users with a username and password. On top of that, hackers can set up honeypot wi-fi hotspots to lure users into connecting, then intercept everything that passes through the connection. A VPN encrypts internet traffic so that anything a hacker intercepts can't be deciphered.