By Canadian Press

Canadians spend more money and time online during COVID pandemic: StatCan

Oct 14, 2020 | 1:36 PM

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 per cent of Canadians had spent more money online on technology including computers, laptops and tablets, and 42 per cent 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 per cent of Canadians say they’ve received attempted identity-theft attacks and 14 per cent reported at least one attack related to COVID-19 test results, a potential cure for the virus or about the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

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A Statistics Canada survey from 2018 found that 48 per cent of respondents had received a fraudulent message, including phishing attempts, over the previous year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2020. 

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press