Telecommunications Industry Statistics in Canada

The telecommunications industry in Canada provides an essential service for the country’s over 39 million residents and plays a critical role in connecting Canadians through a range of services, including phone, internet, wireless, satellite, and cable. The industry also remains a key contributor to the Canadian economy, contributing tens of billions of dollars annually.

In this article, we explore the key statistics about the telecommunications industry in Canada, including the industry’s revenue, GDP contribution, employment, coverage, and data usage.

Telecommunications Industry Statistics for Canadians

• The telecommunications services industry generated approximately $59.6 billion in total revenues in 2023.
• The sector contributed an estimated $80.8 billion to Canada’s GDP in 2023.
• In 2023, the sector supported nearly 782,000 jobs across Canadian industries.
• By 2023, about 99.7% of Canadians had access to mobile network coverage where they live and work.
• Average mobile data usage per subscription has continued to grow year-over-year.
• Canada has nine LTE networks which is more than, for example, the US or Japan.
• The mobile network in Canada offers the highest quality among G20 countries.
• Canada’s rural areas have faster download speeds than, for example, the US or Germany.

The Canadian Telecommunications Industry

The telecommunications industry is a sector of the Canadian economy that provides services related to the exchange and transmission of information over wired and wireless networks. The information exchanged includes voice, data, and video information. Companies within the industry provide services such as the Internet, telephone, television, and wireless communication to individuals and businesses.

The Canadian telecommunications industry is regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The CRTC ensures that all Canadians have access to telecommunication services. They also promote competition and protect consumers.

Revenue and GDP

In 2023, total telecommunications service sector revenues in Canada reached approximately $59.6 billion, representing a year‑over‑year increase from 2022. It means that mobile and fixed internet services now represent over 80% of all telecommunications revenues. 

Wireless services accounted for the largest share of revenue (about 55.2%) while fixed internet services represented around 28% of total revenues in 2023.

The broader telecommunications sector contributed about $80.8 billion to Canada’s GDP and supported nearly 782,000 jobs in 2023, which clearly illustrates the sector’s significant economic role.

Five Largest Providers Account for Almost 90% of Total Revenues

In 2020, the five largest telecommunication service providers accounted for 86.9% of the total industry revenues. The largest providers in Canada are Bell, Rogers, Shaw, Telus, and Quebecor.

Employment

The telecommunications industry is a key employment sector in Canada. In 2023, over 782,000 Canadians were employed within the industry. The wired and wireless telecommunication sector, which is the biggest contributor to Canada’s GDP, employed approximately 105,000 people.

Average Salaries in the Telecommunications Industry

According to Statistics Canada, the average weekly earnings in the Canadian telecommunications industry were $1,691 in 2023 (equivalent to about $87,920 per year), up from $1,574 in 2022. This remains higher than the service industry on the whole, where the weekly average was $1,146 in 2023.

According to the recruitment website Jobillico, the average annual salary for a telecommunications worker in Canada is about $66,133.

The salaries in the telecommunications industry have been consistently higher than in the broader service sector. The salaries within the industry vary depending on location, experience, and role. While entry‑level workers can expect to earn around $50,000 on average, more experienced employees can make on average around $141,000 per year.

Over 40% of The Telecommunications Industry Employees Have a University Degree

The number of people working in the telecommunications industry who have a university degree has increased over the years. In 2001, 26.3% of the industry’s employees had a university degree compared to about 41.9% in 2022. By 2024, approximately 45.0% of employees in the telecommunications industry held a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Accessibility

Canada is one of the best‑connected countries in the world. About 99.5% of Canadians had mobile coverage at the end of 2024, and the CRTC has set a target for 100% of the population to have access to the national mobile network by 2026, including as many major highways and roads as possible. Coverage along major roads and highways was about 87% in 2023.

Another target set by the CRTC is to enable 98% of Canadian households to access a high‑speed broadband connection by the end of 2026 and 100% of households by 2031. The target for 2021 was 90% of households, and this was exceeded, with 91.4% of all households having access to high‑speed broadband by the end of that year. By the end of 2024, approximately 96.4% of Canadian households had access to high‑speed broadband meeting the 50/10 Mbps standard.

While overall coverage is strong, there are considerable differences: northern communities, rural areas, and First Nations reserve areas have lower rates of access compared with the national averages. While coverage in these regions continues to improve through investments and funding, gaps still remain.

Smartphone Adoption in Canada

95% of Canadians had a smartphone in 2024, with the younger generations having higher smartphone adoption rates. For example, around 98% of Canadians aged 15–24 and about 97% of 25–44‑year‑olds had a smartphone. The least likely age group (from 15 years up) were Canadians aged 65 and over, with around 85% of this age group owning a smartphone.

Subscriptions to Telecommunication Services

The demand for telecommunication services in Canada continues to grow year‑on‑year. In 2023, there were around 37 million mobile phone subscriptions in Canada, up from 34.6 million in 2022. Residential broadband internet subscriptions also continued to increase, reaching approximately 14 million by the end of 2024.

Use of Mobile and Internet Data in Canada

Canadians are using more mobile data than before. In 2023, the average mobile data use was 7.0 GB per subscription per month, up from 6.07 GB in the third quarter of 2022. Broadband data consumption has also continued to increase. While it was 204.8 GB in 2019 and 394.4 GB in 2022, Canadians have been consuming an increasing amount of data due to activities such as streaming, remote work, and online services.

Mobile Service Plans Have Become Cheaper

According to the CRTC, the cost of mobile service plans has decreased in Canada. In 2023, wireless prices declined an average of 18.2% compared with the previous year. Plans with 2GB and 5GB of mobile data have continued to become cheaper over the past several years, with larger data plans seeing the most significant price drops. 10GB and 50GB plans also continued to decrease in price between 2023 and 2024. 

How Canada Compares Globally

Canada’s government policies encourage competition within the telecommunications industry, and this has led to Canada becoming a global leader in the provision of mobile wireless networks. There are nine long-term evolution (LTE, often referred to as 4G) networks in Canada.

The United States, despite having a much larger population, has only eight and Japan five. In the number of 5G networks, Canada is in second place after the United States. In the US, there are eight 5G networks and in Canada six. Italy comes third with five. Japan, France, and the United Kingdom all have four.

Canada’s Mobile Network is the Most Expensive Among G20 Countries

Canada has the most expensive mobile wireless infrastructure among the G20 countries, followed by Argentina, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. The cheapest networks are in Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and India.

However, with the high cost comes excellent quality. Canada ranks number one among the G20 countries for network quality. It is followed by Korea, Japan, and Australia. The lowest quality network is in Mexico, then Saudi Arabia, and the US.

Canada also has 62.9% faster download speeds than the average for the G20 countries. The download speeds are 89.9% faster than the global median download speeds. The average download speeds in Canada have risen from 28.4 Mbps to 258.8 Mbps between 2015 and 2021. At the same time, upload speeds increased from 5.4 Mbps to 106.4 Mbps.

Canada’s Rural Areas Have Better Download Speeds

While the rural areas in Canada are not yet covered as well as urban areas, the download speeds in Canada’s rural parts are better than, for example, in the US, Brazil, Australia, or Germany. The download speeds are between 16.2% and 27% faster than in Australia, Germany, or the US and 2.5 times faster than in Brazil’s rural areas.

Summary

The telecommunications industry in Canada is an industry that is growing each year. In 2023, the revenue generated by the industry was over $59.6 billion and in 2023 it contributed almost $80.8 billion to Canada’s GDP.

The industry employs over 782,000 Canadians and the average salary is over $66,000. There is more work to be done within the industry to make it a more diverse employer. For example, women occupy less than 20% of directorial posts in the industry.

As well as its significant contribution to the Canadian economy through revenue, the industry is also vital in connecting Canadians. At the end of 2023, about 99.7% of Canadians had mobile coverage. The CRTC aims to offer all Canadians access to the national mobile network by 2026.

Canada compares favourably against other countries and has more networks than, for example, the US, Australia, or the UK. It has the most expensive but also the highest‑quality telecommunications infrastructure among the G20 countries.