Category: Technology

Seven-in-ten have received “scam” emails, and almost two thirds are concerned about someone hacking their devices.

Vancouver, BC [June 11, 2019] – While a large proportion of Canadians have embraced the Internet for banking and shopping, there are still lingering concerns about identity theft, a new Research Co. poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample, 87% of Canadians say they are comfortable accessing banking information online, and 86% feel the same way about shopping for goods and services online.

Just over four-in-five Canadians (82%) say they are comfortable commenting on online forums that require their email address, and 73% are comfortable making a charitable donation online.

“As expected, younger residents are less likely to have qualms about performing specific tasks on the Internet,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “However, more than a third of Canadians aged 55 and over say they are not comfortable making charitable donations online.”

Over the past couple of months, 64% of Canadians have worried about somebody hacking into their own computer or smartphone. 

More than seven-in-ten Canadians have been concerned recently about computers and technology being used to invade their privacy (71%) and having their personal information stolen over the Internet (72%).

British Columbians (79%), Women (77%) and Canadians aged 18-to-34 (74%) are more likely to say they have worried about having their personal information stolen online.

Across the country, 72% of Canadians say they have received an email—sometimes referred to as the “Nigerian Scam”—offering them money for assistance or help, and 62% have received a “phishing” email, where somebody tried to acquire information by masquerading as a trustworthy entity.

One-in-five Canadians (20%) say their email address has been hacked at some point, and 4% say hackers took control of their social media platform.

Two-in-five Canadians (39%) say their computer became infected with a virus while they were browsing the Internet. Men are more likely to have acquired a virus online than women (44% to 34%).

Methodology:

Results are based on an online study conducted from May 31 to June 3, 2019, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

Find our full data set here and download the press release here. 

For more information on this poll, please contact:

Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
[c] 778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca

Half of Canadians think that, in this day and age, music creators are being fairly compensated for their work.

Vancouver, BC [March 21, 2019] – A sizeable majority of Canadians are relying on their radios for music, a new Research Co. poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample, 69% of Canadians say they listened to music on a regular radio over the past week.

One third of Canadians (32%) report listening to music on streaming services over the past week, while a similar proportion (31%) listened to music files stored in a device, such as a computer or phone.

One-in-five Canadians (21%) listened to LP records, cassettes or CDs in the past week, while 15% listened to music on satellite radio.

Across the country, 19% of Canadians say they paid to access a music streaming service in the last month, including 36% of those aged 18-to-34. 

Smaller proportions of Canadians paid for and downloaded a song online (12%) or bought a compact disc or LP record (9%).

On a regional basis, Atlantic Canadians are the undisputed leaders when it comes to paying to access music streaming services (35%), followed by residents of Alberta (25%), Ontario (19%), British Columbia (17%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (15%) and Quebec (11%).

“While radio is the top choice for music listeners of all ages in Canada, Millennials are definitely more likely to be embracing streaming services than their older counterparts,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The country’s youngest adults are also more likely to already be spending money on streaming services or downloaded songs.”

When asked if they think that, in this day and age, music creators are being fairly compensated for their work, half of Canadians (51%) believe that they “definitely” or “probably” are, while one third (33%) assert that they are not.

Methodology:

Results are based on an online study conducted from February 21 to February 24, 2019, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

Find our full data set here and download the press release here. 

For more information on this poll, please contact:

Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
[c] 778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca

Only 8% believe the technology will be available sometime in the next 10 years.

Vancouver, BC [February 21, 2019] – A significant proportion of Canadians would be comfortable with the use of biometrics (such as fingerprints, palm recognition or iris scans) to pay for things, a new Research Co. poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample, 49% of Canadians say they “definitely” or “probably” would like to see people relying on biometrics to make purchases, while two-in-five (40%) would not and 11% are not sure.

“Canadian Men (57%) and Millennials (54%) are definitely more likely to endorse biometrics at this stage,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “There is also a higher craving for this type of technology from Quebecers (66%) and Albertans (55%).”

However, two-in-five Canadians (40%) say they do not expect biometric payments to materialize in the next 20 years, and 15% foresee that they will never be available.

When asked about the way they currently pay for things, Canadians rely on a combination of sources. One third of payments (34%) involve a debit card, followed by cash (31%) and credit cards (24%).

Across the country, 8% of all transactions are conducted through a smartphone—a proportion that climbs to 18% among Canadians aged 18-to-34—and 3% are done with a cheque.

Residents of Atlantic Canada (39%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (37%) and Alberta (also 37%) rely more heavily on debit cards than those in other parts of the country.

Seven-in-ten Canadians (70%) report that there was a time in the past month when they did not have any actual money (coins or bills) on them and had to use their credit card, debit card or smartphone to make a purchase of less than $10.

Methodology:

Results are based on an online study conducted from February 2 to February 5, 2019, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

Find our full data set here and download the press release here. 

For more information on this poll, please contact:

Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
[c] 778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca