Canada ranks Canada ranks 17th out of 146 countries in “digital readiness,” and B.C. ranks first in Canada, according to a new ranking by Cisco.
In its first digital readiness ranking of Canada, Cisco -- an American networking, hardware, software and telecommunications manufacturing giant – found Canada to be generally well advanced in terms of adoption of digital technologies, though it notes regional disparities.
“While Canada performed strongly on a global level, ranking 17th out of 146 countries, the Cisco Canada Digital Readiness Index revealed that there are significant discrepancies across provinces and territories,” the report finds.
B.C. earned top spot in ranking for Canada, thanks to its performance in three categories: ease of doing business, the start-up environment, and technology adoption, with Quebec and Ontario ranking second and third, respectively.
“The province has a dynamic business environment where new businesses have been able to enter the market, access funding and grow – even during the economic challenges of the pandemic,” the Cisco report notes.
The report also noted that B.C. has "very high post-secondary educational attainment at 72 per cent above the national median."
However, B.C. ranked 12th in terms in the basic needs category, based on the high cost of living and housing.
“Its low score is due to the province’s high costs of living — Vancouver is the third least-affordable housing market in the world,” the report notes.
The report found that Canada ranks third in the world for technology adoption, which includes Internet Usage, mobile phone subscriptions, and use of cloud Services, which demonstrates “a high capacity to integrate new technologies into the economy.”
It says the Canadian government’s 2019 Connectivity Strategy, which sets a target of connecting 100 per cent of Canadians to high-speed internet by 2030 is “a positive stride.”
But it also notes connectivity gaps, notably in Canada’s north.
“Nunavut, for example, is dependent on satellite-only broadband infrastructure,” the report notes. “This means that the limited broadband coverage available in regions of Nunavut is mostly low quality, unreliable, and unaffordable. As of December 2022, there are still no households in Nunavut with access to high-speed internet, compared to the 93.5% of households in the rest of Canada.”
“The Government of Canada should continue to prioritize rural, northern and Indigenous communities within Canada’s Connectivity Strategy,” Cisco recommends.
“Even in provinces and territories that have high levels of high-speed connectivity, rural and remote communities are disproportionately impacted. Without adequate, high-speed internet access in these communities, the connectivity gap across Canada will continue to grow.”
