While mobile internet usage in Canada lags behind that in the US, 32% of Canada's population will have the ability to access the web on a smart device by year's end, according to estimates by eMarketer.
For its August 2012 "Innovation Report 2012 Trend Watch" report, Canadian telecommunications firm Rogers in July 2012 surveyed residents ages 18 to 24 and the parents of those in that group to get a sense of how the two generations were using mobile technology.

Rogers found that respondents were less likely to use web capabilities on smart devices compared to those on a PC. While 94% of computer owners used their device to browse the web, only 67% of smart device owners went online using their tablet or phone. The story was similar for social network use, with 77% of those polled connecting to networks on a PC, and 61% using their smartphone or tablet for the same purpose. The gap was widest for online shopping, with 70% of respondents using PCs and only 12% using a smart device to conduct commerce.

Smartphone/tablet activities of young adult and parent smartphone or tablet owners in Canada, July 2012 (% of respondents):
- Text messaging: 88%
- Voice call: 70%
- Download and use apps: 68%
- Surf the net: 67%
- Connect to social networks: 61%
- Play games: 60%
- Listen to music: 57%
- Voice and video calling: 34%
- Banking: 33%
- Reading books/magazines: 25%
- Watch TV and movies: 16%
- Ecommerce/purchasing: 12%
- Watch sports: 3%
- None of the above: 1%

eMarketer estimates there will be 10.5 million smartphone users in Canada by the end of 2012, with that figure growing to 16.4 million by 2016.