OTTAWA, O ta io, July 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ca adia s a e becomi g mo e delibe ate about which compa ies, platfo ms a d digital se vices they t ust with thei pe so al i fo matio , acco di g to CIRA’s 2026 Ca adia I te et T e ds Repo t.
F om deleti g apps a d ejecti g thei pe missio s to choosi g Ca adia etaile s a d questio i g AI-ge e ated co te t, Ca adia s a e taki g a mo e active ole i decidi g whe e to spe d thei mo ey, how to p otect thei data a d what i fo matio to t ust.
The atio al su vey fou d that 74 pe ce t of Ca adia s have take actio to p otect thei data because of p ivacy co ce s. Fo ty-o e pe ce t have decli ed a app pe missio , 34 pe ce t have deleted a app a d 22 pe ce t have used a vi tual p ivate etwo k, o VPN.
Ca adia s a e also payi g close atte tio to whe e thei data is held, with 67 pe ce t sayi g it is impo ta t that thei pe so al data be sto ed o se ve s located i Ca ada. Togethe , the fi di gs suggest that p ivacy co ce s a e i c easi gly shapi g Ca adia s’ eve yday digital choices.
Ca adia ide tity is also i flue ci g o li e pu chasi g decisio s. Sixty-five pe ce t say they p efe buyi g o li e f om Ca adia etaile s whe they have a choice, while 52 pe ce t ide tify suppo ti g the Ca adia eco omy, buyi g Ca adia o suppo ti g local busi esses as thei mai easo fo doi g so.
Ge e ative AI has e te ed the mai st eam faste tha t ust i the tech ology has developed. Fo ty-six pe ce t of Ca adia s used a ge e ative AI tool i the past yea , ea ly t iple the 16 pe ce t eco ded i 2024. Yet co ce co ti ues to outweigh exciteme t, with 56 pe ce t sayi g they a e co ce ed about ge e ative AI, compa ed with 26 pe ce t who a e still excited about it. Mo e tha half—53 pe ce t—say they e cou te ed AI-ge e ated fake co te t i the past yea . While 49 pe ce t always o ofte ve ify AI-ge e ated espo ses usi g a othe sou ce, o ly 19 pe ce t say they always do so.The cost of stayi g co ected is fo ci g Ca adia s to make t ade-offs. Thi ty-o e pe ce t say home i te et a d cellpho e costs a e still u affo dable, while 42 pe ce t have cut back o othe expe ses to keep payi g fo those se vices. Nea ly o e-qua te —24 pe ce t—cha ged thei i te et o mobile pla i the past yea to educe costs.Ca adia s epo t sig ifica tly g eate comfo t pu chasi g f om domestic etail websites. Seve ty-th ee pe ce t a e comfo table maki g a pu chase f om a Ca adia etail website, compa ed with 42 pe ce t f om a U.S. etail website, ei fo ci g the co ectio betwee t ust a d Ca adia s’ p efe e ce fo domestic se vices.I te et dis uptio s a e fo ci g Ca adia s to fi d thei ow backup pla s. Twe ty-o e pe ce t expe ie ced a majo home i te et dis uptio i 2025, while ea ly half—49 pe ce t—say they use a cellpho e hotspot to stay co ected whe a outage occu s. Nea ly o e-qua te —24 pe ce t—a e wo ied about futu e dis uptio s, u de sco i g how eliable i te et emai s esse tial fo wo k, se vices a d daily life.
“Amid g owi g co ce s about AI, p ivacy a d cybe th eats, Ca adia s a e ot steppi g away f om the i te et. They a e avigati g it with g eate cautio . People a e payi g close atte tio to what i fo matio they sha e, which pe missio s they g a t a d whethe a digital se vice has ea ed thei t ust. That is a clea sig al to o ga izatio s that p ivacy p otectio s, t a spa e cy a d mea i gful choice ca o lo ge be t eated as optio al.” –
CIRA’s 2026 Ca adia I te et T e ds Repo t p ovides a atio al s apshot of how Ca adia s use the i te et a d how p ivacy, AI, digital sove eig ty, affo dability, eliability a d o li e shoppi g a e shapi g thei behaviou s a d choices.
The epo t was developed by CIRA th ough a o li e su vey co ducted by The St ategic Cou sel. A total of 2,000 Ca adia i te et use s (18+) we e su veyed via a o li e pa el i Ma ch. Eve y yea CIRA p oduces Ca adia I te et T e ds th ough this esea ch to bette u de sta d Ca adia s’ i te et access a d use. This yea CIRA will post a fou -pa t blog se ies of the most salie t fi di gs f om its a ual su vey. The full esea ch esults showcasi g the latest Ca adia i te et t e ds a d o li e use habits ca be fou d he e.
CIRA is the atio al ot-fo -p ofit best k ow fo ma agi g the .CA domai o behalf of all Ca adia s. As a leade i Ca ada’s i te et ecosystem, CIRA offe s a wide a ge of p oducts, p og ams a d se vices desig ed to make the i te et a secu e a d accessible space fo all. CIRA advocates fo Ca ada o both atio al a d i te atio al stages to suppo t its goal of buildi g a t usted i te et fo Ca adia s by helpi g shape the futu e of the i te et.
