Factors Associated with Household Internet Use in Canada, 1998-2000

Recent studies have shown that fewer rural Canadians were using the Internet than urban Canadians, despite new developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) (Thompson-James 1999, McLaren 2002). The growth of the Internet has been portrayed as an innovative medium for the exchange of information, which could provide new opportunities to rural Canadians. The purpose of this study is to estimate and to analyse the determinants of Internet use by Canadians in order to understand the factors associated with lower Internet use in rural Canada, with specific emphasis on whether 'rurality' acts as an independent factor on Internet use.