OTTAWA: Spending choices often change in tandem with technological developments and phones are one example.
In 2019, Canadian households spent five times more on average for cellphone services ($1,343) than they did on landline telephone services ($257), says Statistics Canada Cellphone usage continues to rise among Canadian households.
The share of households that reported having a landline decreased from 63.3% in 2017 to 54.0% in 2019.
Landline use was most prevalent among households in the Atlantic provinces, with New Brunswick (77.0%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (75.0%) topping the list.
It was also most prevalent among Canadian households headed by a person aged 65 years or older (84.5%).
In contrast, the share of households that reported having at least one cellphone grew from 89.4% in 2017 to 91.3% in 2019. Cellphone ownership was highest in Alberta (96.1%).
The share of households who reported having only a cellphone and no landline increased from 35.7% in 2017 to 45.1% in 2019. Households in Quebec reported the largest change, where the share rose from 30.6% in 2017 to 43.6% in 2019.