Canada is wired to a world where technology unites and divides.

Canada has been called a world leader in ICT. Canada's performance in ICT falls into four areas: digital opportunities, business and innovation, trade, and development assistance.

1. Digital opportunities

Canada was an early adopter of the Internet and other ICT practices. It continues to have a high percentage of Internet users and a high penetration rate for broadband. However, though Canada's Internet usage and broadband penetration rates are among the highest in the world, several challenges remain. The International Telecommunications Union, the United Nations agency for information and communication technologies, which Canada joined in 1908, produces an annual "Digital Opportunities Index (DOI)". The DOI measures countries against the ideal of 100% availability of mobile ICT devices and broadband. It considers the affordability of ICTs relative to the average income. Canada consistently ranks within the top 25 economies, but between 2006 and 2007 slipped seven spots, falling to 17th place.  This is because although the rates of wireless phone use here are quite impressive, other countries are quickly surpassing Canada in being able to provide more affordable, accessible services.  Staying on top of the list of ‘wired' countries will be a major challenge for Canada.

2. Business and innovation

Canada has a long history of notable contributions to ICT innovation, going back to the concept of the telephone, which was developed by Alexander Graham Bell at his parents' home in Brantford, Ontario. The first Trans-Atlantic radio transmission, by Guglielmo Marconi, was received in Newfoundland.  Canada also produced the world's first PC and the BlackBerry, a handheld device that can send email from almost anywhere using wireless phone networks developed by Waterloo, Ontario-based company Research in Motion (RIM).

By 2007, there were approximately 12 million BlackBerry subscribers worldwide, and RIM had doubled its profits from 2006, earning over USD 1.67 billion in just one quarter.  RIM has benefited from federal and provincial government investments in its research, obtaining more than $50 million in grants and loans from different branches of government.  Funding research and development in technology is part of Canada's policy.

3. Trade

The Canadian government also helps ICT companies by promoting both trade in Canadian ICT goods and services abroad, and international partnerships for research and development. In 2006, ICT exports accounted for 5.3% of total Canadian merchandise exports, and were valued at $23 billion.  Despite the high priority placed on ICT trade, exports have declined by 3.9% since 2006  and Canada still has a sizeable trade deficit  in ICT goods, of about $20 billion.  The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) runs a Science and Technology program with a mandate to: "play a strategic leadership role in enhancing Canada's Science and Technology (S&T) capacity, competitiveness and prosperity through effective international linkages for Canadian research institutions, universities and firms". 

Canada has signed bilateral S&T Agreements with the European Union, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan and most recently with China (in January 2007). Information and Communications Technologies are one of five priority sectors - areas where Canadian expertise closely matches Chinese demand and where Canadian companies have told the government they want to pursue business opportunities -- in Canada's market plan with China. 

4. Development assistance

When providing developing countries with development assistance Canada has long advocated closing the digital divide. According to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Canada has "supported the use of ICTs as a tool for development" for more than 25 years. The 2001 Speech from the Throne  outlined the government's commitment to closing the digital divide through domestic innovations, an ICT agenda, involvement in the Group of 8 industrialized countries'  Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force) and investments in developing countries. That same year Canada invested $20 million in the establishment of the Institute for Connectivity in the Americas. CIDA's current strategy, called "Knowledge for Development Through Information and Communication Technologies," aims to help close the digital divide while focusing on the need for gender equality (as the population using the Internet in most developing countries is overwhelmingly male).  A commitment to closing the digital divide is likely to be part of CIDA's policy for years to come. Other government departments, such as Industry Canada, also place importance on using ICT for development purposes.

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC), a Canadian Crown corporation that works in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world, has sponsored the use of ICTs since its founding in 1971. In 2000, IDRC established an Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D) program. Through the ICT4D program, IDRC supports research collaboration initiated by developing countries and greater access to technology in the developing world. In some countries - such as Mongolia - the first Internet service providers were established with IDRC's support. In addition to focusing on Internet access, IDRC also stresses that promoting connectivity in developing countries often depends more on encouraging the spread of cellular phone use, as 70% of the world's population lives within reach of some sort of communications signal.

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