Digital Equity in the City of Toronto

Executive Summary

Despite nearly all households in Toronto being able to connect to some of Canada’s fastest internet infrastructure, socioeconomic and demographic factors continue to sustain affordability and access barriers within Toronto’s equity deserving communities. Low-income households, older adults, Indigenous peoples, and people with disabilities consistently report lower rates of internet connection, use, and digital skills. The City’s digital divides consist of interrelated factors, all impacting residents’ ability to meaningfully use digital services. These include the affordability of internet services, the sufficiency of internet speeds accessed, access to digital devices, digital literacy, digital accessibility, and experiences of online safety.

An equity-focused approach to developing Toronto’s digital infrastructure requires uncovering and learning from digital connectivity gaps to develop evidence-informed policies and programs that better target marginalized groups’ unique digital needs and ensure all people in Toronto can meaningfully access and use digital services.

In the face of ongoing disparities in digital access, the federal government has recognized the necessity of internet access for Canadians and the economy, with the CRTC declaring broadband internet access a “basic telecommunications service” that is essential to the quality of life in 2016. Through the establishment of a universal service objective, the CRTC aims to provide the digital infrastructure necessary to provide all Canadian households and businesses the ability to access a fixed broadband Internet service with speeds of at least 50 Mbps download, 10 Mbps upload, and have an unlimited data allowance. Federal and provincial governments are engaged in efforts to deliver this service objective to all Canadians through public and private infrastructure investments, but this objective does not ensure that all Canadians are able to use or can afford to subscribe to the available service.