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Connecting to the Connecting Canadians Agenda:
Rural Internet Use for Government Information
August 2003
Draft Working Paper, please send comments to:
David Bruce, Director
Rural and Small Town Programme, Mount Allison University
144 Main St
Sackville NB Canada E4L 1A7
tel 506-364-2395, fax 506-364-2601
dwbruce@mta.ca
The paper explores the nature and characteristics of rural household internet use, with a specific
emphasis on accessing government services and information. The Federal Government has a long
term strategy called the Connecting Canadians Agenda, which has a pillar about e-government
and putting more government services on-line. At the same time, one of the 11 priorities within
the Federal Framework for Action on Rural Canada is "improving access to government services
and programs". However, very little is known about the extent to which these approaches have
improved or hindered access by rural citizens and households.
Introduction
This paper explores the use of the internet by rural citizens for the purpose of contacting federal
and provincial governments for information about programs and services, and for completing
government forms on-line. Much has been made about the possibilities of the Internet as a means
for “leveling the playing” between urban and rural citizens, especially as it relates to access to
information: “We believe that the Internet is a powerful tool for economic and social development
for all Canadians, no matter where they live or how they live” (Minister of Industry, 2001). One
specialized aspect of the information possibilities is that of “government information”. In recent
years there has been a deliberate effort on the part of both senior levels of government to provide
most or all of its policy and program information on-line. Indeed, many government departments
at both levels have moved to provide some of the services on-line as well. It is now possible to
renew your driver’s license, register your automobile, apply for jobs, and much more, using the
Internet.
The Federal Framework for Action on Rural Canada outlines the key priorities for the federal
government in terms of taking action on the needs of rural citizens. The eleven priority items
emerged from a lengthy consultation exercise, and these continue to be affirmed in annual sessions
and consultations. Among the priorities is “improve access to federal government programs and
services for rural Canadians” (Government of Canada, 2002). This action item reflects the real or
perceived problems rural citizens face in trying to access government information. In part, it is a
response to the recognition that there is less physical presence of government staff in rural areas
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because of the smaller and more dispersed settlement patterns.
The response has included a number of initiatives. Recently, the federal government has
established Rural and Remote Canada On-Line, billed as “a single window to knowledge,
information, programs and services for and about rural and remote Canada” (Government of
Canada, 2003). The site provides contact information for a variety of government departments
and agencies, the ability to search for information by topic or subject, read about successful
community initiatives, and browse for rural-related events.
The federal government’s action plan summarizes several other key initiatives and
accomplishments (Government of Canada, 2002). Service Canada provides Canadians with
one-stop access to government services - in-person, by phone and on the Internet. The annual
report card notes that the rural Access Centres are well used and that users are highly satisfied
with the service. Service Canada has been upgraded from a pilot project to a full program and the
number of Access Centres was increased from 122 to 227, and at least thirty per cent of Service
Canada Access Centres in each province and territory are located in rural and remote areas. Plans
are being developed to further increase the number of Access Centres in rural Canada.
The report card also notes that information requested from the Canada web site increased 37 per
cent from 2001 to 2002 in one year. Over the next few years, the there will be a roll out of the
Government On-Line initiative to implement government transactions on-line in a manner that
ensures access to rural Canadians. To balance this effort, an important element of the overall
strategy is to ensure that those without on-line access (for whatever reason) are not left behind.
For example, all Canadians have access to 1-800-OCANADA as a first point of telephone contact
for government information. In addition, the federal government has prepared and distributed the
Pocket Directory of Rural Programs and Services, designed to meet the specific needs of rural
citizens, communities, and organizations (Government of Canada, 2001). This is also available on-
line in both database and browse formats.
The federal government’s on-line activities are couched within the Connecting Canadians agenda.
The six-point platform includes a number interlinked initiatives:
• Canada On-line provides all Canadians, including those in rural and remote communities,
with access to Canada's world-leading Information Highway infrastructure.
• Smart Communities is an integrated approach to helping entire communities go on-line to
connect local governments, schools, businesses, citizens, and health and social services.
• Canadian Content On-line is increasing the availability of Canadian content on-line —
content that reflects Canadian values, achievements and aspirations.
• Electronic Commerce is changing how Canadians conduct business. To help electronic
commerce flourish, we are creating the legal and regulatory framework that will encourage
greater use of electronic transactions and make Canada a location of choice for the
development of electronic commerce products and services.
• Canadian Governments On-line provides Canadians with on-line access to government
information and services.
Connecting to the Connecting Canadians Agenda DRAFT-NOT FOR QUOTATION Page 2
• Connecting Canada to the World promotes Canada as a leading-edge economy, attractive
to foreign investment, and establishes Canada as a hub in the global knowledge-based
economy.
It is clear the federal government (their provincial counterparts) have placed a great deal of
emphasis on harnessing the Internet’s potential as a development tool (for connecting people, for
electronic commerce, as a medium for distance education, for the delivery of government services,
and much more); however, for this potential to be realized many people from all segments of
society must be connected and active in their use of the Internet.
Our interest in this paper is the extent to which rural citizens are accessing government
information on-line or completing government forms on-line. What follows is a brief discussion
summarizing some recent studies looking at the use of the Internet, for the purpose of assessing
who uses the Internet and for what purpose. This is followed by an analysis of Internet use for
accessing government information by almost 2000 rural households included in a household
survey in the summer of 2001. The paper concludes with some reflection on the findings in the
context of the provision of government services and information in rural Canada.
Use of the Internet
A number of studies have investigated two inter-related questions associated with this present
paper:
• What are the characteristics of people who use the Internet?
• What do they use the Internet for, and more specifically, do they use the Internet to access
government information and services?
Dryburgh reported on Internet use among respondents to the General Social Survey (GSS) of
2000 (2001). When asked if they had ever used the Internet to access information on government
programs, 41% of Internet-using Canadians agreed. Men were more likely than women to have
ever accessed government programs on the Internet, and Internet users between the ages of 25
and 29 were most likely to do so (50%). She noted that the GSS shows that younger people,
males, and those with higher incomes and higher levels of education are more likely to use the
Internet.
Other data tables from the 2000 GSS show important urban-rural patterns in Internet access. In
2000, 55% of urban households and 45% of rural households reporting that they had access to the
Internet from any location, and 44% of urban households and 35% of rural households reported
Internet use from the home (Statistics Canada, 2001). Urban-rural gaps in Internet use from any
location were largest in Newfoundland and Labrador (21% more of the urban households used
the Internet than did rural households), New Brunswick (13%) and Nova Scotia (12%). The
narrowest gaps were found in PEI (4%), Ontario (6%), and Alberta (7%). The survey also found
that 44% of rural males and 46% of rural females were Internet users.
Sciadas (2002) reported that in 2000 approximately 42% of rural households used the Internet
Connecting to the Connecting Canadians Agenda DRAFT-NOT FOR QUOTATION Page 3
from any type of location (i.e., home, school, work, or public site), compared to 54% of their
urban counterparts. However, only 31% of rural households and 43% of urban households
reported regular Internet use from the home. In all cases, the rates of use were found to be
significantly higher among those in the top three income quintiles.
In her analysis of the 2000 GSS, Silver notes that there are significant issues emerging from the
fact that older Canadians are much more likely to use the Internet than younger Canadians. More
specifically, she suggests that “low Internet use among older Canadians hinders initiatives such as
Connecting Canadians and Government On-Line” (2001: 3). Silver found that only 13% of those
aged 60 and over used the Internet in 2000, and less than one in five older Internet users (about
3% of all persons 60 years of age and over) accessed government information in 2000.
Furthermore, especially relative to this study of using the Internet to contact government or
access government information, Silver found that 92% of older Canadians who did not currently
use the Internet had no plans or did not expect to become Internet users. Equally telling was her
finding that, among all older Canadians who were current non-users, very few expressed an
interest in or willingness to use the Internet in a public place. Taken together, these findings
suggest that there is an important divide among older and younger Canadians in terms of access to
government services and information which is provided exclusively or predominantly on-line, and
that government programs designed to increase more widespread sue among all citizens may need
to be re-examined and perhaps tailored to address the realities of the lack of interest among older
Canadians.
Bruce (2000) reported on a 1998 survey of rural households in Atlantic Canada. He found that
Internet use was highest (37%) among households in communities characterized by leading social
and economic outcomes, with local and stable economic markets, and with a population having
somewhat high capabilities. Internet use was lowest (17%) among households in communities
characterized by lagging social and economic outcomes, with global but stable economic markets,
and with a population having somewhat low capabilities. In addition, his findings related to
demographic characteristics of Internet users were consistent with others - younger people and
those with higher incomes and education levels were more likely to be users of the Internet.
Collectively, previous studies and surveys related to Internet use consistently point to important
characteristics of Internet users - they are generally younger and with higher incomes and higher
levels of education. This points to a digital divide and requires careful and considered approaches
to the provision of services and programs using the Internet. There must be a balance with non-
Internet means to ensure wide access and coverage.
Survey Analysis
Data for this paper was drawn from a survey of 1,995 households in 20 systematically selected
field sites. Five dimensions relevant for rural communities were used in the sampling frame when
selecting sites: the extent of exposure to the global economy, the relative stability of the local
economy, the adjacency to large metropolitan centres, the level of social and institutional
infrastructure, and the extent to which the site is lagging or leading on a number of socio-
Connecting to the Connecting Canadians Agenda DRAFT-NOT FOR QUOTATION Page 4
economic variables (Reimer, 2002). Since the sample was designed for strategic purposes,
generalizations from the analysis reflect the distribution of rural sites as represented in this
sampling frame, not the general population of rural sites or individuals. Sites were identified from
the 1991 boundary files for Census Subdivisions, ranging in size from 130 to 5,997 residents,
across all provinces and two territories in Canada.
The unit of analysis (household) was defined as people living in the same dwelling who are
economically interdependent. Households were randomly selected from individual site sources
such as the voters list or property tax assessment records. To permit generalization of findings to
all households in each of the sites, the goal was to have an accuracy of +/- 7.5% at a .05 level of
confidence. An appropriate sample size was drawn from each site to achieve this, hence, the
number of households surveyed varied across sites.
The Household Survey Interview Guide is comprised of 54 questions designed to elicit
information regarding the organization, challenges, and strategies of rural households. Information
was collected regarding the household organization and labour force characteristics, major
changes they have faced and how they respond to them, use of services (both formal and
informal), local participation, media use (including the Internet), perception of local relations,
local and regional networks, informal exchanges of goods and services, and aspirations for the
community. The survey combines some open but mostly closed-ended questions.
Interviews were scheduled in advance over the telephone, often by a local site resident. Trained
interviewers conducted the interviews. The respondent chosen was the household resident 18
years or older with the most recent birthday. Other household members were allowed to be
present during the interview and to provide input; however the key respondent answered
preference and opinion questions. Interviews lasted approximately 45 minutes.
Details regarding the theoretical rationale, procedures, instruments, and results can be found via
the New Rural Economy website (http://nre.concordia.ca).
An important feature of the methodology employed is that communities or sites were selected
using a systematic sampling strategy that allows for comparisons on 5 strategic dimensions:
• the extent to which the economy of the community is exposed to global market forces (such
as the primary resources industries, manufacturing, communications, business services) or to
local markets (such as construction, transportation, trade, government services, education,
health, accommodations);
• the extent to which the economy of the community is subject to more stable market conditions
(manufacturing, communications, trade, government services, education, health,
accommodations) or to more widely fluctuating market conditions (primary resource
industries, construction, finance, real estate and insurance);
• the extent to which the population in the community is capable of supporting itself (more
education and skilled, more self-employment, lower age dependency ratio) or is more
dependent on others (lower education and skill levels, less self-employment, higher age
dependency ratio), also known as the collective capacity of a community;
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• the extent to which economic and social outcomes in the community are positive and leading
(higher incomes, less poverty, stable families, higher rates of home ownership) or are
somewhat negative and lagging (lower incomes, more poverty, unstable families, lower rates
of homeownership); and
• whether or not the community is close to (metro-adjacent) or distant from (non-metro-
adjacent) a major metropolitan region.
From this sample of 1995 households, a total of 1070 interviewees (53.6%) reported that they or
someone in their household used the Internet either at home or in another location (such as at
work, at school, in a public place, or at the home of a friend or neighbour). Interviewees who
indicated Internet use were asked about their own personal use over the month prior to the
interview. Of the 1070 interviewees using the Internet, 343 interviewees (35.2% of Internet users)
had used the Internet for at least one type of government contact among four options provided:
• to obtain information from or communicate with the federal government;
• to obtain information from or communicate with provincial government;
• to complete federal government forms on-line;
• to complete provincial government forms on-line.
Table 1 examines household characteristics of Internet users, and compares the incidence of
Internet use and types government contact, across gender, age, household income, and education
characteristics. An important finding is that the results show statistically significant differences in
usage patterns with the categories for each of these demographic variables: people who use the
Internet for any type of contact with either the federal or provincial governments are much more
likely to be male, under the age of 50, have higher incomes, and higher levels of education. This
important finding confirms and supports the findings of other studies, and suggests that
governments must ensure that there are other more appropriately targeted means to provide
information and options other than on-line forms, to reach women, older residents, lower income
persons, and those with lower levels of education.
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Table 1 Incidence of Internet Use Among Rural Households and Among Internet Users Who
Contact Government, Based on Demographic Characteristics
Among Rural Among Rural Internet Users Only
Demographic Households
Characteristic All Internet Users Any type of Contact Use federal Contact Use prov
gov’t contact federal gov't on-line prov gov't on-line
forms forms
All N 1070 343 240 106 224 89
Households % 53.6 35.2 24.6 10.9 23.0 9.1
Gender female 54.4 31.6 21.2 10.4 20.1 8.2
male 52.3 41.3 30.3 11.7 27.9 10.7
Age 18-34 68.8 33.3 24.6 11.8 19.0 7.7
35-49 77.4 37.2 26.1 10.4 25.6 9.7
50-64 50.6 37.7 25.3 13.2 24.9 11.0
65+ 18.4 19.5 14.3 2.6 11.7 2.6
Household low 29.5 29.4 21.7 5.6 18.9 5.6
Income med 60.0 31.5 20.7 10.5 22.2 7.7
high 79.3 42.8 30.7 13.9 28.7 12.9
Education Less than 22.8 22.5 20.6 5.9 15.7 3.9
high school
High School 55.0 27.5 17.0 8.3 17.4 8.3
Other Post- 65.8 35.7 23.8 11.4 23.8 8.7
secondary
University 84.8 48.6 36.5 14.9 30.8 13.5
Bold data indicate that the results are significance (0.05 or less) based on the asymptotic distribution the
data using Pearson's Chi-square.
Table 2 summarizes the variation in use of the Internet for contacting government or for
completing on-line forms when controlling for the type of community. It is interesting to note that
there are no important or statistical differences in using the Internet for these purposes based on
community type. For example, citizens living in rural communities which are non-metro adjacent
(i.e., more isolated communities) are no more likely to use the Internet for these purposes (36.6%
of Internet users) than their counterparts in rural metro-adjacent communities (35.0% of Internet
users). The only exceptions are that Internet users in communities with fluctuating economies
were much more likely to contact their provincial government or check on-line for provincial
government information, than those in communities with stable economies; and that Internet users
in communities with lagging or weak economic performance or outcomes were much more likely
to fill out federal government forms on-line than those in communities with leading or strong
economic performance or outcomes.
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Table 2 Incidence of Internet Use Among Rural Households and Among Internet Users Who
Contact Government, Based on Community Type
Among Rural Among Rural Internet Users Only
Community Households
Type All Internet Users Any type of Contact Use federal Contact prov Use prov on-
gov’t contact federal gov't on-line forms gov't line forms
All N 983 321 224 98 211 80
Households % 53.2 36.1 25.2 11.0 23.7 9.0
Global low 51.6 36.4 26.8 12.4 24.2 10.1
Exposure high 54.5 35.8 23.9 9.9 23.3 8.1
Economic stable 50.7 34.1 23.5 11.4 20.8 6.4
Stability
fluctuating 54.2 36.9 25.9 10.9 24.9 10.1
Metro non-metro 53.7 36.6 24.6 11.3 24.8 9.3
Adjacency metro 52.2 35.0 26.4 10.4 21.4 8.2
Capacity low 52.5 35.5 23.4 9.6 23.2 8.4
high 53.8 36.6 26.7 12.2 24.2 9.5
Economic lagging 47.9 35.7 25.5 13.4 22.7 8.9
Outcomes leading 59.7 36.4 24.9 8.7 24.7 9.1
Bold data indicate that the results are significance (0.05 or less) based on the asymptotic distribution the
data using Pearson's Chi-square.
Interviewees who used the Internet were asked to comment on the extent to which they agree that
the Internet has changed their household (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “strongly agree”)
related to a number of issues. Table 3 summarizes the comparative mean score between all
Internet users and those who specifically had any type of on-line contact with either the federal or
provincial government. On all five aspects, those who have had any type of government contact
consistently provide a higher rating or a stronger degree of agreement, that there have been
positive changes for their household as a result of the Internet. This suggests that those who use
the Internet for government contact are deriving more benefits than general Internet users. Both
groups strongly agreed that the Internet has improved access to information they need. To a lesser
extent, both groups agreed that it has improved relations with people outside the community. Not
surprisingly, those who either contact the government using the Internet, or complete government
forms on-line, were more likely to agree that the Internet has improved their access to
government information, than those who said they did not use the Internet for either of these
purposes.
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Table 3 Opinion of the Improvements Derived from Using the Internet, Comparison of Rural
Households and Those Who Contact Government
Among Among Rural Internet Users Only
mean scores for… Rural
Households
All Internet Any type of Contact Use federal Contact Use prov
Users gov’t federal on-line prov gov't on-line
contact gov't forms forms
Internet has improved 4.15 4.34 4.42 4.29 4.37 4.38
access to information
needed by household
Internet has improved 3.53 3.78 3.78 3.78 3.85 4.02
relations with people
outside community
Internet has improved 3.43 4.04 4.12 4.08 4.14 4.05
access to government
information
Internet has positive impact 2.63 2.81 2.83 2.84 2.84 2.84
on relations with people in
community
Internet has improved 2.48 2.73 2.77 2.70 2.72 2.60
economic situation of
household
Discussion and Summary
The profile of Internet users more generally from other studies and the literature, and of those
using the Internet for the purpose of connecting with government, confirms that there is a need to
balance the Internet with other means as a means of delivering federal and provincial government
information and services. There are significant barriers to be overcome if the desire were to move
most or all access to the Internet. Members of generations who have not grown up with the
computer experience or who have not been exposed to this experience through their work or
education are less likely to be users and must be eased into the use of the Internet with a more
basic intervention about computers in general. In the same way, those with lower incomes are less
likely to use the Internet; despite the declining price of computers, they will continue to have an
inability to afford home computer purchases.
We are still in a state of great transition in our rural communities and small towns. Change from
resource-based activities to other forms of economic activity, coupled with the pervasiveness of
the Internet and technology in our general society, allows for both a great deal of uncertainty and
a great deal of optimism and potential to co-exist. Of concern to many observers and rural
residents alike is that the “digital divide” not create a problem of equitable access to government
services, programs, and information. The current approaches of the federal government, while not
evaluated in a formal way in this paper, appear to respect the diversity of access preference and
Connecting to the Connecting Canadians Agenda DRAFT-NOT FOR QUOTATION Page 9
practice.
At the same time, there is still a significant opportunity for rural communities to pursue a greater
“connectedness” agenda for themselves and for their citizens. As noted in Table 3, it is clear that
those who are using the Internet for accessing government services and information are realizing
greater improvements for their households. A continued and more concerted effort at the
community level to proactively invite and demonstrate to non-Internet users the opportunities and
advantages of Internet access, is an opportunity that should not be missed. The continued
development and presence of public community access centres for people to use as Internet access
points remains a positive and needed piece of community infrastructure. The key will be to help
people understand and learn to use these facilities to their advantage as a compliment to their
more traditional and preferred means of government contact.
Acknowledgements
This paper was prepared as part of the New Rural Economy (http://nre.concordia.ca) project of
the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation (http://www.crrf.ca). We gratefully acknowledge
the support we have received from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council
(SSHRC). This includes a major Collaborative Grant under their Strategic Research Program on
Social Cohesion (829-1999-1016) and a Collaborative Research Grant within their Initiative on
the New Economy (512-2002-1016).
References
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Dryburgh, Heather. 2001. Changing Our Ways: Why and How Canadians Use the Internet.
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Minister of Industry. 2001. Connecting Canadians. http://www.ic.gc.ca/ Accessed 2003-04-11.
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