Canada App Market Statistics (2023)

The Canadian app market is a highly consolidated one, with widespread smartphone use and strong per-user consumer spend. Despite some wider economic slowdowns, app revenue has remained strong.

Revenue in Canada jumped at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, rising from $1.6 billion in 2019 to $2.8 billion in 2021. Sensor Tower reports Canada had the highest per capita spending growth among the 10 largest markets in the first half of 2020 at 39 percent.

Canadian users spent an average of 4.6 hours on mobile each day in 2022, according to data.ai. This has increased by 1.4 hours since 2019 as users turned to mobile throughout coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

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Consumer spending on dating, short video and audio book apps grew in 2022, despite some economic stagnation. Travel apps also grew in popularity as international restrictions eased.

In June 2023, the Canadian parliament passed a law requiring online platforms to pay news publishers for content shared on their websites. This followed concern from the media industry over access to online advertising and market share. In light of the legislation, Facebook and Instagram have removed news content from their apps in Canada.

The Canadian government is now looking at introducing rules on short-term rentals and Airbnb, following the announcement by British Columbia that it will restrict rentals to a portion of the principal residence and require hosts to register with the province. Regulations are already in place in some cities, including Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, with national rules a possible option for the government.

We have collected data and statistics on the Canadian mobile app market. Read on below to find out more.

Key Canadian App Market Statistics

• The Canadian app market generated $2.7 billion in revenue in 2022, a $100 million fall from the previous year but a significant increase compared to pre-pandemic
• As of January 2023, there were 31.2 million Canadian smartphone users
• Apps were downloaded 1.2 billion times by Canadian users in 2022, an increase from 1 billion the year before
• TikTok was the top grossing and most downloaded app in Canada in 2022, earning $43.6 million and with 4.4 million downloads
• Canadian users spent 15.8 billion hours on mobile apps in 2022

Canadian App Market Revenue

The Canadian app market earned $2.7 billion in 2022, a slight fall from the previous year but up from $1.6 billion pre-pandemic.

Canadian app market annual revenue 2019 to 2022 ($bn)

Canadian consumer spend per user 2019 to 2022 ($)

Canadian App Market Revenue by App

TikTok was the top grossing app in Canada in 2022 earning $43.6 million, closely followed by Disney+ at $42.6 million. Tinder also earned more than $40 million last year.

Canadian revenue by app 2022 ($mm)

Source: AppFigures

Canadian Smartphone Users

There have been over 30 million active smartphone users in Canada each year since 2020, with 31.2 million in January 2023.

Annual Canadian smartphone users 2015 to 2023 (mm)

Canadian Smartphone Population

Over four-fifths of the Canadian population are active smartphone users, at 80.9% in January 2023. This is a fall from 86.4% in 2021.

Canadian population smartphone usage 2015 to 2023 (%)

Time Spent on Apps in Canada

In 2022, Canadian users spent 15.8 billion hours on mobile apps, an slight increase on the 15.5 billion in 2021.

Hours spent on mobile apps in Canada 2019 to 2022 (bn)

Canadian App Market Downloads

Users downloaded apps 1.2 billion times in Canada in 2022, up from 771 million downloads in 2019.

Canadian app downloads 2019 to 2022 (mm)

Canadian downloads per user 2019 to 2022

Canadian App Market Downloads by App

TikTok was the most downloaded app in Canada in 2022 with 4.4 million downloads, followed by WhatsApp at 2.9 million.

Canadian downloads by app 2022 (mm)

Source: AppFigures