Canada App Market Statistics (2024)

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.

App revenue in Canada jumped at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, rising by more than two billion. Canada had the highest per capita spending growth among the 10 largest markets at the start of the pandemic, indicating a quick shift to mobile apps.

Canadian users spend more than 4.5 hours on apps per day, 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 has grown over the past two years, 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 Canada App Market Statistics

• The Canadian app market generated $2.8 billion in revenue in 2023, an increase of $200 million on the previous year
• There were 31.2 million Canadian smartphone users in 2023
• Apps were downloaded 1.23 billion times by Canadian users in 2023, an increase from 1.15 billion the year before
• Disney+ was the top grossing app in Canada in 2023, generating $41 million
• Canadian users spent 19 billion hours on mobile apps in 2023

Canada App Market Revenue

The Canadian app market earned $2.8 billion in 2023, a slight increase on the previous year and up from $1.6 billion pre-pandemic.

Canada app market annual revenue 2019 to 2023 ($bn)

Canada consumer spend per user 2019 to 2023 ($)

Canada App Market Revenue by App

Disney+ generated $41 million in Canada in 2023, ahead of Candy Crush Saga and Roblox. TikTok took a dip in revenue from $40 million the year before.

Canada revenue by app 2023 ($mm)

Sources: AppMagic, Sensor Tower

Canada Smartphone Users

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

Annual Canada smartphone users 2015 to 2023 (mm)

Canada Smartphone Population

Over four-fifths of the Canadian population are active smartphone users, at 80.9% in 2023.

Canada population smartphone usage 2015 to 2023 (%)

Time Spent on Apps in Canada

In 2023, Canadian users spent 19 billion hours on mobile apps, a large increase on the 15.8 billion hours in 2022.

Hours spent on mobile apps in Canada 2019 to 2023 (bn)

Canada App Market Downloads

Users downloaded apps 1.23 billion times in Canada in 2023, up from 771 million downloads in 2019.

Canada app downloads 2019 to 2023 (mm)

Canada downloads per user 2019 to 2023

Canada App Market Downloads by App

Temu was the most downloaded app in Canada in 2023, with seven million downloads. TikTok came second with five million downloads.

Canada downloads by app 2022 (mm)

Sources: AppFigures, AppMagic