Canada is One of the Best Places in the World to Be on the Internet

Canada, fresh of a title in real-world quality of life, has also been recognized for its strong performance in Digital Quality of Life.

Such is the title of a survey conducted by VPN provider Surfshark, which ranked 65 countries on something called virtual experience. Getting there required scoring each country on six criteria: internet speed & affordability (broadband and mobile), the presence of personal data protection laws, the state of e-government, the variety & availability of e-entertainment, and the advancement of cybersecurity.

All things considered, Canada is home to the sixth-best virtual experience among countries considered. Not bad! Meanwhile, the best online lives are lived in Australia. It’s also quite good to be on the Internet in France.

Our highest score came in mobile internet speed, a category in which we trail only Iceland and Norway.

Check it out:

Ok, now onto the Needs Improvement part of the report card. It should go without saying that Canadians pay way the hell too much for their virtual experience. And that’s exactly where Canada falls behind many of its counterparts in the top 10. We 47th in mobile affordability and 20th in broadband affordability. Like a brand new Bugatti, we pay a lot for speed.

Looking at the best-performing countries, it’s very clear that having red and white in your flag is a prerequisite for an exceptional virtual experience. Here’s how the top 10 looks: