Some interesting stats from eMarketer on North American Internet and broadband penetration. These numbers seem lower than I had thought, but they follow usual eMarketer approach of summarising and aggregating other research, and it seems credible.
Executive Summary: Some 58% of Canada’s population is online, which is only slightly behind the US penetration rate of 63%. Broadband growth has exceeded that of the US, with 59% of households connected via a high-speed Internet connection at the end of this year compared with 44% of US households.
Source: eMarketer.com – Canada Online
The penetration is predicted to level off at close to 70%.
What is more interesting is the Internet penetration levels at different age brackets. This is the best predictor of future Internet usage, and expectation, with close to 80% in the Gen Y category.
Bankwatch 
Interesting. The numbers here are vastly different than those from comScore Media Metrx Canada Inc. In Marketing Sherpa’s special report “How to Market to Canadians Online…” they indicate nearly 70% of the population is online with over 80% of those on broadband connections. And, we’re #10 in terms of time spent online.
I know!! I was surprised. eMarketer specialises in aggregation of other research houses’ reports, but this one seemed low to me.