by Christina Peden

The landline is beginning to go the way of the dinosaur, according to a new Statistics Canada report.  In 2013, 21% of Canadian households had eschewed their landlines in favour of their mobile, up from 13% in 2010.

Unsurprisingly, cell phone-only households is most prominent among the under 35 set, with 60% reporting they use a cell phone exclusively. This shows a steady increase — the numbers are up from 39% in 2010 and 26% in 2008.

Exclusive cell phone use is least common in households aged 55 and older, with just 6% abandoning their landlines and making the switch to mobile.  Even so, these numbers are still up from 2008’s level of 2%.

Total cell phone use nationwide also grew slightly, up from 78% in 2010 to 83% in 2013, while the overall share of Canadian households with a landline fell to 56%, down from 66% in 2014. Quebec has the lowest percentage of households with landlines, with just 43% of people hanging on to their home phones.

The data is based on a telephone poll of 19,000 households conducted in December 2013 as part of the Labour Force Survey.

Source: Statistics Canada