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Communications

Canada has long been a world leader in communications.

Canadian newspapers increased from about 20 'news-sheets' in the early 19th century to around 100 daily and 900 weekly newspapers, published in French and in English, by 1956.

The Canadian Post Office Department, created in 1867, saw a sixfold expansion in net revenues around the turn of the century. By 1957, there were nearly 12,000 Canada Post Offices across the country.

Use of the telegraph, invented in 1836, increased rapidly during the First World War and continued to rise. However, in 1956, as new ways of communicating became prevalent, the upward trend began to reverse itself. By 1965, telegram traffic had dropped by more than one-third.

The telephone was developed by Alexander Graham Bell in 1874 in Brantford, Ontario. Telephone usage spread as the technology evolved, particularly after 1900.

Radio became available to average Canadians after the First World War. The total number of public radio stations in Canada grew from 11 in 1927 to 225 in 1957. To regulate issues such as the assignment of radio wavelengths, free speech and service to listeners, the government introduced the Canadian Broadcasting Act in 1936.

Television challenged radio's central role in public communications. The first Canadian television station went on the air in Montréal in 1931. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation began broadcasting from Montréal and Toronto in 1952. By 1960, 47 stations were on the air across the country.

1907 Canada Year Book - Related tables

1. Dominion government telegraph service, 1907
2. Issue of postage stamps, etc., 1906 to 1907
3. Mail subsidies and steamship subventions, 1905 to 1907
4. Money orders, by province, 1903 to 1907
5. Number and value of postal notes received, 1903 to 1907
6. Operations of the money order system in Canada, 1868 to 1907
7. Revenue and expenditure of the Post Office Department, 1868 to 1907
8. Telegraph systems of the Dominion, 1907

1917 Canada Year Book - Related tables

1. Business and cost of maintenance of radiotelegraph stations, by geographical area, for the fiscal years 1915 and 1916
2. Canadian government steamers equipped with the radiotelegraph
3. Capital liability, cost, revenue and operating expenses of telephones, June 30, 1916, with totals for 1913 to 1915
4. Mail subsidies and steamship subventions, 1914 to 1916
5. Number of telephone companies reporting to the Department of Railways and Canals, by province, June 30, 1916, with total for 1913 to 1916
6. Progress of telephones in Canada, by selected characteristics of the telephone industry, 1913 to 1916
7. Revenue and expenditure of the Post Office Department for quinquennial periods 1890 to 1910, and for the years 1911 to 1916
8. Telegraph statistics of chartered companies, by company, 1910 to 1916
9. Telephones in use and mileage of wire, by province, June 30, 1916, with total, 1913 to 1916
10. Wire mileage of telephones, by class of wire, June 30, 1915 and 1916

1927 Canada Year Book - Related tables

1. Business and cost of maintenance of radiotelegraph stations, fiscal years ended March 31, 1926 and 1927
2. Canadian government steamers equipped with the radiotelegraph, fiscal year ended March 31, 1927
3. Government-owned and licensed public commercial radio stations in Canada, fiscal year ended March 31, 1927
4. Statistics of chartered telegraph companies, by calendar year, 1922 to 1926
5. Wireless and radio stations in operation in Canada, March 31, 1924 to 1927

1937 Canada Year Book - Related tables

1. Circulation of daily, semi-weekly, and weekly publications, in cities of 20,000 population or over, 1935
2. Employees and salaries and wages in fish-canning and curing establishments, 1920 to 1935
3. Number of persons employed in the fisheries of Canada and in processing establishments connected therewith, 1933 to 1935
4. Record of oriental immigrants, fiscal years ended 1901 to 1936

1947 Canada Year Book - Related tables

1. Broadcasting stations of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) networks, as at January 10, 1947
2. Circulation of daily, semi-weekly, and weekly publications, in cities of 20,000 population or over, 1935
3. Classification of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) programs, year ended March 31, 1946
4. Financial statistics of telephones, 1936 to 1945
5. Financial statistics of telephones, by provinces, 1945
6. Gross postal revenues of offices collecting upwards of $10,000 for either of the years ended March 31, 1945 and 1946
7. Income and expenditures of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), years ended March 31, 1944 to 1946
8. Local and long-distance calls and averages per telephone and per capita, 1936 to 1945
9. Money order statistics, by province, and total postal notes, years ended March 31, 1942 to 1946
10. Numbers and circulations of daily and weekly English-language newspapers, by province and territory, 1945 and 1946
11. Numbers and circulations of daily and weekly English-language newspapers, in urban centres of 20,000 population or over, 1945 and 1946
12. Numbers and circulations of daily and weekly foreign-language newspapers, 1945 and 1946
13. Numbers and circulations of daily and weekly French-language newspapers in urban centres of 20,000 population or over—1945 and 1946
14. Numbers and circulations of daily and weekly French-language newspapers, by province, 1945 and 1946
15. Numbers and circulations of magazines and other publications, by type, 1945 and 1946
16. Numbers and circulations of publications, other than newspapers, by frequency of issue, 1945 and 1946
17. Operations of civil aircraft in Canada, 1915
18. Post offices in operation, by province and territory, as at March 31, 1941 to 1946
19. Radio stations in operation, by class, as at March 31, 1942 to 1946
20. Revenues and expenditures of the post office department, years ended March 31, 1927 to 1946
21. Summary statistics of all Canadian telegraphs, 1936 to 1945
22. Telephone mileages of pole-line and wire, 1936 to 1945
23. Telephones in use, by provinces, 1945

1957 Canada Year Book - Related tables

1. Estimated numbers and circulations of foreign-language publications, 1955 and 1956
2. Estimated numbers and circulations of reporting daily and weekly English-language newspapers, by province, 1954 to 1956
3. Estimated numbers and circulations of reporting daily and weekly French-language newspapers published in urban centres of 30,000 population or over, 1955 and 1956
4. Operating ratios of independent retail stores, by kind of business, 1954
5. Operating results of retail chain stores for selected kinds of business, 1955
6. Post offices in operation, by province, on March 31, 1954 to 1957
7. Retail chain store sales, by province and by kind of business, 1953 to 1956
8. Retail chain store statistics, 1930 and 1941 to 1956
9. Retail sales of new motor vehicles, 1947 to 1956
10. Retail trade, by kind of business, 1951 and 1954 to 1956
11. Retail trade, by province, 1930 to 1956

1967 Canada Year Book - Related tables

1. Estimated numbers and circulations of reporting english-language and french-language newspapers published in urban centres of over 30,000 population, 1964 and 1965.
2. Estimated numbers and circulations of reporting English-language, French-language and foreign-language newspapers, by province, 1964 and 1965
3. External cables landed in Canada, by company and station, 1966
4. Financial statistics of telephone systems, 1956 to 1965
5. Financial statistics of telephone systems, by province, 1965
6. Local and long-distance calls and average calls per capita and per telephone, 1956 to 1965
7. Pole-line and wire mileage and number of telephones in use, 1956 to 1965
8. Revenue from advertising and from subscriptions or sales of newspapers, periodicals and books, 1963 and 1964
9. Summary statistics of Canadian telegraphs, 1956 to 1965
10. Telephones in use, by province, 1965