Mobile engagement is besting desktop amongst Canada’s 30 million digital users for the first time in ComScore Canada’s recorded history.

According to its recently–released June ComScore Media Metrix numbers, mobile engagement (which includes smartphones and tablets), came in at 56%, versus desktop’s 44%.

Brent Bernie, president of ComScore Canada, says mobile was sitting at 49% engagement when it was first introduced into measurement in the summer of 2013. He says the figures are reminiscent of those from the U.S., which sits at 62% according to the most recent numbers.

To get a better sense of how their readers/viewers are accessing content, publishers should note how their average user numbers on mobile compare with comScore’s, as well as how they’re monetizing content on the platform, according to Bernie.

In terms of device usage, 51% of Canadians use both desktop and mobile, with 41% using desktop only and 7% going mobile only. Bernie says though the mobile-only number is small, it’s one to be watched, noting it has grown 1% in the past year.

Canadians using mobile devices spend 35% of their time on social media, 16% on games and 15% on entertainment.

ComScore’s numbers are released just after the CRTC reported last week that mobile subscriptions surpassed landlines for the first time. Overall, mobile subscriptions are at 20% across Canada, versus subscription to wired telephones services at 14%.

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