Canada podcast statistics: the 2022 evidence

Canada podcast statistics need a date and denominator beside every percentage. The clearest public dataset used here is Edison Research and Triton Digital's Infinite Dial Canada survey conducted in March and April 2022. It found that 43% of Canadians aged 18 or older listened to podcasts monthly. That figure is a 2022 survey estimate, not a current audience count.

The report also covers online audio, in-car use, Canadian-produced shows, and self-reported episode consumption. These measures answer different questions. They should not be added together or treated as server-side podcast analytics.

Canada podcast statistics at a glance

Source: Edison Research and Triton Digital, The Infinite Dial 2022 Canada, published June 30, 2022.

The table keeps each base visible because the rows are not interchangeable. All surveyed Canadian adults aged 18 or older form the base for the 43% figure. Monthly podcast listeners form the base for the 56%, 47%, and 44% results. The in-car result uses adults who had driven or ridden in a car during the preceding month.

How the 2022 Canadian survey was measured

Edison Research conducted a national telephone survey of 1,014 people aged 18 or older in March and April 2022. It used random-digit dialling to reach mobile phones and landlines. Respondents could complete the survey in English or French, and the data were weighted to national adult-population figures.

That design matters when you compare the results with another study. A telephone survey and an online panel can reach different people and produce different response patterns. A newer year alone does not make two percentages comparable. The question wording, age base, collection mode, weighting, and fieldwork window also need to match.

The current Canadian Podcast Listener site describes its 2025 edition as an online, market-representative sample of more than 5,000 Canadian adults. That 5,000-plus figure is the study sample size. It is not a count of podcast listeners. No 2025 reach result is quoted because the public report was not available for direct inspection during research.

For a broader international view, podcast statistics 2026 covers other markets and measures. Keep its sources separate from the Canadian table above.

Monthly podcast listening reached 43% in 2022

The Infinite Dial reported monthly podcast listening among 43% of Canadians aged 18 or older. The report said this was five percentage points higher than its 2021 result. Both statements belong to the study's own series and definitions.

Monthly reach does not mean a respondent listened every week, finished each episode, or heard a particular advertisement. It means the person met the survey's monthly listening measure. You cannot turn 43% into a current population total without a matching official population denominator and a defensible reason to apply a 2022 percentage to it.

Your own delivery report answers the narrower question about your episodes. How to measure podcast downloads explains why server requests, filtered downloads, and listening behaviour need separate labels.

Online audio was broader than podcast listening

The same survey reported monthly online-audio listening among 73% of Canadian adults and weekly online-audio listening among 64%. Online audio includes a wider activity than podcast listening, so those percentages are not alternative estimates of podcast reach.

A buyer using the phrase "audio audience" may mean streamed radio, music services, podcasts, or several formats. A publisher report should name the measured product instead of using an audio-wide percentage to enlarge a podcast claim.

The survey also found podcast use in a car among 20% of adults who had driven or ridden in a car during the preceding month. That result has a conditional base. It does not say 20% of all Canadians listened to podcasts in a car, and it does not identify a specific app, vehicle system, or episode.

Canadian-produced podcasts had meaningful reported use

Among monthly podcast listeners, 56% said they listened to podcasts they knew were produced in Canada. The wording depends on what respondents knew or believed about the production origin. It is not an audit of publisher location or a count of Canadian titles.

For an advertiser, this can support putting Canadian-produced shows on a media shortlist. It cannot establish that local production caused audience growth or campaign performance. The podcast advertising guide covers the practical work of matching language, geography, inventory, and reporting rules to a campaign.

A producer can label Canadian production origin in a media kit when the show can substantiate that description. Pair it with evidence about the individual show. National research cannot supply a show's delivery, audience fit, or sponsor outcome.

Completion answers were self-reported

The survey asked monthly podcast listeners how much of a podcast they typically consumed. Forty-seven percent selected the entire podcast, while 44% selected most of it. These are recalled, typical-behaviour answers from respondents, not playback records.

Do not turn the two answers into a claim that 91% heard every advertisement. An ad may appear at different points in an episode. A respondent's idea of "most" may end before a later placement. The question also concerns podcast consumption generally, not one show, episode, or campaign.

Platform completion data and server delivery data answer different questions. A host or analytics prefix can record qualifying file delivery under its method. A listening app may report consumption within that app. The podcast analytics guide explains how to keep delivery, engagement, audience, and campaign evidence in their proper lanes.

How to use these figures without overstating them

Use the table as a dated reference block. Copy the source name, fieldwork dates, age base, collection method, and row-specific denominator into any presentation that repeats a percentage. If a slide cannot fit those details, link to the source and put the base directly under the number.

Keep four boundaries in view:

1. A 2022 percentage is not a current estimate.
2. Survey-reported listening is not a server-measured download.
3. Monthly reach is not ad delivery or ad recall.
4. A national percentage does not describe an individual show's audience.

When newer research becomes available, compare the questionnaire and method before drawing a trend line. If the study changed from telephone collection to an online panel, report each edition on its own terms unless the publisher documents a comparable series.

For sponsorship reporting, move from national context to show evidence quickly. State the show's measurement source and delivery window. Record the placement and response path. The ad attribution guide can help connect a campaign to visits, redemptions, or conversions without claiming that one method captures every response.

Ready to bring consistent delivery and audience reporting into sponsor conversations? You can start with Podder Analytics.

FAQ

What percentage of Canadians listened to podcasts monthly in 2022?

Edison Research and Triton Digital reported that 43% of Canadians aged 18 or older listened to podcasts monthly in their March and April 2022 national telephone survey.

Are these Canada podcast statistics current?

The figures are not current. Use them as a dated benchmark from March and April 2022, not as a 2025 or 2026 listening estimate.

Does listening to an entire podcast mean the listener heard an ad?

The figure does not prove ad exposure. The 47% entire-podcast result is a self-reported typical behaviour among monthly listeners. It is not player telemetry, placement-level delivery, or proof that an advertisement was heard.