CBC News App Sees Traffic Surge Rivalling Trucker Protest Levels

Canadians turned to the CBC News app in record numbers following the initial announcement of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and energy on February 1.

As the federal government responded and tensions escalated, mobile users flooded the app for live updates, making it one of the busiest days in CBC News’ digital history, said the public broadcaster on Wednesday.

On February 1, mobile usage on the CBC News app hit its highest levels since the Ottawa trucker convoy protests over COVID-19 restrictions in 2022 (when bank accounts were frozen to stop the protest, after the Emergencies Act was invoked for the first time in Canadian history).

Over the three-day period from February 1-3, the app and CBCNews.ca saw 4 million unique visitors, marking the highest digital traffic—since the Rogers network outage in July 2022 (that was a doozy, wasn’t it?).

The CBC News app’s daily views surged by 120% compared to January, while daily unique visitors increased by 32%. Canadians were spending more time engaging with live updates and in-depth coverage of how the tariffs could impact businesses, jobs, and communities across the country, said the CBC in an email.

Beyond mobile, the CBC News Network saw 4.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched English-language news channel during this period. The National also drew 2 million viewers on February 3, its second-largest audience this season.

After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday, it was decided the tariff war would be put on hold for 30 days, while Canada would strengthen its border security and also engage in the war on fentanyl with America.

In 2024, the CBC received $1.4 billion in taxpayer funds, while seeing a $125 million shortfall. About 600 jobs were cut and English and French programming was reduced, but executive bonuses were still quietly approved and paid out, despite backlash from the public and Members of Parliament.