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For a respite from the usual way North America's biggest rivalry plays out, today we learn which nation, the United States or Canada, goes on the Internet most. And for once our neighbors to the north have us beat.

According to market researcher comScore, Canadians spent on average 45.3 hours online last December. As the Canadian Press found, that compares pretty favorably to its two biggest allies. "The Canadian total is about 17 per cent more than the average 38.6 hours Americans were online this past December, and about 28 per cent more than the average in the U.K."

The Canadian Press explains Canada's Interent lovefest by citing "a significant jump in social media usage, which was up 32 per cent." But the Web is getting more social everywhere, including the U.S., so why is Canada still topping its southern neighbors? Income may be a factor: For the first time ever in 2011 Canadians earned more than Americans. We're also guessing that Canada's cold weather would drive folks indoors and onto their computers.

We'll let the Canadians have their Internet (and healthcare) for now. At least the U.S. is still winning where it counts most.

Correction: An earlier version of this article referred to a Canadian Press article as an AP article.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.