The 2006 Survey of Household Spending in Canada says that, despite an overall increase in consumption, “spending on reading materials decreased 5% to $260 per household.”

It seems that no one can stop the grim march of these stories about the death of reading. But there’s a silver lining: Canadians are now spending more on reading materials than on games of chance. Way to go, spending-on-reading!

One province is still reading, though. Thanks to the booming resource economy in the West, Alberta households are spending more than anyone else on entertainment. Mostly of the sporting and televisual variety, but spending on reading materials is up a healthy 8%. Seems like a good time to start marketing some books to Albertans.