Governments of Canada and Ontario invest over $71 million to bring high-speed Internet access to more than 22,000 homes in 74 communities across eastern Ontario

Rural communities to benefit from increased connectivity to high-speed Internet

OSGOODE, ON, June 15, 2023 /CNW/ - All Canadians need reliable and affordable high-speed Internet, no matter where they live. That is why the governments of Canada and Ontario are taking action to bring high-speed Internet access to underserved communities across Ontario.

Today, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development, together with the Honourable Kinga Surma, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure, and Goldie Ghamari, Member of Provincial Parliament for Carleton, announced over $71 million in combined federal and provincial funding for Bell Canada and Cogeco to bring high-speed Internet access to more than 22,000 homes in 74 rural communities across eastern Ontario.

The projects being announced today are part of an existing partnership between Canada and Ontario. On July 29, 2021, the governments announced a Canada–Ontario broadband partnership to support large-scale, fibre-based projects that will provide high-speed Internet access to more than 280,000 homes across the province. This historic agreement was made possible by a joint federal-provincial investment totalling more than $1.2 billion.

Today's announcement builds on the Government of Canada's progress toward ensuring that 98% of Canadians have access to high-speed Internet by 2026, and 100% by 2030. The announcement also brings the Government of Ontario closer to achieving its goal of bringing reliable high-speed Internet access to every community by the end of 2025.

"We all know that Internet is no longer a luxury—it's a necessity. That's why our government made a historic commitment to connect 98% of Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2026. Today's announcement in Osgoode marks a significant milestone for Internet connectivity in rural Ontario. This investment will provide reliable and affordable high-speed Internet access through Bell and Cogeco to more than 22,000 underserved homes in 74 small communities across Carleton and eastern Ontario."
– The Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development

"The Ontario government is ensuring that every community across the province has access to reliable high-speed Internet by the end of 2025. By working together with our federal partners, we are increasing access to high-speed Internet for communities province-wide, including right here in Osgoode. We are ensuring that no one will be left behind."
– The Honourable Kinga Surma, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure

"We are proud to partner with the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario to expand our all-fibre broadband network to even more communities across eastern Ontario. Our fast and reliable Internet connections help people in rural and remote communities stay connected while at home and at work. Through our own fully funded investments and through partnerships like this, Bell continues to deliver on our purpose of advancing how Canadians connect with each other and the world."
– Bruce Furlong, SVP Network, Bell Canada

"We are extremely proud to make our first expansion into the townships of Frontenac Islands and South Frontenac. Thanks to this partnership with the governments of Canada and Ontario, more residents and businesses in these municipalities, as well as the City of Kingston, will have access to our fibre-powered network. It's investments like this that contribute to our shared goal of reducing the digital divide, ensuring all Ontarians have access to high-speed Internet."
– Matt Wickham, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Experience and B2B, Cogeco

• Canada's Connectivity Strategy aims to provide all Canadians with access to Internet speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download / 10 Mbps upload.
• The Universal Broadband Fund is a $3.225 billion investment by the Government of Canada designed to help provide high-speed Internet access to 98% of Canadians by 2026 and achieve the national target of 100% access by 2030.
• Today, 93.5% of Canadian households have access to high-speed Internet, compared to just 79% in 2014.
• The Ontario government is investing nearly $4 billion to bring access to reliable high-speed Internet to every community across the province by the end of 2025. This is the largest single investment in high-speed Internet in any province, by any government in Canadian history.
• As of June 2023, Ontario has finalized agreements totalling more than $2.3 billion for nearly 200 high-speed Internet and cellular projects across the province.
• Ontario launched a new interactive online map that shows where provincially funded high-speed Internet projects are planned, are currently under way or have been recently completed in communities across the province. Ontarians can use the map to search by address, community or municipality, learn about projects happening in their area, and find out where high-speed Internet service is currently available.
• In 2021, Ontario passed the Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021 to help speed up construction of high-speed Internet projects. To build upon this legislation, the Ontario government passed the Getting Ontario Connected Act, 2022, which further reduces barriers, duplication and delays.

• Universal Broadband Fund
• Backgrounder: Universal Broadband Fund and Telesat low Earth orbit capacity agreement
• Canada Infrastructure Bank: Broadband
• High-Speed Access for All: Canada's Connectivity Strategy
• High-Speed Internet Access Dashboard
• National Broadband Internet Service Availability Map
• Ontario connects: making high-speed Internet accessible in every community

On June 15, 2023, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development, together with the Honourable Kinga Surma, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure, and Goldie Ghamari, Member of Provincial Parliament for Carleton, announced over $71 million in combined federal and provincial funding to bring high-speed Internet access to over 22,000 homes in underserved communities across eastern Ontario.

The communities that will benefit from these projects include:

Stay connected

Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.
Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn

Follow Ontario's Ministry of Infrastructure on social media.
Twitter: @ONinfra, Instagram: @oninfrastructure and LinkedIn: Infrastructure | Infrastructure

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]