News Release, October 26, 2022, Ministry of Infrastructure
Rural communities to benefit from increased connectivity to high-speed internet
All Canadians, no matter where they live, need reliable and affordable high-speed internet to access essential services, supports and opportunities. That is why the governments of Canada and Ontario, along with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), are taking action to get people living in rural and remote communities connected to high-speed internet.
Today, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development — together with Amarjot Sandhu, Parliamentary Assistant to Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, on behalf of the Honourable Kinga Surma, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure — announced more than $56 million in combined funding for three projects by Bell and Cogeco to bring high-speed internet access to over 16,000 households in rural communities across eastern Ontario. Bell’s projects are set to be completed between March and December 2025, and Cogeco’s project is set to be completed by March 2024.
In July 2021, the governments of Canada and Ontario announced that they had partnered with the CIB to support large-scale fibre-based projects to provide high-speed internet access to more than 280,000 rural and remote households across the province. That historic agreement was made possible by a joint federal-provincial investment totaling more than $1.2 billion. Today’s announcement by the governments of Canada and Ontario and the CIB provides details on three of the projects selected under that agreement.
Today’s announcement builds on the Government of Canada’s progress toward ensuring that 98 per cent of Canadians have access to high-speed internet by 2026, and 100 per cent by 2030. The announcement also brings the Government of Ontario one step closer to achieving its goal of bringing reliable high-speed internet access to every region of the province by the end of 2025.