Today, the governments of Canada and Ontario announced a combined investment of more than C$71 million to bring high-speed internet access to more than 22,000 homes in 74 rural communities across eastern Ontario.
Minister of rural economic development Gudie Hutchings made the announcement today in Osgoode, Ont. alongside Ontario’s minister of infrastructure, Kinga Surma and member of provincial parliament for Carleton, Goldie Ghamari.
Bell and Cogeco will be undertaking these large-scale fibre-based projects.
The projects are part of the Canada-Ontario broadband partnership, announced in 2021 to connect more than 280,000 homes across the province by 2025 through a historic joint investment commitment of more than C$1.2 billion.
Since the start of this year, the governments of Canada and Ontario have invested more than C$120 million in large-scale fibre-based projects aimed at connecting underserved communities in Ontario.
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Residents can use the new interactive online map, launched earlier this year, to see where provincially funded high-speed internet projects are planned, are currently under way, or have been recently completed.
Today’s announcement, the release noted, 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.
Similar projects have also been initiated in other provinces. In March, the federal government announced an investment of C$94 million to connect rural communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. And last week, the governments of Canada and British Columbia invested over C$3 million to bring high-speed internet to more than 800 households in British Columbia, including 500 in Indigenous communities.
As of today, 93.5 per cent of Canadian households have access to high-speed internet or are targeted to receive access through existing program commitments, the release said.