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
The Brockville & District Chamber of Commerce like other Chamber of Commerce have been advocating for many years to bring better High Speed Internet to our rural areas. We are pleased to see this announcement, hopefully the work will move more quickly.
News Release:
June 15. 2023
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 Ontario and Canada. 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 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 closer to achieving its goal of bringing reliable high-speed internet access to every community by the end of 2025.