The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we live, work, learn and do business, and now more than ever, Canadians across the country need reliable high-speed Internet to access services, supports and opportunities. Through the Universal Broadband Fund’s (UBF) Rapid Response Stream, the Government of Canada is taking immediate action to get people living in rural and remote communities connected to high-speed Internet.
Today, Francis Drouin, Member of Parliament for Glengarry–Prescott–Russell, along with Mark Gerretsen, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands, on behalf of Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development, announced over $6.9 million in funding for five projects that will bring high-speed Internet to more than 3,455 households in rural Ontario covering 20 communities.
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. In 2021, 131 projects supported through the Rapid Response Stream of the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) were announced. These projects will bring high-speed Internet to more than 75,000 households in rural and remote communities across Canada.
Since 2015, Government of Canada funding has supported projects to bring high-speed Internet to over 1.1 million households in rural and remote communities across Canada.
The UBF is a $2.75 billion investment by the Government of Canada to help connect 98% of Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2026 and achieve the national target of 100% connectivity by 2030.
The UBF is part of a suite of federal investments to improve high-speed Internet. The suite includes the Connect to Innovate program, which is expected to connect nearly 400,000 households by 2023, and the $2 billion broadband initiative from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
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