Ottawa, Ontario
No matter where you live, access to reliable, affordable high-speed Internet is essential. That's why the Government of Canada is working with provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous communities, and large and small Internet service providers to ensure that all Canadians are connected.
Today, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, updated Canadians on the Government of Canada's progress toward connecting all Canadians, no matter where they live, to high-speed Internet.
A year of progress
Thanks to the $3.225 billion Universal Broadband Fund (UBF), as well as other federal and provincial investments, the federal government is on track to exceed its goal of providing access to high-speed Internet to 98% of Canadian households by 2026 and 100% by 2030. Today, 93.5% of Canadian households have access to high-speed Internet compared to just 79% in 2014. Current projections show that 98.6% of households will have access by 2026.
Since the launch of the UBF in November 2020, 295 projects have been announced across Canada. This includes 45 projects in 2023 alone, which will serve more than 200,000 households. In 2023, 40,000 households also gained new access to high-speed Internet through completed UBF projects. The Government of Canada looks forward to announcing more UBF projects through 2024. Projects are posted online as they are announced.
In June 2023, Minister Hutchings launched the government's redesigned website-canada.ca/rural. The interactive website is a source for rural Canadians to find relevant resources and information on Government of Canada programs, including the UBF.
Partnering for success
To help meet connectivity targets faster, the Government of Canada has also entered into co-funding partnerships with Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island. With more than $2 billion in provincial co-funding secured, these partnerships allow for more households to be connected through UBF funding.
Many provinces have made significant progress toward achieving universal connectivity already. With a total of $920 million in federal-provincial co-funding under Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed, Quebec has achieved our common goal of offering high-speed Internet access to all residents in the province. Many other provinces, including Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia, are also very close to achieving universal connectivity.
The Government of Canada is working closely with all provinces and territories to help connect remaining underserved households. For the latest information on Canada's progress toward achieving universal high-speed Internet access, visit the interactive High-Speed Internet Access Dashboard. The dashboard allows Canadians to track national progress and government funding by province and territory.
Real results, real progress
These investments are making a real difference in peoples' lives, including by enabling them to access health care or expand their businesses.
In Iskatewizaagegan No. 39 Independent First Nation, also known as Shoal Lake No. 39 First Nation, community members are benefiting from improved access to reliable high-speed Internet. Residents can now access telehealth services, enabling people to meet with doctors virtually when in-person appointments are not possible. This has been an important benefit to Shoal Lake No. 39 First Nation and has improved residents' quality of life.
Elsewhere, in Port-Menier, Quebec, recent access to high-speed Internet has enhanced the village's tourism industry. Businesses in the community, located on Anticosti Island in the heart of the St. Lawrence, have improved their online visibility and increased their opportunities to market to tourists. Visitors can now enjoy the region's vast wilderness while staying connected to the rest of the world.
The work continues
Since 2015, the federal government has allocated more than $7.6 billion for improving connectivity across Canada. These investments will level the playing field and ensure rural communities have equal ability to benefit from Internet access. The Government of Canada will continue working with provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous communities, and Internet service providers so that all Canadians, no matter where they live, have access to high-speed Internet as fast as possible.
