Governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island working together to connect all remaining underserved homes in the province
June 2, 2022 - Ottawa, Ontario
Today, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development, together with Heath MacDonald, Member of Parliament for Malpeque, and the Honourable Matthew MacKay, Prince Edward Island's Minister of Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture, announced a federal-provincial partnership to invest up to $20 million in projects that will support the shared goal of connecting every underserved home in rural communities throughout P.E.I. to high-speed Internet.
Under this Canada-P.E.I partnership, each level of government will contribute up to $10 million, for total combined funding of up to $20 million, toward the development and execution of jointly funded programs and projects to connect the approximately 2,000 remaining homes throughout the Island that do not have high-speed Internet access. Both the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island will work with local communities, including Indigenous communities, to achieve the national target of connecting 98% of Canadians by 2026 and 100% by 2030. Prince Edward Island's plan accelerates this work, with its target of 95% of the province connected by 2023 and 100% by 2025. Details of projects being undertaken throughout the province will be announced in the coming months.
In addition to today's partnership, the Government of Canada is taking immediate action by investing more than $1.5 million in funding for Island Telecom and Xplornet to bring high-speed Internet to over 1,000 homes in Prince Edward Island. This funding will benefit 56 communities in the province.
The governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island recognize the important role that high-speed Internet access will have in the Island's economic recovery from the pandemic. Collaborating to provide better Internet services to Islanders will contribute to the economic growth of the entire province.
