ONTARIO, CANADA— All Canadians need reliable high-speed Internet, no matter where they live. The governments of Canada and Ontario said that they are taking action to bring high-speed Internet access to underserved communities across Ontario.
Today, Jennifer O’Connell, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, on behalf of the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development, together with Amarjot Sandhu, Parliamentary Assistant to Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, and Lorne Coe, Member of Provincial Parliament for Whitby, announced over $22 million in combined federal and provincial funding for the Regional Municipality of Durham to bring high-speed Internet access to more than 1,400 homes in the communities of Ashburn, Columbus, Courtice, Greenbank, Leaskdale, Manchester, Myrtle Station, Raglan, Sunderland and Uxbridge.
“We all know that Internet is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Today’s announcement is a significant milestone for Internet connectivity in rural Ontario,” Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development, said. “Working with the Regional Municipality of Durham, we will help connect more than 1,400 underserved homes in 10 rural communities in Ontario. Our government will continue to work side by side with our partners to achieve our connectivity targets and ensure that every Canadian, no matter where they live, has access to high-speed Internet.”
The project being announced today is 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.
“Ontario is moving at an unprecedented pace to ensure every community has access to high-speed Internet by the end of 2025,” Amarjot Sandhu, Parliamentary Assistant to Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, said. “Today’s announcement is an important step in our bold plan and will have a significant impact on families and businesses across Durham Region.”
Today’s announcement builds on the Government of Canada’s progress toward ensuring that 98% of Canadians have access to high-speed Internet by 2026, and 100% 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 in the province by the end of 2025.
