Governments of Canada and Ontario invest nearly $2.4 million to bring high-speed Internet access to up to 299 households in Campbellville

Residents to benefit from increased connectivity to high-speed Internet

MILTON, ON, March 16, 2023 /CNW/ - All Canadians need reliable, 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 unserved and underserved communities across the province.

Today, Adam van Koeverden, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport and Member of Parliament for Milton, on behalf of the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development, together with Parm Gill, Member of Provincial Parliament for Milton, on behalf of the Honourable Kinga Surma, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure, announced nearly $2.4 million in combined federal-provincial funding for Cogeco Connexion to bring high-speed Internet access to up to 299 homes in Campbellville, Ontario.

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 households 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% 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 across the province by the end of 2025.

Quotes

"We all know that Internet is no longer a luxury in this day and age—it's a necessity. Having fast, reliable Internet helps rural Canadians by levelling the playing field to access essential services like health care and education, participate in the digital economy, or simply connect with loved ones. Our government will continue to work side by side with our partners to achieve our connectivity targets and ensure every Canadian, no matter where they live, has access to high-speed Internet."
– The Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development

"Access to Internet has never been more important. That is why our government is collaborating with Cogeco on this project and contributing to the nearly $2.4 million in combined funding to bring reliable high-speed Internet access to up to 299 homes in Campbellville. Affordable high-speed Internet access is an essential service in this day and age, and this investment reinforces our government's commitment to connect 98% of Canadians by 2026 and 100% by 2030."
– Adam van Koeverden, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport and Member of Parliament for Milton

"Our government recognizes how critical access to high-speed Internet is for Ontarians. That is why we have made it a priority to bring reliable high-speed Internet access to every community by the end of 2025. Through this project, we are ensuring that people will have improved access to critical health services and will be able to learn and work online, participate in the agriculture sector, and connect with their loved ones."
– The Honourable Kinga Surma, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure

"Through nearly $2.4 million in combined federal and provincial funding, we are expanding access to high-speed Internet for up to 299 homes and businesses in Campbellville. This will help build a stronger Ontario for families, workers and businesses and is part of our government's comprehensive plan to ensure that no community will be left behind in today's digital world."
– Parm Gill, Member of Provincial Parliament for Milton

"At Cogeco, we truly believe in connecting, supporting and investing in our communities. We are proud to partner with the governments of Canada and Ontario to connect more residents and businesses in Campbellville to our fibre-powered Internet and local programming on YourTV. This project is very special to us, as it is right in our Ontario head office community: Halton Region. We are pleased to contribute to the local economy and drive growth in the region."
– Matt Wickham, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Experience and B2B, Cogeco

"This collaboration between the Governments of Canada and Ontario to contribute nearly $2.4M in combined funding is an important broadband investment that will allow Cogeco to bring high-speed internet to 299 households within Campbellville. The Region continues to work with the Federal and Provincial governments as well as telecommunications service providers to help ensure all Halton residents and businesses have access to reliable internet service. Thank you to Minister Hutchings and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Minister Surma and Ontario's Ministry of Infrastructure for this important investment."
– Gary Carr, Halton Regional Chair

Quick facts

• 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.
• The Universal Broadband Fund is a $3.225 billion investment by the Government of Canada designed to help provide high-speed Internet access to 98% of Canadians by 2026 and achieve the national target of 100% access by 2030.
• Already, 93.5% of Canadian homes have access to high-speed Internet or will be covered by a project currently under way, compared to just 79% in 2014.
• On July 29, 2021, the governments of Canada and Ontario announced a Canada–Ontario broadband partnership. This agreement will bring high-speed Internet access to more than 280,000 households across Ontario with a total investment of more than $1.2 billion, co-funded equally by both levels of government.
• The Ontario government is investing nearly $4 billion to bring access to reliable high-speed Internet to every community across the province by the end of 2025. This is the largest single investment in high-speed Internet in any province, by any government in Canadian history.
• As of February 2023, Ontario has finalized agreements totalling more than $2.2 billion for nearly 200 high-speed Internet and cellular projects across the province.
• In 2021, Ontario passed the Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021 to help speed up construction of high-speed Internet projects. To build upon this legislation, the Ontario government passed the Getting Ontario Connected Act, 2022, which further reduces barriers, duplication and delays.

Associated links

• Universal Broadband Fund
• Backgrounder: Universal Broadband Fund and Telesat low Earth orbit capacity agreement
• Canada Infrastructure Bank: Broadband
• High-Speed Access for All: Canada's Connectivity Strategy
• High-Speed Internet Access Dashboard
• National Broadband Internet Service Availability Map
• Ontario Connects: making high-speed Internet accessible in every community
• Ontario Builds: our infrastructure plan

Stay connected

Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.
Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn

Follow Ontario's Ministry of Infrastructure on social media.
Twitter: @ONinfra, Instagram: @oninfrastructure and LinkedIn: @Infrastructure | Infrastructure

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Government of Canada: Hugo Alvarez, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Rural Economic Development, 343-551-7846, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected]; Government of Ontario: Andrea Chiappetta, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Infrastructure, [email protected]; Sofia Sousa-Dias, Communications Branch, Ministry of Infrastructure, [email protected]