Question Period Note: UNIVERSAL BROADBAND FUND

What is the status of the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) that was announced in Budget 2019?

• The Government of Canada has made billions of dollars available for rural and remote Internet infrastructure to help ensure that all Canadians have access to fast and reliable Internet, no matter where they live.

• In total, $2.75 billion will be made available through the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) to support Canadians’ high-speed needs in rural and remote communities.

• The government’s goal is to connect 98 per cent of Canadians across the country to high-speed Internet by 2026, and all Canadians by 2030.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted much of our lives online and transformed how we live, work, learn, and do business. This makes it more important than ever that Canadians, including Canadian small businesses in every corner of this country, have access to fast and reliable high-speed Internet.

• To assist in COVID-19 recovery efforts, the government established a Rapid Response Stream for UBF projects that can be completed quickly and projects are well underway.

• The government is also improving mobile Internet for Indigenous peoples by setting aside $50 million to support mobile projects for their benefit.

o For example, federal and provincial investments in the Highway 16 project in British Columbia, more commonly known as the “Highway of Tears”, will soon have cellular coverage along the entire route, fulfilling a critical recommendation in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ calls for justice.

• The government will keep Canadians up to date on these investments and the progress made towards connecting all households in the country through online reporting, updated quarterly.

Connectivity Strategy
The government published Canada’s Connectivity Strategy in June 2019. The Strategy committed to connect every Canadian to affordable, high-speed Internet no matter where they live by 2030, and to improve mobile cellular access from coast to coast to coast.

Universal Broadband Fund
In Budget 2019, the government set a national target of 95 per cent of Canadian homes and businesses to have access to speeds of at least 50/10 Megabits per second (Mbps) by 2026 and 100 per cent by 2030, regardless of where they are located in the country. To help reach this target, Budget 2019 committed $1 billion in funding to support the launch of the Universal Broadband Fund as well as $600 million to secure new Low Earth Orbit satellite capacity to serve remote and northern communities, and a $85 million top-up of the Connect to Innovate (CTI) program.

In November 2020, the Universal Broadband Fund was launched, alongside increased funding to $1.75 billion (an increase from the original $1 billion in Budget 2019) with an accelerated target of connecting 98 per cent of Canadians by 2026, and all Canadians by 2030.
Budget 2021 provided the UBF an additional $1 billion over six years, starting in 2021-22 for a program total of $2.75 billion. This additional funding will support a more rapid rollout of broadband projects in collaboration with provinces and territories and other partners.

The intake period for the main UBF closed on March 15, 2021. The government received a total of 1,900 applications requesting about $9 billion. Project selection is underway. As of August 9, 2021, the following projects have been announced:

• Rapid Response Stream: The government has announced over $111 million in funding for 130 projects to connect nearly 75,000 households across Canada.

• Mobile: The government announced a partnership with British Columbia to provide 100 percent mobile coverage along BC’s Highway 16, known as the “Highway of Tears,” by October 2022. Each government contributed $2.25 million. This project fulfills a key recommendation of the National Inquiry for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice.

• Main UBF:

o The governments of Canada and Quebec are partnering to launch the extensive Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed to connect nearly 166,200 homes to high-speed Internet by September 2022. Each government contributed $920.3 million.

o The governments of Canada and Ontario are partnering to connect 280,000 households in Ontario with a combined investment of $1.2 billion.

 
Other federal broadband programs

UBF efforts are also coordinated with other broadband programming across the government, including:
• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) $750 million Broadband Fund (sourced from a levy on telecommunications service providers’ revenues) to help achieve universal access at speeds of 50/10 Mbps, as well as mobile coverage along major roads;
• The Canada Infrastructure Bank's (CIB) $2 billion for large, high-impact broadband projects;
• The $2 billion Rural and Northern Communities stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, which includes broadband, among other infrastructure projects;
• The First Nation Infrastructure Fund (FNIF), which helps First Nations improve and increase public infrastructure, including through connectivity projects, to improve their quality of life and the environment.