Question Period Note: A BETTER FUTURE FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES

What is the Government of Canada doing to support and promote rural economic recovery and a better future for rural communities?

• The Government of Canada is committed to providing rural communities with the tools and opportunities needed for economic growth.

• Budget 2022 proposes a range of important programs and initiatives to support Canadians living and working in rural communities.

• These include increasing loan forgiveness for doctors and nurses in rural communities, and investing $4 billion for the Housing Accelerator Fund to help municipalities—including smaller and rural communities— build capacity to prepare for 100,000 new homes.

• The Government of Canada will also continue its investments towards improving high-speed Internet access in rural and remote areas.

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Rural and northern communities face unique and diverse infrastructure pressures. The interrelated challenges of rural and remote communities highlights the importance for an inclusive and whole-of-government approach to addressing these challenges. Following extensive consultations, a national Rural Economic Development Strategy was launched in June 2019, along with Canada’s Connectivity Strategy. A progress report on the Rural Economic Development Strategy was released in August 2021.

In line with the Strategy, key investments in rural infrastructure and broadband are made through the Rural and Northern infrastructure stream of the Investing in Canada Plan. The stream provides funding for projects in small communities, from roads to wastewater to connectivity, supporting nearly 700 rural projects with $2 billion in contribution funding.

The Government of Canada continues to recognize connectivity as a priority and an important gap for rural communities’ ability to recover from the pandemic, and is diligently working to increase connectivity through the implementation of the Connectivity Strategy and the Universal Broadband Fund. These investments will help ensure that 98% of Canadians will have high-speed Internet access by 2026, and 100% will have access by 2030.

In addition to the previously announced programs and initiatives that are supporting vibrant rural communities, Budget 2022 announces further action to support Canadians living in rural communities, such as:
• $26.2 million to increase the forgivable amount of student loans for doctors and nurses who practice in rural and remote communities;
• $3.8 billion over eight years to launch Canada’s first Critical Minerals Strategy, which will create jobs in rural communities across Canada;
• $346.1 million to train 1,000 fire fighters and provide them with new equipment, and $169.9 million to create a new wildfire satellite monitoring system;
• $4 billion over five years for a new Housing Accelerator Fund to help municipalities—including smaller and rural communities—build 100,000 new homes.