Question Period Note: BROADBAND FUNDING SINCE 2015

Since 2015, what has the Government of Canada done to improve connectivity across the country?

• Reliable high-speed Internet access is essential for all Canadians.

• Since 2015, the Government of Canada has committed more than $7.6 billion to bring better Internet access to unserved and underserved communities across Canada.

• Today, through federal investments with private and public partners, 94.8% of Canadian homes have high-speed Internet access, compared to just 84.6% in 2017.

• The government is on track to meet its national targets of providing high-speed Internet access to 98% of Canadian households by 2026, and 100% by 2030.

Since 2015, the Government of Canada has announced more than $3.7 billion in funding to improve connectivity to over 1.6 million households in over 4,200 communities through several programs, including:

• 2015: Launched in 2007 through Indigenous Services Canada, the First Nation Infrastructure Fund (FNIF) addresses long-standing infrastructure gaps on reserves in nine eligible project categories, including connectivity. Funding for connectivity projects under the program began in 2009. From 2015 onwards, there have been significant funding announcements, with $86.9 million allocated to 40 projects benefiting over 51,000 households. These projects include backbone networks, Internet points of presence, local access networks and community satellite equipment. The program continues to have an annual intake.

• 2016: In December 2016, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) set the new standard of 50/10 Mbps for modern high-speed Internet. In 2017, this speed was accessible to only 38.1% of rural and 28.9% of Indigenous households, compared to 97% of urban homes. Today, these figures have risen to 68.1% for rural and 51.2% for Indigenous households.

• 2016: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s $585 million Connect to Innovate (CTI) program launched in December 2016 and funded projects that built new backbone infrastructure to underserved communities and helped connect institutions like schools and hospitals. A portion of the program’s funding was also used for “last-mile” infrastructure, bringing Internet access to households and businesses that had service speeds lower than 5 Mbps. Budget 2016 announced $500 million for CTI, and Budget 2019 added a $85 million top-up as part of a set of investments of Canada’s Connectivity Strategy (50/10 Mbps). All funding has now been allocated. As of December 2023, 1,033rural communities (126 Indigenous) are now benefitting from improved connectivity, surpassing the program’s original target of connecting 975 communities.

• 2017: Infrastructure Canada launched the $2 billion Rural and Northern Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to support various infrastructure projects, including Internet and mobile connectivity. The program is managed through bi-lateral agreements with provinces and territories. To date, $287 million has been announced for 12 projects to bring high-speed Internet to over 131,700 households.

• 2018: CRTC’s Broadband Fund was developed in 2018 and has committed up to $675 million over the first 5 years to help achieve universal Internet access at speeds of 50/10 Mbps, as well as mobile coverage along major roads. The first call for applications launched in 2019. The CRTC has announced selected projects under the first and second calls for applications. A third call for applications closed on June 15, 2023. So far, over $317 million has been announced for 48 projects to bring high-speed Internet to more than 42,400 households.

• March 2019: In Budget 2019 the government announced funding to support various connectivity initiatives, including the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF), and set the national target to provide high-speed Internet access (50/10 Mbps) to 95% of Canadian households by 2026, and 100% by 2030. With new investments in the UBF ($750 million) in 2020, the target for 2026 was accelerated to 98% and the program received additional funding in Budget 2021 ($1 billion). Budget 2019 also committed funding to secure Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite capacity. The government subsequently entered into a $600 million satellite capacity agreement with Telesat in 2020 to bring high-speed Internet to some of the hardest to reach households in Canada.

• June 2019: The government published Canada’s Connectivity Strategy, reaffirming the national connectivity targets and outlining a plan to achieve them through the UBF and other existing federal initiatives.

• 2020: The government announced Canada Infrastructure Bank’s (CIB) Growth Plan which committed $2 billion to help finance large, high-impact connectivity projects. The CIB intakes projects on a rolling basis. The program has announced over $171 million to help finance 24 projects to bring high-speed Internet access to over 57,400 households.

• November 2022: The UBF received a $475 million top-up and became a $3.225 billion program; the largest federal connectivity investment in history. The UBF funds projects that provide last-mile high-speed Internet (50/10 Mbps) access to rural and remote households. So far, the government has announced over $2.4 billion in funding under the UBF. This accounts for 366 projects and 6 federal-provincial agreements (British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador) that will bring improved Internet access to over 924,000 households across Canada, including nearly 40,000 Indigenous households.

• Of the $7.6 billion committed, more than $3.7 billion in funding has been announced since 2015 for projects to improve Internet connectivity for over 1.5 million households across the country.

• The government has played a key role in financially supporting connectivity projects, and will continue to collaborate with other levels of government, the private sector, Indigenous groups and other stakeholders to achieve national connectivity targets.