Question Period Note: HIGH SPEED INTERNET IN THE NORTH

What is the Government of Canada doing to support access to high-speed Internet infrastructure in the North?

• The Government of Canada is investing billions of dollars to ensure that all Canadians have access to high-speed Internet.

• Since 2015, the government has announced over $408 million for connectivity projects in the North, including nearly $59 million for the Dempster Fibre Project, which will be in service in the coming months.

• Under the Universal Broadband Fund, the government announced nearly $14 million for five projects in the North that are all operational, bringing improved connectivity to more than 10,000 households.

• The government is working collaboratively with territorial governments on additional investments for the North.

Government funding has often been needed to build and sustain Internet infrastructure projects in the North given the region’s climate, terrain and vast distances, which often make terrestrial infrastructure like fibre optic cable especially challenging. Since 2015, the Government of Canada has committed over $408 million for 15 connectivity projects in the territories. Key connectivity initiatives include:

• The Universal Broadband Fund (UBF): The $3.225 billion UBF is helping to bring 50/10 Mbps Internet service to 98% of Canadian households by 2026 and all Canadians by 2030. This includes one project in Northwest Territories totalling $5 million and two projects in Nunavut totalling nearly $7 million.
• Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s Broadband Fund: $750 million to improve connectivity across the country. This includes two projects in the Yukon totaling $60 million, two in Northwest Territories totalling $28 million, and one in Nunavut totalling $26.8 million.
• Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite developments: The government has committed up to $600 million to secure LEO satellite capacity on Telesat Lightspeed.
• The $2 billion Rural and Northern Communities stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, which includes broadband, among other infrastructure projects. This program is investing $150 million in the Government of Nunavut’s undersea fibre optic cable project which will bring a fibre connection to two communities in Nunavut for the first time. This project is on hold as of summer 2023 due to rising project costs. The Government of Canada is working with the Government of Nunavut on funding prioritization of broadband projects in the territory.
• Dempster Fibre Line: The Government of Yukon received up to $30 million from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and up to another $29 million from Infrastructure Canada to build an 800-kilometer long fibre optic line from Dawson City, Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. This line will connect to the existing Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link in Inuvik, completing a 4,000-kilometre network that will offer communities along the loop a backup line in the event of a service disruption. With the construction phase of the project now complete, the territory is one step closer to having more reliable Internet and cellphone services, ensuring that our communities have access to digital services that meet their needs. The next step is handing the line over to Northwestel. The line is expected to come into service in December 2024.

Additional private northern initiatives:

• Starlink: Following the launch of an additional 46 Starlink satellites into the polar orbit in summer 2022, Starlink announced in November 2022 expanded coverage to the far north, Yellowknife, Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit. The remaining territories followed in early 2023 once all the satellites had reached their final orbits.

• Today, 57.7% of households in the North have access to high-speed Internet. Projections show that 74.4% will have access by 2026.
o Yukon will increase from 70.4% today to a projected 90% in 2026.
o Northwest Territories will increase from 82% today to a projected 94.7% in 2026.
o Nunavut currently has no high-speed Internet access, but is projected to reach 16.7% in 2026.

• The government has entered into a $600 million agreement with Telesat to secure Internet capacity for rural and northern communities on their advanced low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, Telesat Lightspeed. Once operational, Telesat Lightspeed will help to connect up to 40,000 very remote households.

• Other LEO satellite constellations, including Starlink, One Web and Kuiper, are at various stages of development and deployment - with some services already available. These will be an important part of getting the North fully connected.