Question Period Note: CANADA-NEWFOUNDLAND BROADBAND PARTNERSHIP

What are the details of the Canada-Newfoundland broadband partnership announced on February 21, 2022?

• High-speed Internet access is essential for all Canadians.

• That is why the Government of Canada is investing in rural and remote Internet infrastructure – including under the Universal Broadband Fund.

• The government is collaborating with Newfoundland and Labrador to invest up to $136 million to provide high-speed Internet access to all underserved households in the province.

• The government is committed to providing access to 98% of Canadians by 2026. This can only be achieved through partnerships with other levels of government, the private sector, Indigenous groups, and other stakeholders.

The $3.225 billion Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) will help ensure that 98% of Canadians will have access to high-speed Internet by 2026, and 100% by 2030. The UBF included a Rapid Response Stream (RRS) for shovel-ready projects that could be completed quickly, $50 million for mobile projects that primarily benefit Indigenous peoples, and $750 million for large, high-impact projects.
The government has leveraged nearly $2 billion in provincial funding from broadband partnerships with Ontario, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec, to connect even more households than with UBF funding alone.
The $136 million Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador broadband partnership includes funding of $116 million from the UBF and $20 million comes from Newfoundland and Labrador.
Under the UBF, over $132 million in federal funding has been announced for 11 projects to bring high-speed Internet to more than 56,000 households in Newfoundland and Labrador, including 1,900 Indigenous households.
Across all Government of Canada broadband programs since 2015, over $159 million in funding has been announced for connectivity projects in Newfoundland and Labrador.

• The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador broadband partnership announced on February 21, 2022, will provide high-speed Internet access to approximately 60,000 households. This represents nearly all underserved households in the province. Plans to connect remaining households are in development.

• 84.1% of households have access to high-speed Internet in the province, compared to 70.9% in 2017. Current projections show that 96.9% of households in the province will have access by 2026.

• The government has announced over $2.4 billion in funding under the Universal Broadband Fund to provide high-speed Internet access to over 924,000 households.