MISSION, B.C. — In what they call “a historic plan”, the governments of Canada and British Columbia today announced they will jointly invest up to $830 million to connect all remaining rural and remote households in the province to high-speed Internet.
As part of their agreement, the two levels of government will each contribute up to $415 million to the wide-reaching project that will provide coverage to approximately 115,000 households in B.C. that are still underserved, according to a press release.
“British Columbia’s funding will build on investments made to date and will include the $289 million announced in B.C.’s Budget 2022,” the release says.
“Both governments of Canada and British Columbia will work with local communities, including Indigenous communities, to achieve the national target of connecting 98% of Canadians by 2026 and 100% by 2030.”
In addition, the B.C. government’s new Connecting Communities BC program will accelerate this work, “with a provincial target of 100% of B.C. communities connected by 2027,” the release says.
“We need to close the connection gap and ensure that every nook and cranny of British Columbia has access to reliable high-speed Internet — from Masset to Keats Island, from Dease Lake to Lillooet, or from Hendrix Lake all the way to Port Alice,” said Gudie Hutchings, federal minister of rural economic development, in the press release.
“That’s why today’s Canada-B.C. broadband partnership of up to $830 million toward connecting all remaining rural households in the province is a historic milestone for British Columbians,” Hutchings said.
“We know how important connectivity is to every British Columbian to support our growing economy and ensure we are putting people first,” said Lisa Beare, B.C.’s minister of citizens’ services. “That’s why, with the launch of our new program, Connecting Communities BC, we’re committing to accelerate the target in our province to close the digital divide and connect all of B.C. by 2027.”
Cartt.ca reached out to ISED for more details on this announcement but did not receive answers to our questions by deadline. We will update this story when we hear back.
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Update, March 9: Minister Gudie Hutchings’ press secretary confirmed for Cartt.ca today the funding announced yesterday from the federal government will come from the Universal Broadband Fund. No service providers have been selected to receive the funding yet, and there is no confirmed timeline for when announcements about service providers and projects receiving the funding will be made.
While the provincial government’s goal is to connect all of B.C. by 2027, the federal government’s goal continues to be to connect 98% of Canadians by 2026 and 100% by 2030.
