TORONTO – Waving the red and white flag, Rogers said Thursday that it contributed $14 billion to the Canadian economy last year, including $2.8 billion in infrastructure, and employed 26,000 Canadians.
“Investment in our country’s infrastructure is essential to our nation’s competitive advantage on the world stage,” said president and CEO Joe Natale, in the news release. “As a Canadian-owned company, we are proud to invest meaningfully to make our country stronger and more successful.”
Touting accomplishments such as the launch of its IPTV service Ignite TV and the rollout of one Gigabit Internet speeds to its residential customer base, Rogers also underscored that its 5G network partner is Swedish company Ericsson, “the North American 5G partner of choice”.
The release also included the following numbers:
- $14 billion contributed to our economy
- $2.8 billion invested in capital expenditures
- $2.0 billion paid in salary and benefits to employees
- $1.1 billion paid in taxes and government fees
- $988 million returned to shareholders in the form of dividends
- $679 million invested in Canadian content and programming
- $160 million invested in our pension plans
- $60 million contributed to local communities
- $43 million invested in developing our employees
- 26,000 Canadians employed with high-technology positions
“Digital infrastructure is the engine of Canada’s innovation agenda,” added Natale. “It helps consumers, businesses and governments save time, money and lives. It contributes to the very fabric of our country’s economic and social well-being. For 60 years, we have invested to bring Canadians the very best in technology and we will continue to invest for the next 60.”
Rogers released its fourth quarter financial results earlier in the day.
