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By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

98% by 2026

Local rural communities to benefit from $41M federal internet investment

Feb 9, 2022 | 10:32 AM

The Government of Canada, today, announced a $41 million investment which will bring high-speed internet to 2,676 households in 21 rural Alberta communities.

Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, and George Chahal, Member of Parliament for Calgary-Skyview, made the announcement virtually Wednesday morning.

They noted that this builds on the federal government’s commitment to make sure that 98 per cent of Canadians have access to high-speed internet by 2026, and 100 per cent have it by 2030.

“For rural communities in Alberta, not having access to reliable Internet has made the impact of this pandemic even more difficult than in other areas of the country, which is why the Government of Canada is investing over $41 million to help ensure Albertans get connected to the Internet as soon as possible,” said Boissonnault. “Prior to today’s announcement, the government had already approved 48 projects, totalling over $56 million, which will connect more than 36,000 households across the province.”

Added Chahal: “This is excellent news for Alberta. The pandemic has shown us how essential high-speed Internet access has become. The Government of Canada understands that it is urgent and vital to connect rural and remote regions throughout Canada, including in Alberta.”

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The full list of communities which will benefit from the funding is below:

The money comes from the Government of Canada’s Universal Broadband Fund, a $2.75 billion investment.

Last year, the fund paid for 131 projects benefitting 75,000 households in rural and remote Canadian communities.

Minister of Service Alberta Nate Glubish issued the following statement on the federal investment into Alberta broadband:

“Today, the Government of Canada announced that, collectively, Alberta projects attracted over $41 million in funding from the Rapid Response Stream of the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF).

“Together, the 21 successful projects will connect more than 2,600 homes in rural, remote and Indigenous communities that currently do not have access to high-speed internet.

“Improving access to broadband internet connectivity is essential for Alberta’s recovery and economic diversification, and it’s great to see that our hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being invested back into Alberta.

“Investments through the Rapid Response Stream are in addition to the $300 million agreement that Alberta’s government secured with the Government of Canada in December 2021 to improve broadband in Alberta.

“We are currently working with the federal government to review and select projects for co-funding from Alberta-focused applications to the UBF General and Large Transformation Streams.

“Application review is still underway, and we expect to announce the first round of projects in spring 2022.”