The Canadian and Ontario governments have announced more than $48 million in combined funding to bring high-speed internet access to more than 3,800 homes in 31 communities across York Region, including Markham.
“High-speed internet service is essential to the success of everyone living and working in rural communities across Ontario,” says Markham-Unionville MP Paul Chiang, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion.
The funding will “help create jobs, improve access to health care and online learning services, and keep people connected to their family, friends and loved ones,” Chiang says. “We will continue to make investments like these to help connect every Ontarian to the high-speed internet they need.”
In July 2021, the federal and provincial governments announced their partnership to support large-scale, fibre-based projects that will provide high-speed Internet access to more than 280,000 rural and remote households across the province.
The $48-million investment will fund a project by YorkNet, a corporation owned by York Region. “Through our own dark-fibre network, operated and managed by YorkNet, we are building an affordable, reliable and sustainable network across York Region that also supports our regional operations,” says York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson.
Today, 93.5 per cent of Canadian households have access to high-speed internet or are targeted to receive access through existing program commitments. The federal government has promised that 98 per cent of Canadians will have access to high-speed internet by 2026 and all Canadians will have access by 2030. The Ontario government’s goal is to bring reliable high-speed internet access to every community by the end of 2025.
