Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister on investing $2 billion in high-speed internet for Canadians
June 25, 2024 - Toronto, Ontario
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Good afternoon.
I would like to start by acknowledging that we are gathered on the traditional territories of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples.
I am really glad to be here with the hardworking, really critical team of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and with the Rural Ontario Municipal Association—your work advocating for rural communities across the province is so important.
I do want to start by highlighting some good economic news.
Earlier this month, the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates—making Canada the first G7 country to do so.
Inflation in Canada has now been within the Bank of Canada’s target range for five months in a row.
Wage growth has now outpaced inflation for 16 months in a row.
Two weeks ago, the International Monetary Fund released its annual Article IV review of the Canadian economy, and in that statement, the IMF commended Canada’s strong fiscal credibility and economic resilience.
Specifically, the IMF credited our government for adhering to the fiscal guideposts we introduced in the2023 Fall Economic Statement, which complement our government’s fiscal anchor to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio over the medium term.
We met all of those markers in the 2024 budget, and the IMF recognized that the Canadian economy appears to have achieved a soft landing, avoiding a recession and the heartbreaking surge in unemployment that many had thought was inevitable.
And today, almost 1.3 million more Canadians are working compared to before the pandemic.
The OECD expects the Canadian economy to see the second fastest rate of growth among the G7 this year and the fastest growth in 2025, tied only with the U.S.
After our budget was tabled in April, Moody’s and S&P, two of the leading credit ratings agencies, reaffirmed Canada’s triple-A credit rating with a stable outlook.
These are powerful economic proof points. They show that Canada’s economy is strong and resilient. They show that our economic plan is fiscally responsible.
And that really matters, because it means that we can afford to make the investments in Canada and Canadians that Canadians need.
Our government is delivering fairness for every generation—and our plan absolutely includes Canadians who live in rural and remote communities.
An important part of delivering fairness for Canadians in these communities is ensuring they have access to the same quality of services as everyone else in Canada—including high-speed internet.
That’s why our government is today investing $2 billion through the Canada Infrastructure Bank to connect 430,000 more Canadian homes to high-speed internet.
Since 2015, our government has supported expanding high-speed internet for Canadians, including in rural communities.
In fact, in 2016, 84 per cent of Canadians had access to high-speed internet. By 2022, this figure had increased to almost 94 per cent.
These investments are part of a broader effort by our government to meet our target of ensuring 98 per cent of Canadians have access to high-speed internet by 2026 and 100 per cent by 2030.
We are well on our way to meeting this crucial milestone—and the investment we are announcing today is a crucial step towards that goal.
In a country as vast as ours, it can be really expensive to build the infrastructure to support high-speed internet in rural and remote communities.
With this financing, the Canada Infrastructure Bank is working with Canadian internet service providers and public sector funding partners to build the infrastructure needed to connect rural and remote communities to high-speed internet.
Having faster, better access to the internet makes a big difference in Canadians’ quality of life. It means better access to work, to school, to health care, and to the people you love—and everyone deserves that access, no matter where they live.
And as Finance Minister, I also know that faster internet access is important for our economy and for our productivity. It means each hour of the day can be used more efficiently—it means we can study, we can conduct business more quickly and more easily.
That’s why our government is stepping up to fill this gap and deliver fairness to Canadians in rural and remote parts of the country.
I really again want to thank the Canada Infrastructure Bank for the essential role it plays in this project.
And above all, I want to thank the Rural Ontario Municipal Association for working so hard for their constituencies, for advocating so passionately on behalf of rural communities across Ontario.
Our government is acting now—and acting with purpose. Because we know that Canadians are counting on us.
Thank you.
