A partnership between the federal and Ontario governments is expected to connect 18,600 homes on Manitoulin Island and the north shore of Lake Huron to high speed internet by the end of 2025. Marie MP Terry Sheehan and Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré were at a press conference in Sudbury on Monday about investments in rural broadband internet access.
The investment is part of a $1.2-billion Canada–Ontario broadband partnership announced in 2021, meant to close the gap between rural and urban communities for broadband internet access.The province's goal is for everyone in Ontario to have access to high speed internet by the end of 2025, while the federal government's goal is for coast-to-coast broadband access by 2030.
About 2,500 Indigenous households will benefit from the investment. Internet service provider FirstTel, which is owned by Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, has already signed on to use the network.Nikki Manitowabi, the financial policy analyst for Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, says about 1,100 households in the community will benefit from the investment. And FirstTel will provide those homes with internet access.