The Government of Ontario announced on November 17 that it has signed contracts with service providers to build and deliver up to $33 million worth of broadband infrastructure projects in Bruce and Grey counties.

When completed, the projects will connect approximately 5,220 more homes and businesses in Bruce County and 3,960 homes and businesses in Grey County, to fast, reliable internet.

The contracts to expand high-speed fibre-optic broadband services in Bruce County and Grey County were awarded by Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) Inc., a not-for-profit corporation initiated by local municipalities to address connectivity in Southwestern Ontario. They will allow for construction of up to $16 million in broadband infrastructure in Bruce County, and $17 million in Grey County.

"We invested to connect nearly 400,000 households by 2023 through the Connect to Innovate program," said Maryam Monsef, Minister of Rural Economic Development. "Work is underway every day and in the next 18 months, we will connect 250,000 of these households. We are about to open new calls for proposals to connect 100 percent of Canada's communities to reliable, quality internet access."

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for Canadians to have access to broadband technology. And while Internet service speeds in urban areas exceed the 50 megabits per second download and 10 megabits per second upload standard mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in 2016, connectivity in rural and remote areas is less comprehensive.

"The importance of connecting to reliable, high-speed internet is of utmost importance and our government has been working very hard to expand high-speed internet across rural Ontario," said Lisa Thompson, MPP for Huron-Bruce.

The governments of Canada and Ontario are each contributing more than $63 million to SWIFT through the New Building Canada Fund’s Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component – Small Communities Fund of the Investing in Canada plan.

The Ontario government has made an historic investment of nearly $1 billion over six years to improve and expand broadband and cellular access across the province. It says the funding will create jobs, and connect unserved and underserved communities during COVID-19 and beyond.