Finishing strong: how will Ottawa complete the ‘last mile’ of internet access?

In the long-distance running world, there’s a saying for people who have nearly finish the race, but suddenly struggle to cross the finish line. Hitting the wall. You start to lose control of your body, your energy is depleted, and that singular objective for which you have rigorously trained can begin to feel out of reach. The lesson? Oftentimes, the final leg of a race is the most difficult to complete. At risk of extending a tortured metaphor, Canada has entered the homestretch of its effort to connect every household across the country to high-speed internet by 2030—often referred to as the "last mile." The government’s most recent data shows 97.4 per cent of Canadian homes have access to high-speed broadband, which Ottawa defines as 50/10 megabits per second (Mbps), meaning download and upload speeds of 50 and 10 Mbps, respectively. Buckley Belanger (Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River, Sask.), the federal cabinet’s lead for rural development, has crested the final hill and spotted the finish line. “There’s a great story to be told,” said Belanger in an interview with The Wire Report. “We have this last mile to go to get to 100 per cent by 2030.” “ we’re excited and we’re ahead of schedule.” Quebec leads the way with 100-per-cent connectivity, while Alberta (98.1 per cent), Nova Scotia (97.6 per cent), and British Columbia (97.5 per cent) also sit above the national average. However, the digital divide persists in certain swaths of Newfoundland and Labrador (87.7 per cent), Saskatchewan (89.2 per cent), and the territories. Many of the remaining blind spots affect rural communities, as limited population densities and geographic constraints have created a more challenging business case for major telcos whose fibre networks stretch underneath the country’s large urban centres. Though fixed wireless internet and low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites have provided alternatives for those living in remote areas, some industry experts are skeptical whether these options can provide the same level of service as fibre-based broadband—and whether ubiquitous but inequitable connectivity between urban and rural inhabitants should viewed as a successful outcome. Years in the making At the advent of the internet age, broadband connections across the country steadily increased without the need for policy support from Ottawa. In 1994, approximately one-third of Canadian homes had internet access. That number doubled in less than a decade. By 2005, more than four of every five households (81 per cent) had broadband connections, though the vast majority lived in urban settings. “Rural communities to be connected,” said Amy Coady, rural chair of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. In 2019, Justin Trudeau’s government brought forward a new plan, "High-Speed Access for All: Canada’s Connectivity Strategy," which was backed by $1.7-billion in federal funding, in an effort to reach 100-per-cent connectivity to 50/10 Mbps by 2030. During the initial announcement, then-rural development minister Bernadette Jordan said high-speed internet access was “critical to the continued vibrancy and success of rural Canada.” “That push to make our rural communities sustainable, the recognition is there for that,” said Coady, also a town councillor in Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L. “They understand that they have to have these services in place to make rural Canada sustainable.” Upon the strategy’s release, nationwide connectivity rates had increased to 84 per cent, but only 37 per cent of rural households had access to 50/10 speeds. Ottawa set an interim target of 95-per-cent connection by 2026—a mark that was achieved in 2023—and has since revised its objective to 98 per cent by the end of the calendar year. Much of the government’s approach to expanding internet access has been grounded in the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF), a $3.225-billion envelope introduced by the Liberals in 2020 to support fibre and fixed wireless projects nationally. Under the program, Ottawa has made a slew of announcements over the past few years to finance major infrastructure projects administered by privately-owned service providers. In recent months, Belanger has travelled from coast to coast to coast announcing new investments through the UBF to connect more than 100,000 households across British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, mostly in rural and remote areas. “The UBF and the federal government have done really well,” said Wayne Kelly, director of the Rural Development Institute at Brandon University. “Specifically in rural areas…, the CRTC says it’s gone from 54 per cent to 86 per cent so that’s a substantial jump over the last six years, and that holds up on the ground as well.” “But using a market stimulus approach to get these rural areas… moves the market failure metre. When you get into these places that are more expensive and have fewer customers, either you have to increase the stimulus or you have to come up with other options.” In particular, Nunavut, the country’s least-populated jurisdiction, officially had no household high-speed connections by the end of 2025, though some residents can access slower internet options through satellite or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) services using copper wiring. But in April, Belanger announced $86-million in funding to bring high-speed broadband to every home in the territory by 2029, using a combination of fibre lines built by the BCE Inc.-owned Northwestel and Telesat Corp.’s LEO satellite network, known as Lightspeed, set to come online by the end of 2027. “It’s an exciting opportunity for Nunavut,” said Belanger. “But it goes back to the idea that this is an essential tool for strengthening Canada in many ways.” It should be noted, as first reported by The Wire Report, the federal government is not expected to renew the UBF when it expires in March 2029, leaving some stakeholders to speculate that Ottawa is transitioning away from subsidizing infrastructure buildouts moving forward. Don’t look up? The role of LEO The question of whether LEO satellite can—or should—replace fibre-based internet in tough-to-reach communities has only recently emerged. Canada’s telecommunications regulator hadn’t approved an application from Starlink, operated by the United States-based Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX), until 2020. However, as Starlink becomes increasingly popular in rural Canada, and Telesat and Amazon.com Inc. get ready to launch their respective constellations, the role of LEO satellites has come under greater scrutiny. Belanger said Ottawa views fibre as “the most effective way” to get internet, but the convenience provided by satellite-based internet will have a role to play in bringing broadband access to the remaining 2.6 per cent of unconnected households. “Fibre is still very, very important,” said Belanger, the northern Saskatchewan MP who joined Prime Minister Mark Carney’s (Nepean, Ont.) cabinet last year. “One of the things we want to make sure of is that when we partner with the telcos…, the quality of signal is good and strong, and this is an affordable product at the end of the day.” “ the LEO constellation is where we’re really putting a lot of effort into the last mile.” After interviewing multiple rural leaders, it’s evident that many communities are less concerned with whether they access broadband through fibre, satellites, or two cups and a string. The message is clear: they just want high-speed connections. “We are open to all the solutions that might be in that last mile in some communities,” said Christa Lowry, chair of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA). Lowry, also the mayor of Mississippi Mills, Ont., said ROMA officials recently met with CRTC commissioner Bram Abramson to discuss what connection options are realistic. “What kind of infrastructure might that actually be? Are we talking about fibre or are we talking about other solutions?” she told The Wire Report. But, according to Brandon University’s Kelly, not all connection options are made equal, as he described LEO-based internet as a “short-term bridge” for rural residents. Kelly suggested the widespread adoption of Starlink, a service owned by Elon Musk, the controversial American billionaire and one-time member of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, would contradict Ottawa’s priorities. “The concern is that Starlink, in particular, is the lack of control,” said Kelly. “Especially in this era of data and national sovereignty, this solution is actually going the other way.” “It would be ideal to have a longer-term solution, so we can transition away from that.” Despite American-based players like SpaceX and Amazon, Telesat is an Ottawa-based firm whose Lightspeed constellation has been backed by $2.14-billion in government dollars. Belanger said the Liberals are looking into more opportunities to use Telesat Lightspeed to connect to local fibre networks, as is planned in Nunavut. When asked about the government’s plans, Kelly noted future LEO offerings provide a reason for optimism, but insisted that all last mile policy solutions will likely need to be “tailored” to the needs of local communities. Mission accomplished? So, with more than 97 per cent of Canadian households connected to 50/10 and LEO satellites providing opportunities to close the remaining gap, where does that leave us? Canada is in the last mile phase of achieving 100 per cent connectivity, but should that objective be viewed as the finish line? Kelly opted for a different metaphor. “It’s much more like a road network,” he said. “ needs to be maintained and upgraded.” “I think the UBF has been very successful, but that does not mean governments, both provincially and federally, are done supporting connectivity in Canada.” Similarly, Ashleigh Weeden, a post-doctoral researcher and associate with the Ontario branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the feds' “celebration” around connecting households to the internet should be viewed as a culmination of efforts. In particular, Weeden took aim at the 50/10 speed target established by the government nearly a decade ago, which she argued was already out of date given the data-intensity of new technologies. “The 50/10 standard was always a bit ridiculous,” she said in an interview. “When we set standards like that, they tend to become ceilings rather than floors. So, if a 50/10 standard was acceptable 20 years ago, when it was set, it has certainly fallen well below what is offered as a standard service in almost every urban environment in the country.” When asked, Kelly described 50/10 as fast enough for multiple devices to watch movies on Netflix or have multiple people on a video call. “It meets the needs of five or six years ago really well,” said Kelly. “But we’re talking about pushing more and more data.” “Social media and entertainment is so video-heavy right now, so it’s also data-heavy. So, people are finding that is no longer sufficient, and they need closer to 100 megabits.” In 2024, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission upped its benchmark for high-speed internet to 100/20 Mbps, while the European Union has implemented a similar target. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada did not immediately respond to The Wire Report’s questions regarding whether the government was considering increasing the target to 100/20, or how many households currently experience those speeds. Weeden is also dubious whether the remaining 2.6 per cent of unconnected households in Canada can get access without significant financial backing from Ottawa. “I just don’t understand, if this is so important, why we’re leaving so much of the delivery up to private companies that feel no obligation,” she said. “If the private sector was so good at it, why isn’t it done by now? And, if they were going to do it, they would have done it by now.” “Always, the first thing that gets held hostage is connectivity for rural and remote communities.” Asked whether the emergence of LEO satellite constellations could negate the need for cost-intensive capital buildouts, Weeden said it’s important to differentiate “communities being served by future-proof infrastructure… like fibre, versus being reliant on satellite.” “There’s a huge gap between those,” she added. “If you can only get satellite…, then you’ll always be capped.” “Do we still consider that being serviced ? You know, I think that’s the challenge.” dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Finishing strong: how will Ottawa complete the ‘last mile’ of internet access?

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By Davis Legree
|June 8, 2026

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Finishing strong: how will Ottawa complete the ‘last mile’ of internet access?

Regulatory | By Davis Legree |June 8, 2026

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