Feds provide $7.3 million to bring high-speed internet to Ontario First Nation

Ottawa has allocated $7.3 million to finance a fibre project in Beausoleil First Nation, an Ontario Indigenous community located on Christian Island in Georgian Bay. The funding package, announced by Liberal MP Pauline Rochefort (Nipissing—Timiskaming, Ont.) on Monday, continues the federal government’s recent string of investments made under the Universal Broadband Fund. “In rural Ontario, having dependable sources of high-speed Internet makes it possible to access virtual health care, run a business online and stay in touch with loved ones,” read a statement from Rochefort, who also serves as parliamentary secretary to Buckley Belanger (Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, Sask.), cabinet’s pointperson for rural development. “Today’s investment represents a major milestone for connectivity in our province and will help thousands more households in rural, remote and Indigenous communities access the opportunities that come with reliable and affordable high-speed Internet.” The funding will help bring high-speed internet, defined by the government as 50/10 megabits per second, to 621 Indigenous households. The buildout will be headed by Broadband North Inc., a service provider based in Ohsweken, Ont., that focuses on remote and Indigenous broadband initiatives. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year. Monday’s announcement also formalized a $1-million investment in a fibre project led by Avetria Networks Inc. in Woolwich, Ont., which was completed in October and brought high-speed internet to 201 local households. According to government data, Ottawa has allocated more than $2.5 billion in connectivity projects throughout the province since 2015. However, as first reported by The Wire Report, the Liberals aren’t expected to renew the Universal Broadband Fund after its funding envelope expires in 2029. The program was introduced by Justin Trudeau’s government in 2020 to help Ottawa make good on its promise to bring high-speed internet to every Canadian household by 2030. As of May, 97.1 per cent of Ontario households had access to 50/10 speeds, which is slightly below the national average of 97.4 per cent, though the province is projected to achieve a 99.2 per cent connectivity rate by the end of 2026. The feds have also made recent announcements under the Universal Broadband Fund in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, B.C., the N.W.T., New Brunswick, Nunavut, and Alberta. dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Feds provide $7.3 million to bring high-speed internet to Ontario First Nation

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By Davis Legree
|August 24, 2026

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Feds provide $7.3 million to bring high-speed internet to Ontario First Nation

Telecom | By Davis Legree |August 24, 2026

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