More than $96 million provided under previously announced funding by the federal and Alberta governments aims to bring high-speed internet to 46 rural and remote communities and more than 2,000 Indigenous households across the province.
The latest allocation will connect more than 10,000 homes as part of 14 projects, said a federal statement. It did not mention which communities will benefit from the funding.
“High-speed internet is no longer a luxury anymore, it is a necessity,” Nate Glubish, Alberta’s minister of technology and innovation, said at a news conference July 11 in Vulcan, Alta.
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“And that is why the work we’re doing together between the province of Alberta and the federal government to deliver universal access to reliable high-speed internet is so important, and so for me, this is a special moment because I’ve been working on this for several years.”
The news conference included federal rural economic development minister Gudie Hutchings.
“These investments in connectivity will ensure that thousands of households can access the tools and resources they need to thrive in an increasingly digital world,” she said in a provincial statement.
The announcement outlined the latest allocation made under a maximum of $780 million in combined provincial and federal funding set aside as of 2022 for rural broadband. Construction work has already started in 26 communities, said the statement.
They are Bluffton, Brant, Brocket (Piikani Nation), Carmangay, Cayley, Champion, Enilda, Ensign, Gull Lake South, Heart River, Herronton, Joussard, Kinuso, Kirkcaldy, Lake McGregor Country Estates, Little Bow Resort, Milo, Mossleigh, Queenstown, Rainbow Lake, Rimbey, Salt Prairie, Sunset House, Travers, Viewmar Estates, and Vulcan.
Twenty-one of these projects including Vulcan were among more than 50 rural and Indigenous communities totaling more than 10,400 households that were announced last year under the first allocation of up to $70.6 million. The remainder under construction that has not previously been announced are Bluffton, Gull Lake South, Heart River, Lake McGregor Estates, and Milo.
“We have so many projects that are shovels in the ground, so many that are very close to being shovel ready,” said Glubish.
“And I’m looking forward to continuing to support and work with Minister Hutchings to make sure that we will have so many more exciting announcements just like this in the months and years to come as we work towards achieving universal connectivity in just a few short years.”
The Alberta Broadband Strategy commits provincial officials to achieve broadband connectivity for everyone in the province by the end of the fiscal year for 2026-27. The federal Universal Broadband Fund aims to provide high-speed Internet access to 98 percent of Canadians by 2026 and achieve a national target of 100 percent access by 2030.
Contact doug.ferguson@producer.com
