Ontario Bringing High-Speed Internet to Niagara Region

“Today’s announcement is a concrete step towards bringing fast, reliable internet to eight additional Niagara Region communities, allowing them to have better access to essential services,” said Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities. “Our Government will keep working to connect all Canadians, here in Niagara Region and across the country, to high-speed internet.”

“Having access to high-speed internet service is vital for families and businesses in the Niagara Region and across the province,” said Toby Barrett, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk. “They need these services to do their work - whether it’s schoolwork or running a business. That’s why I’m so pleased that our government is helping to build the critical infrastructure needed to build Ontario and support communities in Niagara Region.”

"Since first being elected, I promised to advocate for investments in rural broadband," said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West. "The commitment today to expand broadband Internet in Fort Erie, Grimsby, Lincoln, West Lincoln, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls, Pelham and Wainfleet, will soon connect more than 4,800 homes, farms and businesses to reliable high-speed Internet services by December 2022. I will keep working with my colleagues, the Minister and Parliamentary Assistants for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, to invest in rural broadband in Niagara."

More than $255 million has been invested by the governments of Canada and Ontario and the private sector, to bring high-speed internet to more than 58,000 households and businesses in Southwestern Ontario through SWIFT.

“In today’s digitally driven economy, having access to high-speed internet is essential to ensuring future economic growth and development in small-towns and rural communities,” said Gary McNamara, SWIFT Board Chair. “In efforts to drive greater connectivity throughout Southwestern Ontario, we are pleased to mark the start of construction, in partnership with the federal and provincial governments, on three high-speed fibre-optic networks within the Niagara Region, that will deliver improved connectivity to more than 4,880 underserved homes and businesses throughout Fort Erie, Grimsby, Lincoln, West Lincoln, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls, Pelham and Wainfleet.”

Quick Facts

• 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 is investing nearly $4 billion in broadband infrastructure to connect every region of the province with access to high-speed internet by the end of 2025. This proactive approach is the largest single investment in high-speed internet, in any province, by any government in Canadian history.

• The Province has invested in initiatives to improve connectivity across Eastern and Southwestern Ontario. It has also invested in broadband projects through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and the Next Generation Network Program.

• Expanding access to broadband and cellular service is part of Ontario Onwards: Ontario’s COVID-19 Action Plan for a People-Focused Government, which includes more than 30 projects that are changing the way people and businesses interact with government.

Additional Resources

Ontario Builds: our infrastructure plan

High-Speed Access for All: Canada's Connectivity Strategy

Media Contacts