Thanks to a joint investment of $22.7M made as part of Canada–Quebec Operation High Speed, close to 3,000 households in the Memphremagog region will have access to Cogeco high-speed Internet services by September 2022. Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Member of Parliament for Compton—Stanstead;

“This announcement marks a major step forward in this file in Quebec. Thanks to this Ottawa-Quebec partnership, which also brings together Internet providers, we are going to break down the technical barriers with which we have had to deal since we’ve formed government. Together, we will ensure that every household and business in the Eastern Townships has access to high speed internet by the Fall of 2022".
– Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Member of Parliament for Compton—Stanstead

“I am so happy for the people of my riding who will finally be able to telecommute, grow their small businesses, study from home or virtually meet their loved ones. Today's announcement is the result of incredible teamwork with our allies in the Government of Quebec. I cannot describe to you how satisfied I will be when every household in my riding is connected to high speed Internet. This is an issue I have worked hard on since being elected and I will continue to do so until our goal is achieved.”
– Lyne Bessette, Member of Parliament for Brome-Missisquoi

“Our ambitious goal is to provide high-speed Internet access to the entire population of Quebec by the fall of 2022. With today's announcement, we are giving ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions. Thanks to the partnership agreement with Cogeco, it will be possible to deploy quality infrastructure in Memphremagog and thus guarantee access to high-performance Internet services. We are investing heavily to allow Quebec to be the leader in connectivity.”
– Gilles Bélanger, Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier of Quebec (high-speed Internet)

"For Cogeco, this is an unequivocal commitment to the Memphremagog region, and we are pleased to have an even stronger impact in our communities. We are delighted to be part of this major project that will mark the history of Quebec and its citizens in the regions. »
– Frédéric Perron, President of Cogeco Connection

• Operation High Speed is a joint initiative of the governments of Canada and Quebec to connect 148,000 households, particularly through unprecedented agreements with six of the biggest telecommunications companies.

• Operation High Speed will give Quebec the highest connectivity rate in Canada, at 99%.

• The goal is to reach 100% of households throughout Quebec by September 2022. However, there are still approximately 36,000 households for which no deployment plans have been established. These households are in areas that are particularly difficult to reach and sparsely populated. Technological solutions are currently being considered, and the strategy chosen to reach these households by September 2022 will be announced at a later date.

• The Government of Canada has allocated billions of dollars for Internet infrastructure in rural and remote areas, including $ 1.75 billion under the Universal Broadband Fund.

Associated links

• Backgrounder: Universal Broadband Fund and Telesat low Earth orbit satellite capacity agreement
• Universal Broadband Fund
• Connect to Innovate Program – Project status updates
• Canada Infrastructure Bank announcement
• High-Speed Access for All: Canada’s Connectivity Strategy

Marie-Pier Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development
613-295-8123
Marie-Pier.Baril@cfc-swc.gc.ca

Media Relations
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
343-291-1777
ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca

Antoine Tousignant
Media Relations Lead
Ministère du Conseil exécutif
418-999-3029

Alexandra Roy
Political Ataché
Office of the Premier
819 212-0459

Anastasia Unterner
Director of Communications and Public Relations
Cogeco Connexion
514 241-7262
anastasia.unterner@cogeco.com

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