Blog

Canada’s Universal Broadband Fund

Date: January 29, 2021

In November 2020, as part of Canada’s connectivity strategy, the Government of Canada launched the $1.75 billion Universal Broadband Fund (UBF). The fund supportS broadband infrastructure projects, including the extension of connectivity to rural and remote communities.

Programs like the UBF play an important role, but must be supplemented with further action to identify and fill in the remaining gaps in coverage. Canada needs a truly universal initiative that is proactive in finding solutions for communities that do not have the capacity to propose their own projects and gets these communities online as quickly as possible.

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The impact of COVID-19 on rural employment up to December, 2020

Date: January 13, 2021

We are making available another issue in our special series of “Focus on Rural Ontario” with extensive tables related to economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as reflected in employment statistics. This release takes the data analysis up to December  when the second wave was upon us.

In Ontario, the estimated gap in rural employment due to COVID-19 has remained less than in urban areas. Importantly, the COVID-19 employment gap is continuing to close. In December, the estimated gap due to COVID-19 was -1.7% which represents a job loss of 11 thousand workers.

Find fact sheet highlights in the December Fact Sheet Infographic. 

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