Feds Drop $96M for Rural Manitoba Internet, Costs $12,290 Per Household

The federal government is dropping another big chunk of cash into rural internet, this time in Manitoba.

Ottawa announced over $96.8 million in funding for a project by Manitoba’s Valley Fiberto bring high-speed internet to more than 7,800 households across over 50 rural and remote communities in the province. Minister Rebecca Chartrand made the announcement on Monday on behalf of Buckley Belanger, Secretary of State for Rural Development.

Do the math and that works out to roughly $12,290 per household, a number worth sitting with given how expensive fibre buildout in remote areas gets. The money comes through the Universal Broadband Fund, the government’s $3.225 billion program aimed at getting high-speed internet to every Canadian household by 2030.

“High-speed Internet isn’t a luxury, it’s essential and foundational infrastructure,” Belanger said. “For people in rural and remote communities in Manitoba, having a reliable connection levels the playing field.”

Chartrand called it part of a bigger push to close the connectivity gap, while Manitoba’s Mike Moroz framed it as the province finally catching up. “Too many northern communities have waited far too long for the level of service other Manitobans take for granted,” Moroz said.

Valley Fiber CEO Ryan Klassen says his company is ready to deliver. “We have the network, the team and the track record to deliver on that commitment,” Klassen said.

Right now, 94.1% of Manitoba households have high-speed internet, compared to 97.4% nationally. Since 2015, Ottawa has put more than $322 million into connectivity in the province.

Still, at roughly $12,000 a household just to install fibre, not including monthly plans, it’s fair to ask why satellite options like Starlink aren’t getting more serious consideration. Starlink already covers nearly all of rural Canada today, at a fraction of the cost and without years of construction. There’s no upfront hardware cost in select areas, just a $10/month kit rental fee (new). Add that to the $75/100MB plan and you’re looking at $85 a month total. At that rate, the $12,000 spent per household on fibre could instead cover 12 years of Starlink service, 144 months, for that same home.

While fibre for now wins on speed (until Starlink V3 goes online at least), but for the hardest-to-reach communities, satellite might get people online faster and cheaper.