Electricity, clean water, and roads are considered public utilities because life without them isn’t really possible. In 2025, can the same be said for the internet?
For work, education, healthcare, civic participation, and even basic communication, internet access has shifted from convenience to necessity. Yet, access still depends on where you live, what you can afford, and whether a private provider finds it profitable to serve you.
Why Treat It as a Utility?
Equity: Guarantees access for all, regardless of income or geography.
Standardization: Creates national baselines for speed, affordability, and reliability.
Accountability: Moves oversight from shareholder value to public need.
Resilience: Public networks could be prioritized as critical infrastructure, like roads or power grids.
The Canadian Context
Urban vs rural: While urban centres often have multiple providers, rural and remote communities face poor service and sky-high prices.
Indigenous communities: Many still rely on outdated or patchwork connections, creating barriers to education and healthcare.
Policy moves: The CRTC declared broadband a “basic service” in 2016, but implementation has lagged.
Municipal experiments: Cities like Olds, AB, have launched their own fibre networks, showing community-owned internet is possible.
The Pushback
Cost: Building and maintaining a publicly funded network would require billions.
Government track record: Skeptics question whether Ottawa could manage a system this complex.
Hybrid models: Some argue for partnerships — public oversight with private infrastructure.
The Opportunities
National broadband strategy: Treat access like healthcare — universal, but locally delivered.
Co-ops and municipals: Support community-owned networks as scalable pilots.
Public-private balance: Keep telecoms in play, but set enforceable standards for price and quality.
Digital rights lens: Frame internet access as a human right, not a market product.
The Bigger Picture
If the internet is the gateway to education, employment, and democracy, then limiting it to those who can pay premium prices undermines equality itself. The question isn’t whether the internet is essential — it’s whether Canada will treat it as such.
The Question
Should Canada follow the path of public utilities and declare internet access a universal right, delivered with the same guarantee as water or electricity?
Should the Internet Be a Public Utility?
The Core Question
Electricity, clean water, and roads are considered public utilities because life without them isn’t really possible. In 2025, can the same be said for the internet?
For work, education, healthcare, civic participation, and even basic communication, internet access has shifted from convenience to necessity. Yet, access still depends on where you live, what you can afford, and whether a private provider finds it profitable to serve you.
Why Treat It as a Utility?
The Canadian Context
The Pushback
The Opportunities
The Bigger Picture
If the internet is the gateway to education, employment, and democracy, then limiting it to those who can pay premium prices undermines equality itself. The question isn’t whether the internet is essential — it’s whether Canada will treat it as such.
The Question
Should Canada follow the path of public utilities and declare internet access a universal right, delivered with the same guarantee as water or electricity?