Ontario spans more than 1 million square miles. It comprises enormous forests, sprawling lakes and abundant farmland. This expansiveness has long been a strength. Today it is a barrier.

The pandemic exposed gaps and inequity in digital connectivity. The private sector requires density to make broadband infrastructure economic. While Ontario’s largest population clusters enjoy access to reliable high-speed internet connections, too many entrepreneurs and knowledge workers in communities across southwestern, northern and eastern Ontario do not.

 

Climate change, too, reveals the drawbacks of Ontario’s scale. We have made incredible, rapid progress in transitioning to emissions-free power generation, and Ontarians are choosing to purchase electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances in record numbers. However longdistance trucking as well as our heating infrastructure still depend on fossil fuel sources with few alternatives.

Two ambitious, large-scale investments in infrastructure are necessary to enhance our economic competitiveness in the twenty-first century marketplace