In rural and remote First Nations communities throughout B.C., improved high-speed internet is changing everyday life. People can text, email and video call friends, family and neighbours, while also accessing virtual health care, online education and remote work opportunities.
This expanded connectivity is part of the Province’s ongoing work, in partnership with First Nations, to ensure that every rural and remote community in B.C. has access to reliable high-speed internet services. One community that was recently connected is Chawathil First Nation, located near Hope.
“I think that for the reserve to be connected to the outside world has been really beneficial for our Elders as well as our mothers as well as our youth – for everyone in general,” says Jeanie Kay, a member of Chawathil First Nation and executive assistant to the chief and council. “The high-speed internet is definitely something that is a win-win for community and a win-win for communication everywhere.”
Chawathil is one of many communities seeing these changes. In 2017, 66% of households on First Nation reserves had access to high-speed internet services.
As of January 2026, approximately 88% of homes on First Nations reserves and Treaty Lands had access to high-speed internet, with coverage expected to exceed 96% once all approved projects are completed in 2029.
“The more connected we are, the healthier we are.”
For leadership in Chawathil, that connectivity is also changing how the First Nation governs and engages with its members.
“We’re able to have faster voting, connect our members better, be more transparent with them and make sure that we’re acting in their best interest,” says Chief Aaron Pete, Chawathil First Nation.
“I’m so proud that Chawathil has access to this resource and that we’re able to start to show who we are as members of the Stó:lō territory and start to become leaders in certain areas, start to utilize tools that we didn’t have access to before. I think it’s going to make members proud to be Chawathil,” Pete says.
Yale First Nation, not far from Chawathil, is another community that has recently been connected. Member Katherine Giroux, housing director for the First Nation, says one of the first questions she gets from prospective residents is, “Is there Wi-Fi here?” Now that they have it, she says, it’s helping bring more people back home, particularly young people.
“Family ties are strong with our people,” Giroux says. “The more connected we are, the healthier we are.”