It’s over for Starlink in Ontario, according to the Canadian province’s premier, Doug Ford. Ford said in a press conference that due to US tariffs imposed against Canada, Ontario canceled a $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite company it signed in November.
“We’re ripping up Ontario’s contract with Starlink. It’s done. It’s gone. We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country,” Ford said.
It’s not the first time that the contract was said to have been canceled: in early February, when tariffs against Canada were imminent, he said it would be canceled. But that apparently was put on hold when tariffs against Canada and Mexico were delayed by president Donald Trump’s administration.
At the time, Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, the company that owns Starlink, responded via X, “Oh well.”
Starlink and SpaceX have not commented publicly on the second cancellation news and an email to SpaceX seeking a response was not immediately returned.
The contract was meant to deliver high-speed internet services to rural residents and citizens in northern Ontario. Starlink is estimated to have about 533,000 customers in Canada, and it’s unclear what will happen to Ontario residents who already rely on Starlink’s internet service. Satellite companies with business in Canada include Telestat, which is building out a service called Lightspeed, but it isn’t expected to launch for several years.
Unclear what will happen to customers
Micah Walter-Range, president of the space-consulting firm Caelus Partners and contributor to the S-Network Space Index fund, said the cancellation creates an opportunity for other internet providers and satellite companies based in Canada or regions including Europe.
But, Walter-Range added, it is unlikely Ontario’s move will put Starlink’s overall business in jeopardy.
“The business is unlikely to take a significant hit for now,” he said. “In many places, Starlink is simply the best option available, even if customers dislike Musk or the Trump administration. Recent events do create incentives for governments and other customers to seek alternatives for the long term.”
Walter-Range said that alternatives such as Telestat currently rely on satellites in higher orbits that provide lower-quality internet service. For Lightspeed, “It will take some time beyond that for enough satellites to be operational to provide a solid service,” he said.
Despite the Ontario ban, some customers still might be able to do business with Starlink.
“Unless the Canadian government bans Starlink at the national level and revokes its authorization to transmit signals over Canada, a customer who buys from Starlink directly should be unaffected,” Walter-Range said. “However, if a Canadian resident gets access through a subsidized government program that uses Starlink as the provider, they could be switched over to a different option or possibly nothing at all.”
