Ontario has officially scrapped its $100-million contract with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink high-speed internet to rural and northern communities.
Ontario has officially scrapped its $100-million contract with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink high-speed internet to rural and northern communities — but the province isn’t revealing how much the cancellation will cost taxpayers.
Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce confirmed the deal is off, saying only that the province is now working on alternative connectivity solutions for underserved regions. Asked repeatedly about the financial penalties for pulling out of the agreement, Lecce declined to provide details.
The deal, announced last year by Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma, was intended to deliver satellite internet to 15,000 residents, including remote First Nations like Pikangikum, where a 2020 pilot showed successful activation within 15 minutes of hardware setup. The contract would have covered hardware and installation costs but excluded monthly user fees.
SpaceX secured the contract following what was described as a “robust and transparent” selection process, according to then-Infrastructure Ontario CEO Michael Lindsay.
However, the agreement came under political fire after Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned in February that the province would sever ties if U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods were reinstated. Ford made good on that threat in March when President Donald Trump reimposed the tariffs.
“It’s done, it’s gone,” Ford said at the time. “We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province ... and our country.”
Tensions escalated further as Elon Musk, who had voiced support for Trump and joined his inner circle after the 2016 election, echoed inflammatory rhetoric — including a post on X declaring, “Canada is not a real country.” A petition with hundreds of thousands of Canadian signatures later called for Musk to be stripped of his Canadian citizenship, which he obtained through his Canadian-born mother.
As the province pivots to new strategies for closing the digital divide, details around the financial fallout from the Starlink cancellation remain under wraps.
Disclaimer
Please note that the information in this blog is for general guidance only and may not always be up to date or accurate. We recommend double-checking details directly with local cities, businesses, or official sources before making any plans or acting on the information.
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