Ontario Cancels Starlink Internet Deal Amid U.S.-Canada Trade Tensions

Ontario has canceled a C$100 million ($68 million) satellite internet contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink, citing retaliation against U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods. The decision fulfills Premier Doug Ford’s earlier pledge to cut ties with the company amid escalating trade disputes with the United States.

Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s energy and mines minister, confirmed the cancellation during a Toronto press conference, though he did not disclose the financial impact of terminating the agreement. “The premier has fulfilled his word to cancel that contract… We are standing up for Canada,” Lecce stated.

The deal, signed in November 2024, aimed to provide high-speed satellite internet to 15,000 rural homes and businesses across Ontario. Ford initially threatened to cancel the contract in February after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian exports but delayed action following a temporary pause in tariff implementation.

Negotiations between Canada and the U.S. continue ahead of an August 1 deadline, when Trump has threatened to introduce a 35% tariff on Canadian goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has acknowledged the talks are in a critical phase but warned that eliminating all tariffs remains unlikely.

Ontario has also introduced additional countermeasures, including banning U.S.-made alcoholic beverages from provincial stores, restricting U.S. companies from bidding on government contracts, and working to reduce reliance on U.S. energy imports.

Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, has not commented on the cancellation. The contract’s termination highlights the growing strain on U.S.-Canada trade relations and its impact on technology and infrastructure projects in Canada’s most populous province.