WATCH: Doug Ford WON'T SCRAP Starlink deal over tariff spat

Ford defends his decision, arguing that "no other companies could handle the infrastructure," given that Starlink is the largest satellite provider globally.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford rejected calls Thursday to axe his internet deal with Starlink, an American company, citing it was struck fair and square.

“No other companies could handle the infrastructure,” he told reporters. “They're the largest in the entire world, as everyone knows.”

Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie proposed scrapping the deal as a retaliatory measure to America’s tariff war with Canada, slated to begin on February 1st.

“Are you planning to keep this deal if Trump does impose tariffs on Canada?” a reporter asked Ford. “I find it ironic coming from Bonnie Crombie, who’s using Elon Musk’s social media [platform] every single day,” he replied.

Premier Ford chose Starlink over a taxpayer-funded alternative last November in a $100 million deal to connect 15,000 “unserved and underserved” homes and businesses to the grid this year.

According to a prior government news release, Ford and the company have connected more than 100,000 homes and businesses to date, with plans to hook up 450,000 more in 2025.

Ontario’s agreement with Starlink follows the federal and Québec governments announcing a joint $2.54 billion loan to build and operate a Canadian-owned, low-Earth orbit satellite network called Lightspeed.

Elon Musk previously said his company could provide similar service at “less than half that amount.” 

Crombie said earlier this week that Ford should “cancel this deal” with Musk, a Trump ally, if he is serious about standing up to Trump in the upcoming tariff war.

“Under the Liberals, they did absolutely nothing,” Ford pointed out. “We’re making sure that every single person in Ontario is connected to the internet.”

Ford said his government cannot walk back a promise to deliver high-speed internet to tens of thousands of rural households and businesses. “We’ll make sure they’re connected to the rest of the world.”

The Ontario government has already invested more than $2.5 billion to fulfill that promise. 

The Premier also assured taxpayers that the Starlink bid was transparent. “They came out on top,” he said.

Telsat, meanwhile, will not directly supply internet services directly to households. “Instead Telesat will sell wholesale capacity to local internet service providers,” reads a cabinet response to a parliamentary inquiry.

It remains unclear what sureties Telesat will provide taxpayers, as its loan agreement is confidential.

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Alex Dhaliwal

Calgary Based Journalist

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

COMMENTS

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  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-01-24 21:37:43 -0500
    Ford is right on this one. Trudeau’s system costs more and duplicates the same service. And I’m tired of all this America bashing. Fixing the border would benefit us and America.