Canada's new space race is about one main thing: Satellites

70 years ago, this story would have been about racing to the moon. Today, it's about space-leading countries launching sovereign Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite systems into the sky.

While geostationary satellites have provided constant telecommunications coverage from 36,000 kilometres above the ground for decades, the LEO method has more satellites closer to the ground, launched at a faster rate.

"You need a bunch of different tools in your toolbox. So whether its rural broadband connectivity, whether its national security connectivity, you have different tools that you leverage in different areas," says Stephen Hampton, Senior Director of Government Affairs and Strategic Accounts at Telesat. "So if you can put fibre in the ground, that makes total sense. But there's a lot of households and communities where it doesn't make sense to put fibre in, and that's where satellite connectivity comes in."

LEOs bring low latency and high throughput to the Canadian 5G networks, but also serve as a link to widespread connectivity, even in remote areas. 

"We've done a pretty good job in this country of building out broadband infrastructure, but it doesn't take long driving until you don't have cell service," says Hampton.

Telesat is a B2B satellite solutions player in the Canadian market, which has received billions of dollars in government funding in recent years. Its Lightspeed system, a network of 198 LEO satellites, integrates with on-ground data networks. Back in 2024, the Canadian government secured a $2.14 billion loan for Telesat to execute the network.

"Designed, manufactured, and operated in Canada – the Telesat Lightspeed satellite network will be the largest in Canadian history – creating thousands of jobs, growing our economy, and getting high-speed internet to Canadians. We're putting Canada at the forefront of opportunity, with a fair chance for everyone to succeed," said then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canada is not the first government to partner with private companies. "Like it or not, space has always been a domain that used to be exclusively government," says Hampton. "Now it's much more government and industry working hand in glove together." In the US, Elon Musk's SpaceX has done multi-billion-dollar contracts with various administrations, recently partnering with NASA on Crew-10, a trip that sent four astronauts to the International Space Station. 

SpaceX had a CAD $100 million deal with Ontario's Ford Government, set to provide high-speed internet to rural homes using Musk's Starlink system. Officials cancelled this deal in light of the Trump administration's repeated tariff threats and this country's move to greater digital sovereignty.

"We can't just rely on one system. So I think, you know, currently, certainly the geopolitical dynamics are having folks look to diversify more and more," says Hampton.

Many Canadian space firms are working together to continue Canada's legacy as a leader in space tech. In Space Canada's 2024 Year in Review, it announced nearly 100 companies and allied organisations are now members of the association, paired with steady growth throughout the year.

Markham, Ont.'s NordSpace has been making waves this summer as it broke ground on Canada's first commercial spaceport - set to launch orbital missions and radar systems within the next few years.

Canada's security also comes into play. The Canadian Armed Forces are experimenting with the use of LEO satellites for military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) in the Arctic as part of Operation NANOOK, according to Defence Research and Development Canada.

"Whether [it's] a ship on the coast, a plane somewhere up in the Arctic...all of these platforms need to speak with one another, and we can't just build fibre everywhere," says Hampton. "Having a global, highly resilient, secure network be able to connect all these devices together, bring them all back to HQ in Ottawa, or wherever you want to go, is just transformational, and it's something that is absolutely required."

Telesat's Lightspeed system was launched in partnership with Canadian aerospace company MDA Space, which will be constructing the satellites at its facility in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec. "LEO SATCOM networks have been around for decades, but I think in the last decade or so, what we've seen is launch costs have decreased significantly, and technology is has accelerated in a meaningful way," says Hampton. MDA will be building one satellite a day for Telesat's Lightspeed program. The first Lightspeed launches are projected for 2026.