Telesat wins CAD $2.3B Arctic Canada defence contract

Telesat has signed a CAD $2.3 billion services contract with Canada's Defence Investment Agency. The deal will expand the Telesat Lightspeed constellation system to 225 satellites.

The agreement covers secure Military Ka-band connectivity for the Canadian Armed Forces in the Arctic under the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project - Polar program. It also includes two five-year options worth about CAD $200 million each, bringing the total potential value to CAD $2.7 billion over 15 years.

Telesat described the deal as the largest in its six-decade history. It adds 69 fully funded satellites to the initial 156-satellite low-Earth orbit (LEO) Lightspeed constellation, all to be built by MDA Space at the company's facility in Montreal

They will be launched on already secured SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, alongside another Falcon 9 mission that remains subject to completion of a launch services agreement.

The new satellites will include both commercial and military Ka-band capacity. Government milestone payments are due to begin in the third quarter of 2026, and service under the contract is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2028.

The Arctic coverage will span latitudes from 65 to 90 degrees North. This first phase of the program is focused on delivering the Mil-Ka service element of Canada's polar communications requirement.

David McGuinty, Minister of National Defence, said that by investing in the project, the Canadian Armed Forces personnel will have secure and reliable connectivity in high-latitude regions where "they need it most."

A separate agreement between the Defence Investment Agency and Telesat is expected to cover end-to-end network integration services, including user terminals, ground and control infrastructure, training, and support. Beyond the Arctic mission, the addition of secure Mil-Ka services is also expected to support wider interoperability requirements among NATO members and allied partners.

The deal gives Canada's armed forces access to secure sovereign communications in a region of growing strategic importance for military operations and national infrastructure. Low-latency connectivity is increasingly sought by defence users linking forces across remote areas where terrestrial networks are limited or unavailable.

Dan Goldberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Telesat, linked the contract to the wider economics of the Lightspeed programme. The constellation is central to the company's effort to build a low Earth orbit network serving both government and commercial markets.

"This contract also represents a step change in the scale and commercial potential of Telesat Lightspeed. The significant expansion of our constellation, combined with burgeoning demand for secure satellite communications worldwide, positions us to accelerate the growth of our business while serving the evolving and mission critical requirements of defence and commercial customers," said Goldberg.

The polar project also includes an ultra-high frequency and X-band constellation and related services. MDA Space is also the prime contractor for that part of the program and is responsible for end-to-end mission delivery.

Telesat will act as a key subcontractor on that work and serve as overall systems integrator for implementation of the Mil-Ka, UHF, and X-band networks. That role places the company across several layers of Canada's planned military satellite communications architecture.