Prime Minister Mark Carney told the New York Times in an interview published Wednesday that Canada will reduce its reliance on Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, saying, “Starlink, we will diversify away from, no question.”
The prime minister described the move as part of a broader effort to reduce Canada’s economic and strategic dependence on the United States, saying he has studied the “extreme tail risk” of U.S. military action. “I think you have a responsibility in these roles to look at extreme tail risk,” Carney said, adding “that’s just risk management,” when asked about President Donald Trump’s comments about making Canada the 51st state. A U.S. invasion is “not a base case,” he said, but it would be “irresponsible” not to prepare.
That warning creates an awkward split screen in Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford’s government cancelled the $100 million Starlink deal in March 2025 over Trump’s tariffs. The November 2024 contract was intended to connect roughly 15,000 rural and northern homes through the Ontario Satellite Internet program. Musk dismissed it with a two-word “oh well” on X. Ontario later reached a confidential settlement with SpaceX, saying only that the “kill fee” was significantly less than the contract value. On Thursday, Global News reported treasury board president Kinga Surma, who signed the deal, still would not disclose the cancellation cost.
At the same time, Ontario’s teachers hold a major investment in the company Ford moved against. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan invested about $300 million in SpaceX in 2019 through its venture growth arm, when it was valued at roughly US$33.3 billion. That stake was worth approximately US$8.7 billion at June 30, per a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, and the Financial Post called it a “significant contributor” to the fund’s 9.5 per cent first-half net return.
The contrast is difficult to ignore. While Ottawa discusses reducing Canada’s dependence on Starlink and Queen’s Park paid to exit its deal, Ontario’s teachers’ pension has recorded a roughly 29-fold gain on Musk’s rocket company. Starlink continues expanding in other markets. Vietjet signed a Starlink deal this week for free Wi-Fi on 120 aircraft, and Asiana Airlines now offers free Starlink Wi-Fi onboard. How far Carney’s diversification push extends, and what replaces Starlink where Canada relies on it, remains an open question.
