Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed at a press conference Tuesday morning that the province is cancelling its estimated $100-million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink in response to the new U.S. tariffs imposed on Canada as of midnight on March 4.
“We’re ripping up Ontario’s contract with Starlink. It’s done, it’s gone. We won’t award contracts to people who enable and who encourage economic attacks on our province and our country,” Ford said during the press conference.
The Starlink deal cancellation is part of the province’s move to ban all U.S-based companies from taking part in government procurement contracts, which Ford announced Tuesday along with other retaliation measures against the U.S. tariffs.
Premier Ford first announced in February he would cancel the Starlink deal in retaliation to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat earlier this year to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canada. Ford then temporarily backtracked on his promise after Trump paused implementation of the tariffs for a month.
The so-called Ontario Satellite Internet (ONSAT) program that had been announced in partnership with Starlink was designed to bring high-speed satellite internet access to 15,000 unserved and underserved homes and businesses in rural and northern communities in Ontario.
Screenshot of Ontario Premier Doug Ford at the March 4 press conference
