The Canadian government wants its “own system” in place for providing connectivity around the country, instead of relying on Starlink, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Monday.
What Happened: “…I think the reality is that they just want their own system,” Musk wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Last week, the Canadian government announced a loan of C$2.14 billion ($1.58 billion) to Ottawa-headquartered satellite operator Telesat to help the company build its broadband satellite constellation in low Earth orbit. Musk then said that providing Starlink to every Candian household that doesn’t have high speed will cost “less than half the amount” or below C$1.07 billion.
Member of the House of Commons of Canada and Conservative Party Member Michael Barrett subsequently opined that opting for Starlink sounds like a “common sense solution” for Canada given the lower cost.
However, Canada’s Minister of Industry François-Philippe Champagne slammed the exchange between Barrett and Musk as “Typical Poilievre "nonsense"…”
“They'd prefer giving money to foreign billionaires instead of supporting our industry and our workers. This loan will help build a world-class Canadian made satellite network and supports thousands of jobs in Quebec! Now that's common sense!,” the Liberal Party minister said.
Why It Matters: Starlink is the satellite internet segment of Musk’s SpaceX. It aims to provide connectivity around the globe with a constellation of satellites in low-Earth orbit. As of today, SpaceX has launched over 7000 Starlink satellites to orbit for the service.
Starlink service is currently also available in Canada.
In Quebec City, Starlink service is priced at around C$140 per month while the Starlink hardware required to avail the service at homes is priced at C$299.
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