Ontario cancels $100M Starlink deal, leaving northern communities in digital limbo

Ontario's decision to cancel its $100-million contract with Elon Musk's Starlink as part of Premier Doug Ford's response to new U.S. trade tariffs has left Indigenous communities in the north questioning the government's commitment to broadband access.

Sol Mamakwa, the Ontario NDP MPP for Kiiwetinoong, says the cancellation raises serious concerns about digital infrastructure for remote communities struggling with reliable internet.

The contract, signed in 2024, was intended to provide Starlink satellite internet to 15,000 remote homes and businesses in Ontario. However, the Ford government scrapped it in retaliation to President Donald Trump's trade measures against Canada.

"My initial post of it was essentially to the people that messaged me from the north in my riding on how it's going to impact them," Mamakwa said. "Internet is an essential service… you need to be able to have access to be able to do business, it has value to the economy, to do the banking, to submit whatever online things that we need to do."

Mamakwa noted that even cell phone service remains spotty in parts of his riding, making online access even more essential.

Ford announced the decision Tuesday as part of a broader economic response to Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods. The premier also banned U.S. companies from bidding on Ontario procurement contracts.

"We also need to be ready to dig in for a long fight," Ford said. "We need to be ready to escalate using every tool in our tool kit."

While the Starlink cancellation does not affect individual Starlink users who have already subscribed to the service, Mamakwa says the government's move leaves remote Indigenous communities with even fewer options for connectivity.

"When you break the numbers down, it's very significant. It is almost $7,000 per connection," Mamakwa explained. "Why is cell service not happening up there? Because there's less people, there's no money here."

Mamakwa has long been a proponent of alternative broadband solutions that focus on Canadian-owned infrastructure rather than reliance on foreign providers. He pointed to existing fibre optic networks in northwestern Ontario, managed by groups like K-Net, as examples of better long-term solutions.

"Some of them are faster than Starlink. So that's the way we need to go," he said, calling the satellite internet a "shortcut." "We need to be able to look at the five terrestrial fiber networks that have greater capacity."

With Ontario now seeking Canadian alternatives to Starlink, Mamakwa says the government must prioritize long-term investments in fibre optic and cellular networks rather than short-term political decisions.

"Broadband Internet will be available for all Ontarians, no matter where you are in Ontario. That was [the province's] commitment," he said.