(Credit: AdrianHancu via Getty Images)
In retaliation for President Trump’s 25% tariff on Canadian goods, Canada is making good on a threat to kill a contract with SpaceX's Starlink.
"We're ripping up Ontario’s contract with Starlink,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a press conference on Tuesday.
The Canadian province paused the contract cancellation after Trump agreed to postpone his tariffs for 30 days. But with the US imposing tariffs on Canada (and Mexico) today, Ford decided to terminate the deal, telling the public: "It’s done, it’s gone."
“We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country,” the Premier said, alluding to SpaceX CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk.
The decision only affects a government program to pay for the Starlink equipment fees for eligible residents in northern Ontario; Canadian consumers can continue to subscribe and use Starlink on their own.
SpaceX will lose about $100 million CAD (US$68.9 million) from the deal, which was first announced in November. However, it also means that 15,000 underserved homes and businesses in rural and remote communities will not get subsidized satellite internet access.
Ford says Canada must respond to Trump’s tariffs. He's also banning all US-based companies from participating in Ontario’s government procurement programs.
“US-based businesses will now lose out on tens of billions of dollars in revenues. They only have President Trump to blame,” Ford said. In addition, he threatened to raise prices on electricity exported to the US and even stop supplying the power if Trump escalates his tariffs.
SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but last year, the company said it was serving over 400,000 active customers in Canada.
During the press conference, Ford also criticized Musk, who attended Queen's University in Ontario back in 1990. “Isn’t it ironic that...part of his education was at Queens. And he’s attacking the country, and the province that gave him the opportunity to go to Queen’s University. They should be embarrassed that he went to Queens. He should be embarrassed to attack the people who took care of him for a number of years with his family," Ford said.
Last month, Musk tweeted, "Canada is not a real country" in response to a petition urging the Canadian government to rescind his citizenship.