Doug Ford said that Ontario will be “ripping up” its contract with SpaceX’s Starlink to provide internet services to 15,000 homes and businesses in the province.
Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the Canadian province would be ending its Starlink contract with SpaceX.The contract, worth around $68 million, aimed to provide internet access to 15,000 homes and businesses in Ontario.Ford said he also plans to ban American companies from provincial contracts until Trump’s tariffs are removed.
One of the companies Elon Musk runs could be about to lose a $68 million contract due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Canada.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Monday that the province would be “ripping up” its contract with Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by SpaceX.
“Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” Ford wrote in a post on X. “Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
In November, Ontario awarded a contract worth about $68 million with SpaceX, which is helmed by CEO Elon Musk, to provide internet access to “15,000 unserved and underserved homes and businesses” across Ontario by June 2025.
In Ford’s post mentioning Starlink, he also said Ontario would be “banning American companies from provincial contracts,” adding that the Ontario government spends about $30 billion on procurement every year and “U.S.-based businesses will now lose out on tens of billions of dollars in new revenues.”
“They only have President Trump to blame,” Ford said in the post.
Ford’s statements follow Trump’s announcement of a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods and a 10% tariff on imports from China.
The US has already delayed its tariffs on Mexico by a month after the country agreed to compromise on some of Trump’s border demands. Colombia similarly worked out an agreement with the Trump administration about a week ago after the White House threatened a 25% tariff on the country.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday that Canada would impose 25% tariffs on around $106 billion of US goods. Some of the tariffs are set to go into effect on Tuesday, and others in about three weeks.
Ford has previously criticized Trump’s policies, and over 30 labour leaders in Ontario gathered last Monday to demand the Premier establish a tariff task force to address US tariffs.
SpaceX, Ford, and Donald Trump’s administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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