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Yes—but not in the simple way the February 2025 headlines suggested. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on February 3, 2025 that the province would “rip up” its approximately C$100 million Starlink contract during the Canada–U.S. tariff dispute. After the United States paused its threatened tariffs, Ontario temporarily paused its retaliation. The province later said it was no longer partnering with Starlink, and formally confirmed the contract’s cancellation on July 30, 2025.
The decision affected a planned satellite-internet rollout for about 15,000 unserved or underserved rural, remote and northern Ontario homes and businesses. Ontario said it would pursue alternatives, but the sources reviewed do not identify a completed replacement contract or disclose the final termination fee.
The timeline in brief
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| November 14, 2024 | Ontario announced that Starlink, operated by SpaceX, had won the Ontario Satellite Internet (ONSAT) contract. |
| February 3, 2025 | Ford announced that Ontario would “rip up” the contract as part of its response to threatened U.S. tariffs. |
| Later on February 3 | After the United States paused the threatened tariffs for 30 days, Ontario paused its retaliatory measures, including the planned Starlink cancellation. |
| March 2025 | Ontario’s broadband information page said the province was no longer partnering with Starlink for ONSAT. |
| July 30, 2025 | Ontario confirmed that the contract had been formally cancelled. A termination or break fee had been negotiated, but its amount was not disclosed in the reporting reviewed. |
What Ontario originally bought
Infrastructure Ontario awarded Starlink the ONSAT contract on behalf of the provincial government. The program was intended to connect approximately 15,000 homes and businesses that lacked adequate service, particularly in rural, remote and northern communities, including potentially eligible Indigenous communities.
The original announcement anticipated service beginning in June 2025. Infrastructure Ontario described a target of at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload. Satellite was being considered for locations where fibre and fixed wireless were not feasible or could not be built quickly enough.
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Ontario described ONSAT as the first competitive process of its kind in Canada. The original announcement is available through the Ontario Newsroom, while Infrastructure Ontario’s contract notice provides additional program details.
Why Starlink became controversial
The political controversy was not only about internet technology. Starlink is an American company operated by SpaceX, and Elon Musk had become closely associated with Donald Trump’s political movement and administration.
Critics argued that Ontario should not award a major public contract to a Musk-linked American company while advocating support for Canadian businesses and reducing reliance on U.S. suppliers. Supporters could make the opposite case: the procurement was presented as a competitive process aimed at connecting difficult-to-serve locations, rather than as a political endorsement of Musk.
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There is no basis in the supplied official material to describe the award as improper. The documented issue is the tension between procurement for technical capability and political pressure to favour Canadian suppliers.
What Ford announced during the tariff dispute
On February 3, after Trump announced tariffs on Canadian goods, Ford said Ontario would be “ripping up” its Starlink contract. The province also announced broader measures, including restrictions on American companies bidding on provincial contracts and other retaliatory actions.
The contract was widely reported as being worth approximately C$100 million, sometimes expressed as about US$68 million. That figure was the reported contract value—not the amount Ontario ultimately paid to cancel the agreement.
Ontario’s tariff-related announcement is available in the Ontario Newsroom. The Associated Press chronology reported the initial announcement and its tariff context.
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Why the decision changed the same day
The February announcement was not the end of the contract that morning. Later that day, the United States paused its threatened tariffs for 30 days. Ford then said Ontario would pause its retaliatory measures.
Contemporary reports described the Starlink agreement as restored or remaining in place for the time being. That distinction matters: the province had announced an intention to cancel, but the cancellation was temporarily suspended after the tariff pause.
CityNews and Global News both reported on the same-day reversal.
When was the contract actually cancelled?
Ontario’s own broadband page gives the next important date: it says the province announced in March 2025 that it was no longer partnering with Starlink for ONSAT.
The formal cancellation was confirmed on July 30, 2025. Reporting at that time said Ontario negotiated a termination or break fee with SpaceX, but the amount was not publicly disclosed in the sources reviewed.
That creates three separate facts that should not be collapsed into one:
- February 3: Ford announced the planned cancellation.
- March: Ontario said it was no longer partnering with Starlink.
- July 30: Ontario confirmed the contract had formally been cancelled.
See Ontario’s current broadband program page, along with Global News’ cancellation report and CityNews’ coverage.
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How much did the cancellation cost taxpayers?
The precise answer is not publicly clear from the reporting reviewed.
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- Ontario negotiated a termination or break fee.
- The province did not disclose the fee amount in the July 2025 reports.
- The C$100 million contract value should not be described as the cancellation cost.
Ford reportedly said during the initial February episode that Ontario had not paid Starlink at that point. That statement does not establish what Ontario later owed under the termination agreement.
For a complete accounting, readers would need to examine Ontario’s public accounts, Infrastructure Ontario procurement records, any freedom-of-information disclosures, legislative questions and future auditor or spending documents.
What happened to the 15,000 planned connections?
The specific Starlink rollout was cancelled, creating a gap between the original promise of service beginning in June 2025 and the province’s later decision to end the partnership.
Ontario said it would pursue alternatives and continued to identify fibre, fixed wireless and satellite as possible broadband technologies. However, the sources reviewed do not establish that Ontario had completed a replacement contract for the 15,000 ONSAT premises.
This does not mean every one of those households lost service. Many may not yet have been connected under ONSAT, some may have had other providers, and separate broadband projects may have served some locations. The defensible conclusion is narrower: Ontario cancelled the planned Starlink program and needed another way to reach the eligible premises.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was this a trade decision or an internet-policy decision?
It was both.
As a trade-war measure, the cancellation was explicitly linked to threatened U.S. tariffs and Ontario’s proposed restrictions on American participation in provincial procurement. It also served a domestic political purpose by allowing Ford to present Ontario as responding forcefully to U.S. pressure and Musk’s political role.
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But it was also a broadband-policy decision. ONSAT was designed for communities where conventional infrastructure can be slow or expensive to build. Cancelling the contract may be politically straightforward while replacing its practical coverage is not.
The broadband trade-offs
Why satellite made sense
- Satellite can reach isolated premises without waiting for fibre construction.
- Low-Earth-orbit service can generally offer better performance than older geostationary satellite systems.
- A government procurement can reduce the burden on households to purchase equipment and arrange service individually.
Why cancellation and satellite both have drawbacks
- Ending a contract can delay connectivity for communities with few alternatives.
- Satellite installations require suitable equipment, power and a sufficiently clear view of the sky.
- Performance can vary by location, network conditions and service plan.
- Fibre or fixed wireless may offer a better long-term solution where construction is practical.
- A province that replaces Starlink with another U.S.-owned supplier may not fully satisfy the original trade-policy rationale.
These are general technology and procurement trade-offs, not proof that any particular replacement provider would deliver equivalent service.
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The most important unanswered questions are:
- Has Ontario awarded a replacement contract for the ONSAT premises?
- Which locations were affected by the cancellation?
- What was the final termination fee?
- Were the June 2025 launch and 50/10 Mbps targets revised?
- Are affected premises now receiving fibre, fixed wireless or another satellite service?
- Has Ontario published updated delivery data for the broader broadband program?
Potential alternatives include existing terrestrial providers, rural fixed wireless and future Canadian satellite capacity. Telesat’s Lightspeed may be relevant to a Canadian-supplier discussion, but it should not be presented as an immediately available replacement without confirmation of its deployment, launch and Ontario service model.
What this means for Ontario households
The provincial cancellation did not automatically cancel private retail Starlink service for Ontario residents. A government procurement and a household’s retail internet account are separate matters.
For an underserved household considering alternatives, the practical order is usually:
- Check fibre or cable availability at the exact address.
- Check fixed-wireless coverage and installation requirements.
- Consider satellite if terrestrial service is unavailable.
- Compare equipment costs, installation, latency, data policies, reliability and total monthly cost—not just advertised download speed.
Availability and pricing are address-specific and can change. Official sites for Starlink, Xplore, Telesat Lightspeed, Bell and Rogers should be checked directly.
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