Why Canada Needs Its Own Satellite Network
Because relying on foreign satellite networks is a national security risk
On January 29, 2026, Ukraine’s defense minister announced that Kyiv was working with SpaceX to block Russian drones from using Starlink — the satellite internet system that had quietly become one of the most important pieces of infrastructure on the battlefield.
SpaceX enforced the restrictions.
Russian drones suddenly had to look for alternative communications.
Within a month, Russian forces were retreating in the south, losing more than 200 square kilometers of territory in southern Ukraine. The Ukrainian grinding advance in the south has become so threatening that Putin was forced to pull some troops out of the Pokrovsk sector to reinforce the south.
Drones have now become the most critical weapon on the battlefield. They cannot operate effectively without satellite internet, which provides the communications backbone that allows operators to guide and coordinate them across long distances. This year, more than 90% of Russian casualties are being inflicted by Ukrainian drones—not tanks, artillery, or long-range missiles.
In other words, the weapon reshaping the battlefield is the drone.
So he who controls satellite internet controls the drones. Period. End of discussion. And there is no better provider of that service other than Starlink as of today. An American company controlled by Elon Musk, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars to elect Donald Trump.
Forget Musk and his company. For any country in the world to depend on a foreign nation for key battlefield comms is a national security threat. Since the United States — under MAGA control — wants to make Canada the 51st state, Canada has exactly zero option other than fixing this hole.
The satellite internet hole.
During a speech to Australia’s parliament on Thursday, Carney highlighted a soon-to-launch, made-in-Canada low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network.
“Satellite communications are now a fundamental requirement for security and strategic autonomy,” Carney said.
“A Canadian-based constellation of LEO satellites will launch next year to provide reliable and secure global communications. We are working with other like-minded partners who possess similar capabilities to build out a deep and resilient system we can all share and control in our own territories.”
Canada has already begun moving in this direction. The government granted a $2.14 billion loan to Telesat to build a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite constellation. The project, known as Telesat Lightspeed, will form a global communications network built around hundreds of satellites in low orbit.
According to the company, “Telesat now has all financing sources in place to fund the global Telesat Lightspeed network, including the satellites, launch vehicles to deploy them, an integrated terrestrial network of landing stations and points of presence throughout the world, and the business and operational support systems for the network.”
Canada’s push into LEO (Low-Earth-Orbit) satellites—through the Telesat Lightspeed constellation may look like a telecom project on the surface. Under the hood it’s much more strategic. Canada is trying to solve several structural problems at once: geography, sovereignty, defense communications, and industrial independence.
