Telesat Lightspeed: Canada, Quebec give billions of dollars for satellite production

The Canadian government on Friday announced a loan of $2.14 billion to satellite operator Telesat to help the company build its broadband satellite constellation, in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described as Canada’s largest ever space program.

Quebec's government, meanwhile, announced a loan of $400 million to the company, which has contracted aerospace technology firm MDA to build its satellites in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que.

Speaking to reporters Friday at MDA's facility west of Montreal, Trudeau said the Telesat Lightspeed low Earth orbit broadband satellite constellation will enable people in the most remote parts of the country, including in Indigenous communities and mines and forestry companies, to connect with cheaper, more reliable internet.

"That's what this investment is about," he said.

"Yes, it's about investing in satellites and space and all sorts of really cool stuff," Trudeau said. "But it's fundamentally about making sure that Canadians and people in more distant communities, in smaller northern communities and in remote parts of the world can be connected to the transformation and the progress that the world is seeing at increasingly destabilizing speeds."

A news release from the Office of the Prime Minister said Ottawa's loan will help create 2,000 jobs in Canada.

Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters Telesat plans to create 967 jobs in the province. The premier stressed the importance of the aerospace sector to Quebec, which is home to three of the world's biggest airplane manufacturers. However, he said, the sector's future increasingly relies on satellites and not just planes.

"If we want to be the champion of aerospace, we have to be in satellites," Legault said.

Telesat president Daniel Goldberg described the program being funded as "the largest space program in Canada's history." He said the development of satellites would improve broadband connectivity, national security and public services in Canada and beyond.

"This constellation will be transformative for Canada, for Quebec, but it will be transformative for the whole world," he said.

Trudeau said Ottawa-based Telesat will invest $4.4 billion back into the Canadian economy through research and development.

As well, MDA has broken ground on a 185,000-square-feet expansion of its Quebec facility to meet future demand and "create the most advanced assembly line for satellites in the world," the prime minister said.

The Canadian government said the Telesat Lightspeed program is already underway, with the first of an initial 198 satellites scheduled to launch in 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.