The political split between Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump is making headlines, but it won’t be enough to revive a cancelled Starlink contract in Ontario. Premier Doug Ford confirmed this week that the province has no plans to re-sign its $100 million agreement with SpaceX’s Starlink, despite Musk’s highly publicized feud with Trump.
The deal, originally signed to bring high-speed broadband to 15,000 rural and remote northern Ontario households, was scrapped in March 2025. The move came as a retaliatory measure against Trump’s 25% tariff on Canadian goods.
Although Musk was not directly involved with the tariffs, his close association with Trump was enough for Ontario cancel the deal. But despite publicly criticized Trump in recent days, Premier Ford says Musk’s prior actions, including inflammatory remarks about Canada, remain disqualifying.
“Starlink is done. I don’t want to deal with someone who’s attacking our country. And he was one of the number one culprits, Elon Musk. That’s unacceptable” Ford told reporters.
The Premier’s comments refer to a post from Musk on X earlier this year mocking Canada’s legitimacy in response to political backlash, saying “Canada is not a real country,” a post which he later deleted. Musk spent part of his youth in Ontario and once held Canadian citizenship.
Despite the broken relationship with Ontario, Starlink continues to operate in Canada and has even taken steps to support Canadians during a time of crisis. This week, SpaceX announced it is offering one month of free internet service and replacement equipment to new and existing Starlink users affected by the ongoing wildfires in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and other impacted regions.
The offer is even available to paused or cancelled subscribers in affected areas, who are also receiving service credits to help them reconnect.
