New government bill would enable satellite launches from Canada

Less than two weeks after Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen returned to Earth from his voyage around the moon onboard the Artemis II mission, the Liberal government is looking to help more Canadians — or, at the very least, Canadian companies — enter orbit. Transport Minister Steve MacKinnon tabled Bill C-28, also known as the Canadian Space Launch Act, on April 21, which would amend the country’s regulatory framework to allow for “sovereign space launch capabilities.” “Canada has reached the moon, but still lacks its own sovereign way to space,” MacKinnon (Gatineau, Que.) told reporters. “And that changes today.” C-28 would also make changes in support of a commercial space industry, which government data suggests could be worth $40 billion. According to MacKinnon, most Canadian space and satellite companies, including Telesat Corp., Terrestar Solutions Inc., and Kepler Communications Inc., rely on the U.S. and other countries to launch domestically-made products. “This reliance on the U.S. sends investment out of our country, creates costly delays and leaves critical infrastructure exposed to decisions beyond our control,” he said. Asked whether the government’s initiative was about “militarizing” outer space, MacKinnon insisted the proposal would most significantly impact the country’s telecommunications sector. “Obviously, we see what's happening with the internet,” he said in French. “We have Telesat, for example, in Gatineau, which is developing a satellite network that will offer a Canadian alternative in the internet access space.” “So, I think what we're doing is bringing back money that would otherwise be spent elsewhere in the world, and Canada is giving itself the capacity to create jobs here with our technologies, our people, and our ambitions.” MacKinnon also discussed how the legislation should help companies like Telesat compete with “other alternatives,” in an apparent reference to SpaceX’s Starlink fleet, which has become an increasingly popular source for connectivity in rural Canada. “This will offer them a Canadian alternative for that Canadian technology,” he said. Telesat’s low-earth orbit (LEO) service, known as Lightspeed, already has the backing of a $2.14 billion loan from the federal government, and it’s projected to become operational by the end of 2027. Recently, Telesat has launched demo LEO satellites from New Zealand. In March, the federal government also announced a $200 million investment toward Maritime Launch, a Nova Scotia-based company that has already broken ground in an effort to house Canada’s first commercial spaceport for satellites. Telesat, Terrestar, Kepler, SpaceX, and Eutelsat, which operates an LEO fleet called OneWeb, did not immediately respond to The Wire Report’s request for comment. MacKinnon said the timeline for regulatory changes would allow satellite launches from Canadian soil within the next three years. It should be noted that the bill won’t become law until it passes through Parliament, though the Liberal Party’s newfound majority in the House of Commons is expected to expedite the passage of government bills. dlegree@thewirereport.ca

New government bill would enable satellite launches from Canada

Telecom |
By Davis Legree
|April 21, 2026

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