Nearly 70 per cent of Canadians think the country should be able to launch satellites from home soil: poll

Ottawa should have sovereign satellite launch capabilities, according to 68 per cent of Canadians surveyed by Abacus Data. The survey, published on Thursday, was conducted on behalf of Maritime Launch Services, an aerospace engineering company in Halifax. The poll asked participants how comfortable they are with space-related activities at the company’s commercial spaceport in Nova Scotia. When it comes to launching satellites into orbit, 73 per cent of respondents were comfortable with the idea, and 74 per cent were comfortable with the spaceport supporting Canadian companies that need access to space. Support for both activities was even higher in Atlantic Canada, each with a 76 per cent comfortability rate. A dominant 80 per cent of Canadians think it's important for the country to build space infrastructure that supports security, 62 per cent think it’s important to use space as a source of jobs and economic growth, while 54 per cent believe Canada needs to compete with other countries in the global space economy. Canada is currently the only G7 country without the ability to launch from home soil, and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s (Nepean, Ont.) government has introduced a bill to change that. Currently, Canadian satellite companies such as Telesat Corp., TerreStar Solutions Inc., and Kepler Communications Inc. rely on foreign jurisdictions to get their satellites off the ground. The survey found two-thirds of Canadians also believe Canada should launch domestically, instead of paying other countries, like the U.S., for space-launch services. According to the survey, the recent Artemis II mission, which saw Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen fly around the moon, has sparked space joy, pride, and curiosity in Canadians. Despite that, 64 per cent of respondents didn’t know Canada cannot launch satellites and rockets from home soil. Importantly, the survey notes, expanding Canada’s space activities does not carry much political risk, as support for the issue is strongest among Liberals, but extends across party lines to Conservative and NDP voters. “Canada’s recent space moment made people feel proud,” the report read. “The question now is whether Canada turns that pride into capacity.” news@thewirereport.ca

Nearly 70 per cent of Canadians think the country should be able to launch satellites from home soil: poll

Telecom |
By Wire Report Staff
|July 16, 2026

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Nearly 70 per cent of Canadians think the country should be able to launch satellites from home soil: poll

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By Wire Report Staff
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