The Canadian and Quebec governments have awarded Telesat $1.9 billion in total funding for its low Earth orbit broadband satellite constellation project, completing the financing for the planned global network, including satellites, space launch vehicles and ground stations.
Under the funding agreements for the project, dubbed Telesat Lightspeed, the Canadian central government will invest $1.6 billion while the province of Quebec will provide a $290 million counterpart.
Telesat President and CEO Dan Goldberg described it as “the largest space program in Canada’s history.”
“Telesat Lightspeed will help bridge the digital divide in Canada and throughout the world, create and sustain thousands of high-quality jobs in Canada, deliver billions of dollars of investment in the Canadian economy, spur domestic innovation and exports, and ensure that Canada and Quebec are at the forefront of the rapidly growing new space economy,” he said.
The first satellites are planned for launch in mid-2026. MDA Space, selected in 2023 to manufacture 198 satellites for the project, has since selected more than 90 percent of the project’s suppliers. Telesat expects capital expenditures for the program to be between $736 million and $1 billion in 2024.