New Brunwick-based Xplore is lobbying Quebec to subsidize the expansion of fibre-optic infrastructure in rural areas, as the province signals it may not renew its $136-million contract with SpaceX’s Starlink.
Xplore began its lobbying efforts on January 1, 2025, petitioning Quebec’s finance ministry for funding to enhance fibre-optic deployment. Jeffrey Edwards, Xplore’s marketing director, confirmed the company is in ongoing discussions with the government about improving rural internet access, reports The Logic.
Quebec’s three-year contract with Starlink, signed under the Opération haute vitesse initiative, is set to expire in June. In February, Quebec MNA Gilles Bélanger—now the province’s cybersecurity minister—suggested the contract would not be renewed to promote Canadian “connectivity sovereignty.”
“Our intentions for the future will be communicated in due course,” said finance ministry spokesperson Claudia Loupret, adding that the government will prioritize citizen safety in its decision-making.
Launched in 2021, Opération haute vitesse is a $1.3-billion project aimed at connecting 250,000 households to high-speed internet. While fibre-optic infrastructure is the government’s priority, installing it in certain rural regions remains difficult due to a lack of telephone poles. However, Starlink’s plug-and-play solution is much easier and faster for remote residents to get connected to satellite internet.
Xplore has already expanded its fibre network to over 34,000 homes and businesses in rural Quebec. But the company’s satellite service is slower than Starlink’s. Meanwhile, Ottawa-based Telesat’s satellite service, seen as a potential alternative, isn’t expected to launch until mid-2026, and that’s being optimistic at best.
Many still see Xplore as a purely Canadian telecom, but in June 2020, it was acquired by Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, making Stonepeak the majority shareholder. This complicates the ‘buy Canadian’ argument even further.
Ontario has already cancelled its $100-million contract with Starlink, which aimed to connect 15,000 remote households, as part of the ongoing tariff war with the USA.
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