Ontario Pays Unknown Fee to Axe Starlink—15K Homes Left in the Dark

The Ontario government has officially cancelled its $100 million internet deal with SpaceX’s Starlink, according to Global News.

The plan was originally signed last November to bring satellite internet to about 15,000 homes in northern Ontario.

A government spokesperson confirmed the decision in an email, writing: “Our government has cancelled the Starlink contract. We are seeking an alternate solution as we continue our efforts to secure long term, stable high-speed internet access across the province.”

Even though the deal is now dead, the province still had to pay to back out. A senior government source told Global News that while the cancellation fee wasn’t small, it was “substantially less” than the full $100 million contract. They didn’t reveal the exact amount that taxpayers will be on the hook for.

The deal was made around the time Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. election. Ontario’s government hoped teaming up with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk would help avoid new U.S. tariffs. But that plan didn’t work—tariffs still happened, and a few months later, Premier Doug Ford said the Starlink deal was over.

“It’s done,” Ford said back in March. “We’re not going back there, it’s done.” Musk replied on social media with a short: “Oh well.”

Although Ford publicly declared the deal over in the spring, actually ending it was more complicated. According to Global News, the government considered passing a law—unofficially called the “Starlink Cancellation Act”—to shut down the deal and protect itself from lawsuits. But that approach could have triggered more problems, like Starlink refusing to work with Ontario in the future or pulling internet from remote areas that currently rely on it for things like health care.

Instead, the province quietly negotiated its way out of the deal with SpaceX. That way, they kept the door open for possible future partnerships and avoided hurting other ongoing agreements.

Now, with Starlink out of the picture, the big question is what happens to the 15,000 households in the north that were promised internet. The government hasn’t said who might take over the job or when a new provider will be picked.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles criticized the entire situation, saying: “This should have been done a long time ago and the premier should have secured a proper deal for those in Northern and rural communities who still don’t have the reliable internet that they were promised by this government.”

While the provincial deal has been cancelled, residents can still sign up for Starlink on their own. Right now, Starlink is offering up a $0 kit for select areas (normally $499), while monthly residential service costs $140 per month. For now, there are no reliable high-speed internet alternatives for remote homes. SpaceX recently revealed there are now over 500,000 active Starlink users in Canada.