Ontario Cancels $100 Million Starlink Contract over U.S. Tariffs

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2025 – As part of the retaliation against President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Canada, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Tuesday that the province will rip up its $100 million Internet contract with Starlink.

The deal, signed last November, would have helped serve 15,000 underserved locations across Ontario by June 2025 at an estimated cost of $6,667 per location.

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Starlink, has played a key role in the Trump Administration through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Ford is retaliating against Starlink for Musk’s involvement in enforcing U.S. tariffs on Canada. 

"We’re ripping up Ontario’s contract with Starlink. It’s done. It’s gone. We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country,” Ford said in a speech Tuesday.

Ford foreshadowed his move when the Trump Administration, which includes Musk, first threatened tariffs in February, saying, “Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy.”

Ford also announced that he will soon implement a 25 percent surcharge on electricity supplied to 1.5 million Americans across several states, and has warned that he may cut off power entirely if U.S. tariffs remain in place beyond April.

“We also need to be ready to dig in for a long fight. We need to be ready to escalate using every tool in our toolkit,” Ford said. 

Other Canadian provinces, such as Nova Scotia, have initiated Starlink programs; however it is unknown if they will retaliate against the company amidst the U.S. tariffs.