Ontario Leader Targeted Starlink in Trade Dispute with U.S.
The ban was related to Musk’s connection to the U.S.-Canada tariffs
Blake Ledbetter

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2025 – Elon Musk just found out that Starlink could pay a price for his close connection to President Donald Trump.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Monday that he planned to punish Starlink’s Internet access service in the province for Musk’s role in imposing U.S. tariffs on Canada.
Ford said that he would be “ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink,” which was a $100 million contract signed in November that would connect 15,000 unserved and underserved homes and businesses by June 2025.
“Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it,” Ford said on X Monday.
A few hours after this post, the U.S. and Canada agreed to a 30-day tariff halt after Canada said it would put 10,000 personnel at the border, take measures to combat fentanyl distribution, and launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force.
Following the halt, Ford announced he would also be temporarily pausing the punishment against Musk’s Starlink.
“With the U.S. pausing tariffs, Ontario will also pause our retaliatory measures,” Ford said on X later on Monday.
Ford, who’s been Ontario's top official since 2018, did say however that he has no problem reinstating these sanctions if tariffs are implemented by the Trump administration.
The U.S.-Canada trade dispute that targeted Musk’s Starlink for punishment could be a political strategy others might try to push back against the Trump administration. Other Canadian provinces have Starlink programs, including a $1,000 rebate offer for unserved locations in Nova Scotia.
Starlink has about 1.4 million U.S. subscribers and nearly 5 million global subscribers.