Ottawa inks partnership with Canadian firms on military’s Arctic satellite project

A Canadian Rangers patch on a Canadian Forces uniform is shown during an announcement about increasing the Canadian Armed Forces' presence and readiness across the Arctic and the North during a press conference in Iqaluit, Nunavut, on Thursday, March 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dustin Patar (Dustin Patar)

OTTAWA — Ottawa has signed a new strategic partnership with the Canadian firms Telesat and MDA Space to develop military satellite communications for the Canadian Armed Forces in the Arctic.

It’s among the first major military procurements to be managed by Ottawa’s new Defence Investment Agency, which handles projects worth more than $100 million.

MP Stephen Fuhr, the secretary of state for defence procurement, said the Canadian military has limited satellite communications options in the region, with most available options consisting of commercial rather than military networks.

“That’s why modernizing our surveillance and communications systems in the north is so important,” Fuhr said at an announcement in Ottawa on Tuesday. “It will allow us to detect threats earlier and make and communicate information to decision makers faster.”

A strategic partnership is a rare approach to procurement that places industry involvement closer to the beginning of the process. Fuhr said Ottawa wants to use such partnerships “where we can and when we can.”

The partnership is for the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project -- Polar (ESCP-P) project. It comes with a budget that exceeds $5 billion and is part of Ottawa’s $38.6-billion plan for North American Aerospace Defence Command modernization.

The federal government awarded a project contract to Telesat in partnership with MDA Space worth $2.92 million for engineering and options analysis.

Documents tabled in Parliament this month state the current scheduled date for ESCP-P to come online is 2037, with full operational capability expected in 2041, although the Department of National Defence has been searching for ways to speed up the project.

National Defence documents tabled in September say $7.6 million was spent on the project as of May this year. Most of the Norad modernization projects are still in their early stages but the department says 15 will be “costed, prioritized and accelerated as necessary” by the end of next year.

Ottawa issued requests for information years ago but the file has been plagued by delays, including a re-evaluation of the project’s scope.

Fuhr said Tuesday Ottawa didn’t have the money for some time, but government officials “just look at the world differently now than we did then.”

“Part of this big military defence spend isn’t just to equip our Canadian Forces with the tools and equipment they need. We need to stimulate the Canadian economy with this money,” he said.

In addition to this procurement, the Defence Investment Agency current project list includes Canada’s next fleet of submarines, Arctic over-the-horizon radar and a fleet of early-warning-and-control surveillance aircraft.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2025.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press