- Ontario Premier Doug Ford canceled a $100 million contract with Starlink in response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports.
- Ford announced that U.S.-based businesses are banned from future provincial contracts until the tariffs are lifted.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced the cancellation of a $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink, following the U.S. government’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on nearly all Canadian imports.
The move comes as part of Canada’s broader response, which includes retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
Ford announced on X (formerly Twitter), stating that the Ontario government would be “ripping up” its contract with Starlink, which was originally signed in November 2024 to provide high-speed satellite internet to remote areas of the province.
“Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” Ford posted on X on Monday.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
The decision also reflects growing tensions between Ford’s government and Musk, who has become a key figure in the Trump administration. Musk currently oversees the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a team focused on aggressive cost-cutting and deregulation.
In a press conference, Ford went further, declaring that U.S.-based companies would be banned from bidding on future provincial contracts until the tariffs are lifted. He specifically called out Musk’s ties to Trump’s administration, accusing him of contributing to economic harm.
“[Musk] wants to take food off the table of people, hard-working people, and I’m not going to tolerate it,” Ford said.
The decision marks a significant escalation in Canada-U.S. trade tensions, with Ford estimating that American businesses will now lose out on “tens of billions of dollars in new revenues” from Ontario’s government contracts.
While the provincial government has not yet outlined alternative plans for rural broadband expansion, the abrupt cancellation of the Starlink deal signals that Ontario is willing to take strong action against U.S. trade policies.
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
