Canada is spending $1.6B to give its military secure satellite communications above the Arctic Circle, a region where fiber and cell networks do not reach and where Russia and China are expanding their presence.
The Defence Investment Agency awarded Telesat a contract worth 2.3B CAD for the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project – Polar, known as ESCP-P. The deal covers military Ka-band connectivity for the Canadian Armed Forces over five years, with two additional five-year options valued at 214M CAD and 218M CAD.
The win expands Telesat Lightspeed, its low-Earth-orbit constellation, from 156 satellites in production to 225. Canadian manufacturer MDA Space will build the 69 new spacecraft. Services begin in 2028 with coverage from 65 to 90 degrees north latitude.
Lightspeed operates as a mesh network using 900 optical intersatellite links compliant with US Space Development Agency standards. The design routes traffic around failures, including undersea cable cuts.
Stephen Fuhr, secretary of state for defense procurement, said the deal strengthens Northern sovereignty. Lt. Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet, head of the Royal Canadian Air Force, said the network will support NORAD modernization and improve command and coordination in high latitudes.
The contract is the first step in a wider Canadian plan. A second phase will build a secure UHF and X-band constellation in medium Earth orbit, with MDA Space as prime and Telesat as subcontractor.
Analyst Jessica West of Project Ploughshares called the investment a shift toward resilient, dual-use infrastructure built through commercial capacity rather than a standalone military constellation.
The Arctic is a zone of intensifying competition as melting ice opens new shipping routes. NATO launched the Arctic Sentry mission in February to strengthen deterrence there.
