Canada announces $688-million contract for RADARSAT replenishment satellite

The federal government has announced a $688-million contract for a new replenishment satellite that Industry Minister Mélanie Joly describes as a key technology to protecting Canada’s security and sovereignty.

Joly said Tuesday that Toronto area-based MDA Space Ltd. will build and launch the satellite as part of the RADARSAT Constellation Mission network of Earth-observing satellites.

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“In an increasingly dangerous and divided world, Canada is investing in modern surveillance systems to detect threats earlier,” she said in a news release ahead of the announcement.

“Through this investment, we are reinforcing Canada’s sovereign satellite capabilities and equipping industry and the Canadian Armed Forces with the intelligence they need to protect communities, inform decisions, and keep Canada secure.”

Canada’s RADARSAT program involves a constellation of three satellites that can scan 90 per cent of the world’s surface up to four times a day.

Joly told a news conference in the Montreal area the investment will help support Arctic security, guide operations on the ground, and help Canadian officials respond quickly to emergencies.

The agreement follows an initial $44.7-million contract awarded in December of last year to buy specialized parts for the replenishment satellite, which will help maintain uninterrupted access to RADARSAT data.

It is also part of a 15‑year investment, worth more than $1 billion, announced in October 2023 for satellite Earth observation needs.

The Canadian Space Agency says the new satellite is expected to launch in the early 2030s.

Jean-Claude Piedboeuf, the Canadian Space Agency’s acting president, says the satellite uses radar technology, which allows them to see through clouds, rain and snow.

He described Canada as a world leader in developing the technology, which is used for monitoring remote regions such as the Arctic, as well as agriculture and defence activities.

He says that while Canada partners with other countries to share Earth observation data, it needs its own satellites to direct.

“It’s important to be able to task the satellite and to decide where you want to take an image and to who you are sending the image,” he said.

The announcement is part of the country’s defence industrial strategy, “where Canada needs sovereign access to this critical data of Earth observation,” he said in a phone interview.

He said that’s especially crucial for operations such as monitoring sea ice for ship navigation, detecting illegal ship traffic, or defence purposes.

MDA Space employs about 4,000 people in Canada, including some 2,000 in the satellite systems division in Montreal, according to Luigi Pozzebon, vice president for satellite systems.

He said the company’s satellites have both commercial and defence applications.

He says the satellites help boost Canada’s sovereignty by “providing the government with the images, for example, of our shorelines, the Arctic, missions like that, maritime surveillance as well as environmental surveillance.”

The government said the new satellite project announced Tuesday is expected to create about 100 jobs for the duration of the project.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2026.