Federal Government confirms two year, $2.2 million contract with Elon Musk's SpaceX
In early 2024, the Federal government awarded a contract to Elon Musk's SpaceX for $2,260,000 CAD. The request for contract was tendered by Shared Services Canada, a department of the Ministry of Public Services and Procurement, in late 2023, and specified Starlink service provided by SpaceX as the sole target for bidding.
The contract is for two years, terminating February 29th, 2026, with the option of three additional one year extensions.
Shared Services Canada explained the service in the following statement:
This contract is for the provision and operation of Starlink Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) 2-way satellite communication services.
LEO satellite services provide SSC with an additional capability to deliver high‑speed and lower latency Internet connectivity to Government of Canada departments and agencies operating in northern and remote regions.
Space X is one of many providers SSC uses to provide the government with fast, reliable and secured network connectivity that is available anywhere, anytime, from any device.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is also the CEO of automaker Tesla and social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. He has recently become heavily involved in politics, often using his influential social media platform to advance his corporate agenda, interfere in elections, and spread misinformation. He is currently being sued by the SEC for failing to disclose his Twitter share purchases.
In addition to his three CEO roles, Musk is a minister in the Trump administration after endorsing Mr. Trump and spending heavily to get him elected. Musk has explicitly endorsed German neo-Nazi party AfD, as well as Canadian politician Pierre Poilievre, who accepted the endorsement and called for Musk to build factories in Canada. Musk was in the news again this week for giving a "Nazi salute" during Trump's inauguration, a move he denies was motivated by Nazism but that was hailed by neo-Nazis across the US.
The government has the option to terminate this contract with at least 30 calendar days notice of termination. SSC has confirmed to the Investigator that the contract is active and currently being used by the Government of Canada.
