Canada Has the Satellites. Now It Needs the Rockets.

“Canada is the only country in the G7 that does not have space-launch capabilities and must rely on foreign countries, most often the United States, to reach orbit. In a more uncertain and competitive world, Canada cannot rely on others to secure access to space for our economy, our defence and our future.”

That was how Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon opened his statement on April 21, 2026.

It was the prelude to his announcement of the Canadian Space Launch Act.

Canada’s current orbital-launch capacity from Canadian soil is zero launches and zero kilograms delivered into orbit annually.

That sucks, really.

The global space economy was already worth more than US$420 billion in 2020. It is forecast to grow beyond US$1.1 trillion by 2040. Canada is participating in that economy, but it still has to buy a ticket from another country every time it wants to reach orbit.

And Canada is no slouch in this field.

The country already supports nearly 14,000 space-related jobs. In 2022, the sector generated approximately C$5 billion in revenue. Deloitte estimates that Canada’s domestic space economy could reach C$40 billion by 2040.

C$40 billion inside a global economy approaching US$1.1 trillion is a serious opportunity.

If Canada misses even that mark, it will not be because it lacked engineers, manufacturers, satellites or customers. It will be because it moved too slowly to build the one industrial layer it is still missing:

Sovereign launch capacity.

But is sovereign launch capacity really that necessary?