Today, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, announced a $688 million contract to MDA Space Ltd. to build, test, and launch a replenishment satellite for the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM). Canadian industry will be called upon to support design, manufacturing, and integration activities, ensuring a diversified supply chain across the country. In an increasingly dangerous and divided world, the Government of Canada is taking action by partnering with Canadian industry to build the equipment necessary to protect Canadians and secure our sovereignty.
The RCM supports a wide range of services that Canadians rely on every day. Satellite data from the constellation is used to observe Arctic sea ice, track floods, support maritime safety, and study environmental change. With its unique vantage point from space, Canada's RCM is actively monitoring the Canadian North and providing critical data that helps enhance Arctic monitoring efforts to safeguard Canada's sovereignty and support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Together, these capabilities contribute to better natural resource management and will enhance Canada's security.
Through this contract, the Government of Canada is delivering results under Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy by advancing key sovereign capabilities and contributing to Canada's NATO spending targets. This investment will also create and maintain up to 100 high-paying jobs over the duration of the project. With this contract, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is bolstering Canada's capacity of uninterrupted access to this critical data to meet Canada's evolving security needs.
The approach uses an efficient way of acquiring the satellite. It relies on a commercial satellite design from MDA Space Ltd. based on next-generation MDA CHORUS™ synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology and Canada's previous RADARSAT program heritage. This proven design reduces risks, accelerates delivery, and ensures compatibility with the current RADARSAT Constellation Mission infrastructure.
This investment will help Canada continue producing the sovereign satellite data needed to support Arctic security, guide operations on the ground, and respond quickly to emergencies and changing conditions.
