GATINEAU, Que. — Former NASA chief economist Alex MacDonald told Space Canada’s SpaceBound conference on Tuesday that the association’s members see “a legitimate opportunity for Canada to lead the world in space-based Arctic northern infrastructure” as defence spending rises, but want faster procurement and more authority for the people running programs.
MacDonald, who urged the sector in May to adapt quickly to NASA’s pivot to its Moon Base program, spoke as defence spending climbs, the federal budget approaches and Canada works to diversify its trading relationships. Here is a selection of the points he made.
Space Canada members want an Arctic role and faster procurement
MacDonald met with about 40 Space Canada members on Monday and shared several takeaways:
- Defence: Members’ top discussion point was the opportunity created by the national focus on defence: “There is a legitimate opportunity for Canada to lead the world in space-based Arctic northern infrastructure.” To take more advantage of it, he said, members are calling for “empowering program managers and delegating down authority.”
- Universities: MacDonald praised the “integrated knowledge” coming from university members, adding that representatives from that sector would like to see more of their know-how used alongside government departments such as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
- Provinces: Members would like to engage the provinces and territories more. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are obvious priorities because of their spaceports, he said, while noting that U.S. states such as Texas “regularly give out over $100 million of state level grants to companies.” The Texas Space Commission has committed its first $US 150 million grant fund across 24 projects since 2025.
- Funding: A “stepwise approach to funding” would help, extending beyond the Space Technology Development Program for early-stage work. He also outlined long-standing challenges: companies want “a consistent demand signal across our activities” to build out programs, they say procurement should move faster, and there is concern that the government remains somewhat risk-averse toward new technology, which in some cases leads to “micromanagement.”
- Communications: MacDonald urged a broader national conversation about space. “There was an understanding amongst the membership that there needs to be a nationwide effort to help Canadians understand why we’re investing so much in space, why this is critical to our economy and to our national defence, and also why it’s going to increase the well-being of patients.”
Satellites, the U.S. and new partners abroad
MacDonald also laid out where he sees opportunities for Canada in the coming years.
- Satellites: Dozens of Canadian satellites have launched since last year’s SpaceBound, MacDonald noted, from Canadian companies working on everything from Earth observation to communications. On Tuesday, the federal government also put $15 million into a new Montreal hub for Xona Space Systems, a California company developing a sovereign positioning, navigation and timing system. “I think we really don’t necessarily appreciate how developed the Canadian satellite ecosystem is compared to other countries around the world,” MacDonald said.
- The U.S.: MacDonald said the partnership with the Americans is “really critical” on projects including defence and the International Space Station, where Canadian Space Agency astronaut Josh Kutryk arrived Oct. 1 with NASA and SpaceX for a half-year mission. He acknowledged the tensions between the two countries, but said work can continue on a “transactional” basis because each country has capabilities to offer the other. MacDonald also lauded Canada’s partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), which is “part of the broader governmental strategy,” and suggested Canada consider the “very capable space communities” in India and Japan for other opportunities.