Canada can’t launch rockets on its own. A handful of companies want to
As the only G7 nation without its own launch capabilities, Canada is eager to have a Canadian-made rocket.
A handful of Canadian companies are racing to give the country its own way to space as quickly as possible — at the same time that some SpaceX customers worry the industry giant could soon give fewer rides into orbit.
But the rocket companies are working to complete an expensive task under a tight deadline and ever-changing government priorities, making the journey to space anything but simple.
Because Canada has no ability to launch rockets itself, customers in this country — both private companies and governments — are dependent on outside forces to put their satellites in orbit. They’re often American ones — namely SpaceX, which launched all 12 Canadian satellites sent up in 2025, according to Canadian industry publication SpaceQ.
And those pieces of technology are critical, says Marc Boucher, founder of the Canadian space publication SpaceQ. They power telecommunications, as well as military uses like threat detection, and for earth observation like wildfire tracking.
If Canada doesn’t control its own launches, Boucher says the fear is that foreign entities could refuse to launch Canadian tech.
On Tuesday, government House leader Steven MacKinnon introduced the Canadian Space Launch Act as a framework for developing Canada’s own space launch capabilities. ‘This is about giving ourselves the options and the capability of protecting Canada, making sure our Armed Forces stay current and on pace with the rest of the world,’ MacKinnon said.
A sovereign solution
The Canadian government named space as a key sovereign capability in its February Defence Industrial Strategy and introduced legislation in April that would allow the government to authorize launches from Canadian soil if passed.
Funding has flowed in recent months, too, including $8.3 million each for three Canadian companies working on rockets, as part of a multi-year contest aimed at achieving light-lift rocket capabilities by 2028.
NordSpace — a company launched in 2022, focused on building satellites and robotic space technologies as well as the launch pad and rocket to get them off the ground — was one of them. Its first suborbital rocket test launch attempt in 2025 was unsuccessful, but the company says it plans to try again soon, possibly within weeks.
NordSpace’s suborbital rocket on the launchpad in 2025. The company’s first attempt to launch the vessel in summer 2025 was unsuccessful, but it’s preparing to try again soon. (Peter Cowan/CBC)
Reaction Dynamics was another. That company has been working on a unique engine design since 2017.
Both NordSpace and Reaction Dynamics are working to get rockets to orbit by 2028, in line with the government’s target.
Canada Rocket Company — the newest player — rounds out the…
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