space policy

Ottawa Signed a $200M, 10-Year Lease for a Launch Pad. The Site Is a Concrete Slab and Two Shipping Containers. The Tenant Reported $14,980 in Revenue Last Year.

On March 16, 2026, Defence Minister David McGuinty announced a 10-year, $200-million lease agreement between the Department of National Defence and Halifax-based Maritime Launch Services (MLS) for a dedicated launch pad at Spaceport Nova Scotia near Canso. The deal pays MLS $20 million annually, backdated to April 1, 2025, with 90% of the rental payments directed to support the Canadian Space Agency. As of March 21, 2026, the site consists of a gravel access road, two shipping containers, and one 25-by-35-foot concrete pad — no servicing infrastructure. MLS reported $14,980 in revenue and a $47-million loss in its 2025 financial filings; combined CEO and CFO compensation was $697,308, rising to $984,930 with stock options and directors’ fees. The company’s original Cyclone 4M rocket design has never been built. No launches have occurred at the site by MLS itself; the launch pad has been used twice — by a York University rocketry club in 2023 and by Dutch firm T-Minus Engineering in November 2025. Separately, on April 21, 2026, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon tabled Bill C-28, the Canadian Space Launch Act, the first dedicated federal legislative framework for space launch activities from Canadian territory.