Canada Building Its Own Rockets After US Trade Tensions

When your neighbor threatens tariffs and jokes about annexation, you start thinking about doing things yourself.

That's exactly what's happening in Canada's space industry. After decades of launching satellites on American rockets, the Canadian government announced its first awards this spring to three homegrown rocket companies. The total? Just over $8 million Canadian dollars to start, but signals point to much bigger investments coming.

One recipient, the Canada Rocket Company in Toronto, decided to skip baby steps entirely. Instead of building a small rocket first, they're going straight for a medium-lift vehicle called the R-2 that could carry over 12 tons to orbit.

The company's CEO Hugh Kolias explained their reasoning after talking to 150 engineers, including people who worked on SpaceX's Starship. Building a smaller rocket first would waste time and resources, they told him. Nearly 90 percent of that work gets thrown out when you scale up anyway.

The R-2 features nine methane-fueled engines and landing legs designed for eventual reuse, similar to SpaceX's Falcon 9. If everything goes according to plan, the rocket could launch by 2032.

This shift didn't happen in a vacuum. Canada famously canceled its Avro Arrow interceptor aircraft in 1959 and has relied on the United States for defense and aerospace capabilities ever since. But recent political tensions changed the conversation fast.

Canada's new Defense Industrial Strategy lists space launch as a national priority. Kolias believes the government might eventually put up to half a billion dollars on the table for sovereign launch capability, along with guaranteed launch contracts.

The company has already raised $22.5 million and is currently seeking Series A funding. Their team of about 30 people includes Canadian rocket scientists who left to work at SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Rocket Lab but have now returned home.

Why This Inspires

Sometimes conflict pushes us to discover capabilities we didn't know we had. Canada spent decades comfortable with dependence, but political friction sparked something unexpected: ambition.

The company just announced plans for the Jeremy Hansen Test Facility, named after the Canadian astronaut who became the first non-American to fly into deep space on Artemis II. The $30 million facility near London, Ontario, will include multiple test stands capable of testing engines producing over 225,000 pounds of thrust. Engine testing could begin in just two years.

There's poetry in the timing. Hansen's success came aboard an American mission, showing what cooperation can achieve. Now Canada wants to build its own rockets while hopefully maintaining good relations with its southern neighbor.

The message is clear: friendship doesn't require dependence, and healthy relationships make room for both nations to stand on their own.