Canada consults on space law and navigation resilience

Canada has opened public consultations on a new space law while setting out its first national framework for protecting the positioning, navigation and timing services used by everyday infrastructure. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly announced the measures at SpaceBound 2026, according to an October 22 government release. The legislative exercise concerns Canadian activities in space, rather than an announcement that a new law is already in force.

The announcement places regulation alongside the reliability of space-dependent services. Canada says the work is intended to support national security and commercial activity, including operations in northern and remote regions. The release identifies payment processing, fraud prevention, emergency dispatch and electricity networks among the everyday uses of PNT, alongside familiar phone navigation and ride-sharing services. The policy package calls for governments, industry and researchers to work together on domestic technologies that can serve both commercial users and defence requirements.

Consultation remains open

Comments on the legislative consultation are due by December 21, 2026. The October document, numbered SPB-007-26, asks respondents to identify the relevant questions and provide supporting reasons and examples. It requests submissions in Word or PDF format through the email address published on the official consultation page.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) is examining a comprehensive Space Act, with a narrower law addressing activities outside existing powers as an alternative. A mission-based licensing approach is among the options. The consultation also considers a single entry point for applications across agencies, with requirements proportionate to the risks of different activities. The choices remain proposals on which the department is seeking views.

The proposed framework would complement, rather than replace, the launch and re-entry regime. Existing regulatory processes would continue while appropriate rules and licensing policies are developed. For companies with current permissions, the paper discusses possible transition arrangements, including phased entry and continued operation under existing licences for some lower-risk activities.

Protecting navigation and timing

The accompanying Positioning, Navigation and Timing Resilience Framework addresses dependence on signals that can be interrupted or falsified. Precise timing helps telecommunications networks synchronize, financial systems timestamp transactions and electricity networks balance flows and detect faults. A disruption can therefore affect services beyond the vehicle or phone visibly using a navigation receiver.

The framework identifies jamming, spoofing and space weather among the risks. Jamming blocks reception, while spoofing supplies false information that can appear valid. In the Arctic, restricted satellite visibility and weaker augmentation coverage compound space-weather effects. The framework therefore favours several sources of positioning and timing to meet requirements across Canada’s geography.

Potential measures include a national PNT office, stronger warning capabilities, a Canadian timing backbone and testing equipment against interference. The office would coordinate policy and civil-defence engagement; improved warnings would help users make operational decisions during interference. The document also considers ground-based alternatives, including maritime applications, and systems that combine information from different sensors. Alongside technology, it calls for continuity planning, training and exercises to manage disruption risks.

Investment and the existing industry

A related October 20 announcement gives one concrete example of the industrial investment involved. Canada committed C$15 million through its Strategic Response Fund towards Xona Space Systems Canada’s C$64.8 million project in Montréal. The government says the planned centre will cover mission operations, satellite systems development and manufacturing, with approximately 126 skilled jobs expected.

The project is intended to support deployment and operation of Pulsar, a commercial low-Earth-orbit positioning, navigation and timing system. The release describes it as complementing systems such as GPS and Galileo, particularly where conventional satellite navigation is weak or unavailable. Planned additions include mission control facilities, specialist testing infrastructure and engineering capacity. The government links the project to Arctic operations and the supply chain serving both civilian and defence applications.

The Canadian Space Agency’s State of the Canadian Space Sector Report 2025 provides a baseline for this industrial policy: C$5 billion in revenue for 2024, down 1.2% from the preceding year, and 14,622 direct jobs. Business research and development spending reached C$962 million. The report’s title refers to its survey year, while its figures describe the industry before this month’s measures.