Ottawa backs Montréal satellite-navigation centre with $15 million

The federal government is investing $15 million in Xona Space Systems Canada as the company establishes a mission-operations, engineering and manufacturing centre in Montréal.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said the contribution comes through the Strategic Response Fund and supports a $64.8-million project. The government expects the project to create about 126 skilled jobs.

Xona is developing Pulsar, a positioning, navigation and timing system based on satellites in low Earth orbit. The Montréal centre is intended to add satellite manufacturing, mission control, testing and engineering capacity in Canada.

Positioning and timing systems underpin services ranging from transportation and telecommunications to emergency response and defence. The announcement describes both commercial and dual-use objectives, but it is an investment commitment for a planned facility—not notice that the centre is already fully operating.

For Montréal, the project adds another space-technology employer to a regional aerospace cluster that already includes manufacturers, engineering firms and research organizations.

Source

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, “Government of Canada invests $15 million in Xona Space Systems Canada”, published October 20, 2026.

Illustrative stock image: SpaceX / Unsplash, under the Unsplash License. It does not show Xona hardware or the planned Montréal centre.