The federal government announced a $15-million investment Tuesday toward a planned Montréal centre for satellite operations, development and manufacturing.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada says the contribution, made through the Strategic Response Fund, supports a $64.8-million project by Xona Space Systems Canada. The two figures describe the public contribution and the wider project respectively—not separate federal grants.

A Canadian base for a low-orbit navigation system

The planned centre would combine mission control, engineering, specialized testing and manufacturing. It is intended to support the long-term deployment, operation and commercialization of Pulsar, Xona’s positioning, navigation and timing system using satellites in low Earth orbit.

The department says Pulsar is designed to complement existing systems such as GPS and Galileo, particularly where conventional satellite navigation is weak or unavailable. It lists transportation, telecommunications, emergency response, critical infrastructure, defence and Arctic operations among possible uses.

Those capabilities are the government’s and company’s description of the project. Tuesday’s announcement does not establish that the full system or Montréal centre is already operating.

Job count is a project forecast

The release says Xona expects the expansion to create approximately 126 highly skilled jobs. That is a forecast tied to the project, not a count of positions already filled.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly presented the investment as part of Canada’s effort to strengthen its domestic space and defence-industrial capacity. Xona co-founder and chief technology officer Tyler Reid said the Montréal expansion would add operational resilience and capacity to build and operate the company’s service.

Xona Space Systems Canada was incorporated in 2019. The government did not give a construction schedule, opening date or breakdown of the project’s remaining financing in the release.

Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s full October 20 announcement.

Editorial illustration of satellite-navigation operations and manufacturing; not an actual Xona facility, satellite or mission-control room.