Science and Research Committee on May 25th, 2026

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

Thank you for that.

For my next question, our government, with the defence industrial strategy and the committee's own study on defence and dual-use research, is working on a push for how research can build up domestic sectors.

Can you speak to what the space sector looks like in Canada right now, what opportunities are present and how can we support better them to enhance research and create more jobs?

[Lisa Campbell]

Canada's space sector is extraordinary. More than 200 organizations are generating $3.8 billion to the GDP. We've done a space sector report. This is our 28th, I believe, this year. They're vibrant and growing. We've seen the business expenditures and research and development increase by 17%, and we've seen a growth rate of 15%. They generated $5 billion in revenues. They're extraordinary. About half of their revenues, almost 50%, comes from global markets.

Our main market at the moment is the United States, but as I mentioned, Europe is another important market. One of the things they tell us is that the Canadian Space Agency's procurements and our technology development programs are an important driver for them. Having anchor contracts helps them when they go to international markets.

Increasingly, the Canadian Space Agency is not the buyer of space services and solutions. Increasingly, it's Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, National Defence.... At the beginning, it was us, but more and more it's the other departments and agencies that can achieve their goals through space services and solutions. Our portion is truly the pure space segment.

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

Thank you for those answers. It's great to understand it a bit more.

Can you speak to the importance of funding these space missions? You've given a lot of examples of why this is important. How does it connect to nation building and sovereignty-enhancing missions?

[Lisa Campbell]

Space is infinite and there are an infinite number of expensive missions that, from a science perspective, might be interesting to pursue. We work very closely with international counterparts to make long-term plans on what science should be pursued within our solar system and what the next mission is. Most space missions that the Canadian Space Agency is a part of are international. We do it with international partners. Most space missions involve some kind of industrial contribution. In return, you get science benefits and, sometimes, human space flight.

That's the way the International Space Station works, which we've been part of for over 25 years. We pay common operating fees, but we also contribute technology. In return for that, we have access to science and our astronauts can fly there. It's the same thing with Artemis II, and we hope to progress that. It's also the same thing with the James Webb space telescope. Canada contributed two instruments. For that, we have researchers accessing data looking back 13.5 billion years.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you. The time is up.

We will now proceed to MP Blanchette-Joncas for six minutes.

Please go ahead.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to welcome the witnesses from the Canadian Space Agency who have joined us today.

Ms. Campbell, Canada is the only G7 country unable to send its own satellites into orbit. Can we really talk about space sovereignty under these conditions?

[Lisa Campbell]

At the Canadian Space Agency, we've always felt it was important to support the launch sector, but that's not under our watch. Our mandate is really about space, meaning what happens once you're there. Of course, we've always thought we should use a large country like Canada, with a lot of room, for launches.

I'll give you the example of our stratospheric balloon campaign, if I may. France came to us because it wants to go to the near-space. Space starts at 100 km from the surface of the earth. We can send stratospheric balloons just before that mark, so France approached us. We created a base in Timmins, where we do a lot of science work to eliminate risk and prepare a lot of science components for the International Space Station.

Of course, we look forward to Canada having launch capability. That's why, as I said, we've invested $7 million in launch technologies.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

That's not a lot of money. We agree on that, don't we?

[Lisa Campbell]

We do what we can.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Okay.

What can Canada do in space today without depending on the U.S.?

[Lisa Campbell]

I talked about our partnership with the European Space Agency. Like Canada, Europe also has launch capability. Actually, the James Webb telescope was launched on a French rocket, Ariane 5, out of Kourou, in French Guyana. They're currently working on Ariane 6. That's an example of another rocket. As I said, there were also the rockets from Ukraine, but unfortunately, we all know what happened.

Our wish is really to have choice and variety so we can have resilience.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

You talk about choice and variety, but I don't hear you talk about sovereignty. It's a very popular buzzword in Canada, even in Alberta and Quebec. It's an ongoing interest. You know that very well.

Can you tell us what ratio of Canadian space programs depend on the U.S.? Do you have a percentage? If not, can you table with the committee the breakdown of that ratio across space programs?

[Lisa Campbell]

Regarding dependence, it's important to know that we operate all our satellites ourselves from our control centre. The same goes for the Canadarm. There is no dependence; rather, there are partnerships.

At the International Space Station, for example, the five main partners all have a role to play. Canada plays its role independently through the Canadian Space Agency and its mission control centre. It's the same thing for the others. We're contributing to other missions, but we're fully responsible for our portion. It's up to us.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

I just want to make sure I understand what you're saying. In your opinion, there are no Canadian space programs that depend on American interests or American decisions. Is that correct?

[Lisa Campbell]

Of course, international partnerships are important to us. The U.S. has one of the largest public space agencies. The other would be the European Space Agency, but there are others. We try to have diversity.

If we have a partnership with the U.S. and that partnership changes—actually, a change was made recently—that can certainly have a major impact on our programs.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Let's talk about uncertainty. NASA's reorientation on the Gateway project in particular has created uncertainty around Canadarm3.

What's Canada's plan B, in this case the Canadian Space Agency's plan B, when Washington changes its priorities?

[Lisa Campbell]

You raise an excellent point. Thank you very much for the question.

As I said earlier, Canada's advanced space robotics is the best in the world, not only because of the technology itself, but also because of the manufacturing method.

Our contribution to the lunar gateway was the Canadarm3 system. However, just before the Artemis II mission, NASA announced its intention to stop or pause the lunar bridge project, because instead of building a small space station in orbit around the moon, they were now looking to go directly to its surface. That decision has had an impact on Canada, Europe and Japan.

That said, the Artemis II mission went ahead. Thanks to Canadarm3, we contributed to two flights and participated in scientific work on the gateway. There was a flight. We're one of the only countries to have benefited, and now we're actively talking with the company that makes the arm. We're actually in the design and construction phases of the contract, phases C and D, to figure out how to reorient the project and be ready for the surface of the moon.

I can assure everyone on this committee that there is a huge demand for space robotics to use on the surface of the moon or in orbit. I'm thinking in particular of small arms for future low earth orbit stations after the International Space Station. Not a day goes by where we don't need the Canadarm. Everybody is looking for that capacity.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Ms. Campbell. I'd like to use one of your comments as inspiration: Not a day goes by without people talking to us about sovereignty. We talk about that, but we don't see it in the actions that are taken.

I'd like to hear you on how Canada can be sovereign in the Arctic without real space autonomy.

[Lisa Campbell]

To start with, our satellites are currently observing the Arctic and providing valuable data precisely to ensure the local populations' safety and monitor ice conditions. We also have proposals for dedicated missions in the Arctic. There's less commercial interest in the Arctic, because the local population is small, but there are two missions with public interest: one that would monitor the entire Arctic and the other that would monitor the amount of water in the snow. It's very important, for example for Hydro‑Québec, to monitor that. We have space solutions for problems here on earth.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Do you think we're fully sovereign in the Arctic, given our limited space autonomy?

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting, but your time is up. Maybe you can come back in the second round.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

I would ask you to submit a written answer, madam.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

We'll be getting into the second round, so you'll also have an opportunity to ask again.

With that, we will start our second round. We'll begin with MP Ho for five minutes.

Please go ahead.

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

Thanks, Madam Chair.

When Canadians think about space, they think about excellence. They think about engineers, scientists, specialists and astronauts who earned their place through discipline, training and competence.

When it comes to hiring and promotions within the CSA, for any role related to flight, flight safety, launch safety, astronaut safety—your mission-critical operations—is it your position that experience, qualification and technical competence must come first?

[Lisa Campbell]

We are going to need everyone in the space sector. It is the top issue preoccupying all space agencies around the world.