Space sovereignty: How Canada and Europe compare in the race for secure orbital infrastructure

Space is no longer simply a domain for exploration. It has become a strategic layer of national security, climate monitoring, telecommunications, defence, navigation, emergency response and economic competitiveness. This is where Canada and Europe now face a similar question: how much space capability should be sovereign, and how much can safely be outsourced to allies or commercial providers?

Europe’s answer is increasingly centred on strategic autonomy. The European Union is building its third flagship space programme, IRIS: Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite, following Galileo for navigation and Copernicus for Earth observation. IRIS² is planned as a secure multi-orbit satellite communications constellation designed to provide resilient connectivity for governments, businesses and citizens, with deployment expected to support operational capability around 2030.

Canada’s approach is more selective but no less strategically important. Rather than attempting to replicate the full breadth of European flagship programmes, Canada has traditionally focused on areas where it has deep technical strengths: robotics, Earth observation, satellite communications, Arctic monitoring and partnerships with NASA, ESA and commercial players. The Canadian Space Agency’s current sector data show a domestic space industry with $5.1 billion in revenues, a $3.4 billion GDP contribution, and a strong reliance on satellite communications, which account for the largest share of sector revenues.

In comparing these approaches, Europe has scale, institutional depth and major public programmes. Canada has agility, niche technology leadership and a geographic imperative: the Arctic. Both jurisdictions, however, are confronting the same reality. Sovereignty in space is no longer only about owning satellites. It is about controlling the data pathways, ground systems, launch access, cybersecurity, industrial supply chains and increasingly the optical communications infrastructure that makes modern space systems competitive.

Europe: Scale, sovereignty and fragmentation

Europe’s space sector is one of the most technically advanced in the world. The EU highlights Galileo as the world’s most accurate civilian satellite navigation system and Copernicus as a leading provider of Earth observation data. The European space industry generated €8.8 billion in annual sales in 2024, with employment reaching nearly 66,000 jobs.

Yet Europe’s strength is accompanied by a persistent weakness: fragmentation. The Centre for European Policy Studies argues that Europe has a capable but dispersed ecosystem, challenged by institutional complexity, underdeveloped private capital markets and difficulties in scaling new commercial space companies. CEPS space report This matters because the global space economy is moving quickly towards mega-constellations, lower-cost launch, dual-use services and very high-throughput connectivity.

IRIS² is Europe’s direct response to this problem. It is intended to provide secure governmental communications, broadband services, crisis management connectivity, border surveillance support and protection for critical infrastructure. ESA describes IRIS² as a strategic asset for European autonomy, resilience and competitiveness, with fewer than 300 satellites across low Earth orbit and medium Earth orbit.

The scale of the programme is significant. ESA reported in December 2024 that the full 12-year IRIS² concession amounts to €10.6 billion, funded by the EU, ESA and the private sector, with the SpaceRISE consortium led by SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat.

However, a new warning from European optical communications company Astrolight sharpens the issue. Europe may be building sovereign infrastructure, but unless it scales optical connectivity, it risks remaining dependent on systems such as Starlink, which already uses laser links between satellites. According to Astrolight, optical communications can deliver data transmission rates up to 100 times higher than conventional radio frequency links while reducing exposure to detection, jamming and interception. The company argues that optical data transfer is no longer a niche technology for specialist missions but a strategic and commercial advantage.

This is a critical point. Radio-frequency spectrum is congested, heavily regulated and vulnerable to interference. Laser communications use narrow beams of light to move data between satellites, ships, aircraft and ground stations with higher capacity and greater security. If Europe’s sovereign constellation does not develop a wider optical communications layer — including inter-satellite links, optical ground stations and user terminals — then autonomy could remain incomplete.

ESA already has relevant programmes. HydRON is planned as a high-capacity optical data transport network, and IRIS² is expected to include optical inter-satellite links. Astrolight’s argument is that programme-level capability is not enough; Europe needs a commercial ecosystem around optical space connectivity.

Canada: Smaller scale, sharper niches

Canada’s space sector is far smaller than Europe’s, but its strengths are different. Canada has built international credibility through practical, mission-critical technologies: Canadarm robotics, RADARSAT Earth observation, space medicine, lunar exploration systems and satellite communications for remote regions.

The Canadian Space Agency identifies space as a strategic national asset underpinning national security and connectivity for rural and remote communities. Canada’s space strategy specifically highlights low Earth orbit satellite systems as a route to broadband access for rural and remote areas, alongside investments in security, sovereignty and Earth observation.

This is where Canada’s challenge differs from Europe’s. Europe’s strategic problem is geopolitical autonomy from foreign suppliers. Canada’s is also geographic. A country with vast northern territories, sparse population density and limited terrestrial infrastructure cannot rely solely on fibre networks and cell towers. Space-based connectivity is a national necessity.

Canada’s RADARSAT legacy is also central. The Government of Canada announced $1.012 billion for the RADARSAT+ initiative to maintain and expand access to synthetic aperture radar data, which supports climate monitoring, emergency response, environmental surveillance and security. CSA Departmental Results Report In contrast to Europe’s broad institutional model, Canada’s model is more targeted: invest in specific capabilities that support sovereignty, climate resilience and international partnerships.

Commercially, Canada also has a major satellite communications opportunity through firms such as Telesat. The Canadian space strategy refers to Telesat’s low Earth orbit plans for global broadband connectivity, including rural and remote areas of Canada. CSA Space Strategy on Telesat LEO This mirrors Europe’s IRIS² logic, although on a different scale: secure, resilient communications are now a sovereign capability, not just a telecoms service.

Where Canada and Europe converge

The strongest point of convergence is secure connectivity. Both Canada and Europe recognise that high-speed, resilient satellite communications underpin defence, disaster response, Arctic or maritime operations, and economic inclusion. Europe frames this through IRIS² and strategic autonomy. Canada frames it through rural connectivity, Arctic sovereignty, defence modernization and commercial LEO capability.

Both also see space as dual-use. Earth observation supports climate science and environmental policy, but it also supports border surveillance, maritime awareness and defence planning. Secure communications support civilian broadband, but they also support military command and control. This blurring of civil, commercial and defence requirements is one of the defining features of the new space economy.

There is also a growing technology overlap. Optical communications, AI-enabled satellite operations, quantum-secure communications, synthetic aperture radar, autonomous spacecraft operations and in-orbit data processing are relevant to both ecosystems. The EU notes that IRIS² will rely on quantum cryptography links through the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure, indicating that secure space communications are becoming increasingly intertwined with cybersecurity and quantum technologies.

Canada, meanwhile, has an opportunity to combine its capabilities in AI, quantum science, robotics and satellite operations into a more defined sovereign space technology strategy. The RBC analysis argues that Canada could grow its space economy substantially by 2035, but that doing so will require greater public and private capital, procurement modernization and a more unified national strategy.

Where they diverge

The main divergence is institutional scale. Europe has the European Commission, ESA, EUSPA, national space agencies and major industrial primes. This gives Europe depth and financial firepower, but it also creates coordination challenges. Canada has a smaller ecosystem and fewer large-scale programmes, but it can be more focused when government, industry and academia align.

A second divergence is market orientation. Europe is trying to protect and rebuild industrial competitiveness in the face of U.S. and Chinese scale. Canada is trying to ensure that its niche strengths are not overwhelmed by larger allies and commercial giants. In Europe, the strategic question is: can it build a sovereign alternative to Starlink? In Canada, the question is: can it build enough sovereign capability while remaining closely integrated with U.S., European and allied systems?

A third divergence is optical communications. Europe is already positioning optical connectivity as part of its future strategic infrastructure. Companies such as Astrolight argue that this should become a scaled industrial layer, not just a feature within selected programmes. Canada has not yet framed optical communications as prominently in public policy, but it should. For Canada, secure laser communications could be especially relevant for Arctic connectivity, maritime surveillance, defence networks and high-volume Earth observation downlinks.

Canada and Europe are not competing on equal terms. Europe is building continental-scale infrastructure. Canada is building sovereign capability through specialisation, partnerships and targeted investment. Yet both face the same technological threshold: the next phase of space sovereignty will be defined by secure, high-capacity, low-latency data movement.

That means satellites alone are insufficient. The decisive layer will be the communications architecture linking satellites to each other, to ground stations, to ships, to aircraft, to remote communities and to defence users. Optical connectivity is likely to become one of the technologies that separates future-ready space systems from legacy constellations.