Canada's fastest internet providers were ranked and Elon Musk's Starlink crashed & burned
If you're wondering which internet provider in Canada delivers the best speeds and reliability, a new report has some answers.
Opensignal just released its latest Fixed Broadband Experience report, and certain home-grown Canadian internet service providers are dominating — while Elon Musk's Starlink is seriously lagging behind.
The satellite internet provider, owned by Musk's SpaceX, has been a hot topic in Canada recently thanks to Musk's close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump amid ongoing trade tensions between the two countries.
A parliamentary petition to revoke Musk's Canadian citizenship has racked up over 373,000 signatures, accusing the richest man in the world of "[using] his wealth and power to influence our elections" and being complicit in U.S. government attempts to "erase Canadian sovereignty."
Just last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced he was "ripping up" his province's $100-million contract with Starlink to deliver internet to 15,000 rural and remote homes, in response to Trump's ongoing tariff threats and concerns about supporting a company tied to the billionaire.
"It's done, it's gone," Ford said in a press conference on March 4. "We won't award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country."
While Ford's decision might have been about principle, the numbers don't lie. With the slowest speeds and weakest reliability in the rankings, the latest speed test results show that Ontario — and Canada as a whole — might just be better off without Starlink anyway.
The best internet in Canada: A Rogers vs. Bell showdown
So who's actually winning in Canada's internet showdown? According to Opensignal's findings, Rogers leads in overall speed and reliability, while Bell holds the crown for the fastest upload speeds.
Telus is in the mix but didn't secure a top spot in any national category, although it remained competitive in every category, including beating Rogers' upload speeds.
It's worth noting that Opensignal's report doesn't separate Bell's Pure Fibre service from its standard Bell Internet — and that could impact its overall rankings. A recent Speedtest report showed that Bell Pure Fibre had the fastest download speeds in Canada, outpacing both Rogers and Telus, while its traditional Bell Internet service had the lowest speeds by far.
So while Rogers generally came out on top in this study, if you live in an area with access to Bell Pure Fibre, that might actually be the fastest option available to you.
The worst internet in Canada: Starlink flops
Meanwhile, Starlink came in dead last in nearly every metric. It posted an average download speed of just 66.7 Mbps, far behind Rogers' blazing-fast 198.1 Mbps. Its upload speed? A painfully slow 13.9 Mbps — compared to 109.9 Mbps from Bell.
Starlink also scored the worst in reliability, showing that for most Canadians, it's simply not a strong contender in the broadband space.
It's worth noting that Starlink is often used in rural areas where traditional land-based providers either aren't available or don't offer reliable service. That means that despite having the worst performance of any provider overall, it may still offer the best performance in the areas that use it most — so while the numbers don't lie, they should be taken with a grain of salt.
Regional breakdown
Across the country, Rogers took home the most wins, either coming out on top or tieing for the win in 20 out of 28 regional categories. It especially dominated in Manitoba, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, leading in nearly every metric.
Bell, however, shone in upload speeds, taking the top spot in that category in Quebec, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces. In those eastern regions, Nova Scotia-based Eastlink also made a strong showing, sharing first place for Consistent Quality in both Atlantic Canada and Ontario.
The takeaway
If you're choosing an internet provider based on speed and reliability, Rogers and Bell are leading the way. Rogers dominates in download speeds and reliability, while Bell's Pure Fibre offers the fastest uploads and an excellent video experience.
As for Starlink? Between its high costs, slow speeds and growing controversy, it's looking like a tough sell for most Canadians.
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