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Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that EDC does not receive government funding.

Export Development Canada has financed several satellites being built at Space Systems Loral (SSL) in Palo Alto, claiming since the American firm is owned by Canada’s MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, the funding benefits Canada in the end.

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But space industry analysts are questioning how long EDC should continue paying for spacecraft to be built at the California plant since MDA’s management and operations have increasingly shifted to the U.S.

EDC is a self-sustaining Crown corporation with a mandate to support Canadian exporters by offering them financial services and insurance.

MDA’s new chief executive officer, Howard Lance, is a U.S. citizen who runs the company from its San Francisco headquarters. SSL MDA Holdings, Inc., registered as a corporation in Delaware, is now the operating company for all MDA businesses, both in the U.S. and Canada.