The space technology company behind the iconic Canadarm has inked a deal with the Ottawa Senators in the hope that joining forces with another great Canadian symbol – hockey – will raise its profile. MDA Space announced Tuesday it has signed a multi-year agreement with the Senators that will see the Brampton-based company’s logo embedded […]
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The space technology company behind the iconic Canadarm has inked a deal with the Ottawa Senators in the hope that joining forces with another great Canadian symbol – hockey – will raise its profile.
MDA Space announced Tuesday it has signed a multi-year agreement with the Senators that will see the Brampton-based company’s logo embedded in the ice at the Canadian Tire Centre starting this season.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Under the agreement, the company’s logo will also appear on the boards at the Senators’ home arena in Kanata, and the two organizations will be teaming up on “fun activations” aimed at “building awareness about science” centred around the themes of hockey and space, MDA Space vice-president of corporate communications Amy MacLeod told OBJ on Tuesday.
The publicly traded firm best known for manufacturing the robotic arm used on the International Space Station is hoping that exposing its logo to spectators at the CTC and television audiences across the country will spark new interest about “the science of space and why it matters,” MacLeod said.
“We see the Ottawa Senators and their platform as an opportunity to really engage not just in Ottawa but with STEM communities and students across the country,” she added, referring to the term for fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Senators president and CEO Cyril Leeder echoed those sentiments. In a statement Tuesday, he said the new partnership with MDA will allow the team “to connect with our fans and inspire the next generation of leaders in both sports and science.”
While MDA Space, which has more than 4,000 employees, is a world leader in areas such as building cutting-edge satellite communications systems, many Canadians are unaware of its contributions to the industry, MacLeod said.
“One of the things that we’ve struggled with in the past is really helping people understand what we do in space and communicating in a way that’s really relevant for people,” she said.
“We’re very excited to be working on this project. We think it’s going to be fun. We think it’s going to be educational and informative. Really, Canada is a world leader in space-based technology. We don’t talk about it as a country very much, but we really are. We have a lot to be proud of.”
Founded in 1969 as MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, MDA Space has a significant presence in the National Capital Region. The firm employs about 150 people in four locations – a facility in Kanata North that builds sensors for spacecraft; an office in Nepean that processes data from MDA’s RADARSAT-2 Earth observation satellite; a ground station in the Gatineau Hills that gathers data from satellites; and an administrative office on Slater Street.
The company also has strong ties to the local space-tech sector through partnerships with firms such as Telesat, which hired MDA to build and test next-generation low-Earth orbit satellites for its US$3.5-billion Lightspeed constellation that’s expected to start serving commercial customers in 2027.
While the new deal is MDA’s first foray into the realm of sports sponsorships, partnerships with local tech firms are becoming old hat for the Senators.
The NHL club currently has agreements with three other Ottawa-based companies that feature their logos on the team’s equipment or in its home rink.
Earlier this year, the Senators signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Fullscript that will see the health-care technology firm’s name and logo appear on the team’s road helmets starting this season.
In addition, the company’s logo will be shown on the ice at the Canadian Tire Centre and Fullscript will continue to be the title sponsor of the team’s annual Black, Red & Gold Gala, which supports children and youth in the Ottawa-Gatineau region through the Senators Community Foundation.
Fullscript’s logo will occupy the spot on the Sens’ road headgear that was formerly held by another major Ottawa tech firm, supply-chain management software giant Kinaxis.
Kinaxis, whose head office is located just down the road from the club’s home rink in Kanata, had sponsored the Sens’ road helmets since 2022.
That agreement ended after last season, but the company signed a new three-year deal with the NHL club this week that will see its logo appear on centre ice at the CTC starting this fall. The Kinaxis logo will continue to be shown on the arena’s LED display ring and will also be displayed on the “digital dashboard” during the Senators’ home and select road TV broadcasts.
Meanwhile, another Kanata tech firm, Calian Group, also has a partnership with its hometown NHL club. Last fall, the Sens signed a three-year deal with Calian to feature the company’s logo on the team’s road jerseys.
