The man behind a project to build "the most powerful telescope on Canadian soil" says he's about $1.2 million away from beginning construction.

The One-Metre Initiative has raised $4.5 million toward construction of a telescope about 120 kilometres west of Ottawa in Ontario's Madawaska Highlands.

Frank Roy says the observatory will be the only major observatory in the world that is commercially financed and operated.

Roy's plans call for a visitor centre with displays on astronomy, cosmology, Algonquin star lore and technology.

Roy says visitor telescopes will offer the best visual views of the universe in Canada while astronomers anywhere in the world can use the observatory to conduct cutting-edge research.

The observatory complex will be off the grid — using solar and generator power and well water for heating and cooling — except for a wireless connection to the internet.

"Astronomers anywhere in the world could book time from their office … and then download the file," Roy said Tuesday.

A colour image from the telescope's 112-megapixel sensor would be close to a gigabyte in size, Roy said.