Defence Minister Bill Blair's office noted that Canada’s 'legal commitment of funds' to date is only for the first 16 F-35 aircraft. A F-35 jet lands on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier on July 19, 2024.Marco Garcia/Reuters
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada is weighing trimming its F-35 purchase plans to buy an alternative aircraft that is more cost effective and could deliver additional industrial benefits to this country instead of sending more dollars to the United States.
He also said his brief trip to Britain and France this week included talks with London and France about playing a greater role in the defence industry supply chain as Europe and Britain boost military spending.
Canada in 2023 said it would spend $19-billion to buy 88 F-35 Lightning fighters to replace its aging CF-18 Hornets. The first of these new warplanes, manufactured by U.S. defence contractor Lockheed Martin, is due to arrive in 2026.
Last Friday, as Canada’s bitter trade war with the United States deepened, Defence Minister Bill Blair announced Canada was reviewing its F-35 acquisition. His office later noted that Canada’s “legal commitment of funds” to date is only for the first 16 aircraft.
Asked on Monday to explain this, Mr. Carney told a press conference in London that it’s judicious to consider whether Canada should buy an alternative aircraft after it has fulfilled its existing obligations under the F-35 sale.
“The fact is that under the contract, as you may know, that after a certain number of purchases, then we have options on subsequent aircraft,” he said.
“Given the geopolitical environment, given the fact that there are options, given the need for value for money, given the possibility of having substantial production of alternative aircraft in Canada – as opposed to sending, as we have been, on average, 80 cents of every dollar to the United States – it’s prudent and in the interest of Canada to review those options,” the Prime Minister said.
The runner-up in the Canadian government’s competition for new fighters was the Gripen by Saab AB of Sweden. Saab had offered to build its warplanes in Canada.
Two of the other entrants, the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium – with substantial British participation – and France’s Dassault Rafale, withdrew from the Canadian competition before a final decision was made.
Mr. Carney said part of the reason for his trip to France and Britain, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, was to find ways that Canada can benefit from rising defence spending on the other side of the Atlantic. He said Ottawa wants to determine whether by buying European and British military goods it can procure more industrial benefits for Canada.
“Full disclosure: this is one of the discussions I had both in Paris and in the U.K.,” he said. “Given our security posture in Europe, given potential steps in Ukraine, given our own security needs, that diversification of our suppliers in a way that ensures that as much as possible of that production resides in Canada and benefits Canadians in multiple ways, is a prudent thing to do.”
Mr. Blair’s press secretary said Canada is not cancelling the F-35 contract.
“At this time, the contract to purchase the F-35 remains in place and Canada has made a legal commitment of funds for the first 16 aircraft,” Laurent de Casanove said in a statement.
“The Prime Minister has also asked the Minister of National Defence to work with the Canadian Armed Forces/Department of National Defence to determine if the F-35 contract, as it stands, is the best investment for Canada, and if there are other options that could better meet Canada’s needs,” Mr. de Casanove said.
“To be clear, we are not cancelling the F-35 contract, but we need to do our homework given the changing environment, and make sure that the contract in its current form is in the best interests of Canadians and the Canadian Armed Forces.”
An e-mailed statement from Lockheed Martin on Monday did not address the government’s review of its F-35 contract, but pointed to the company’s history with the Royal Canadian Air Force and praised its fighter jet’s role in security and deterrence.
Canada’s 2023 decision to buy the F-35 capped a tumultuous, 12-year saga during which the federal government struggled to pick a fighter plane. It began in 2010, when the former Conservative government announced it would buy the F-35 without a competitive bidding process. It aborted the plan after public outcry over whether it was getting the best value for taxpayer money. It restarted the procurement process in 2012 after a damning audit of its plans for the sole-sourced purchase. This time, it hired independent monitors to oversee things.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party came to power in 2015 with new plans, having campaigned on an election pledge that it would not buy F-35s. It said it would instead consider “many, lower-priced options that better match Canada’s defence needs.”
The Liberals pledged to hold an “open and transparent competition” – principles critics had said were incompatible with excluding a particular plane. The selection of the F-35 in 2023 was the result of another restarted procurement process that took shape in 2016 and, despite the 2015 campaign pledge, did not exclude Lockheed Martin.