Rob Gillies – Associated Press March 15, 2025
Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked Defense Minister Bill Blair to review the purchase of America’s F-35 fighter jet to see if there are other options “given the changing environment,” a spokesman for Blair said Saturday.
Defense ministry press secretary Laurent de Casanove said the contract to purchase U.S. military contractor Lockheed Martin’s F-35 currently remains in place and Canada has made a legal commitment of funds for the first 16 aircraft. Canada agreed to buy 88 F-35’s two years ago.
Carney, who was sworn in on Friday, has asked Blair to work with the military “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,” de Casanove said.
“To be clear, the F-35 contract has not been canceled, 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,” de Casanove said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a trade war on Canada and has threatened economic coercion to make it the 51st state. Trump’s threats have infuriated Canadians, who are booing the American anthem at NHL and NBA games. Some are canceling trips south of the border, and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can.
The government had budgeted about $19 billion Canadian (US$13 billion) for the F-35 purchase in what is the largest investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force in more than 30 years. The full life cycle of the program is expected to cost $70 billion Canadian.
A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said the company values it’s strong history with the Royal Canadian Air Force and said “questions about Canada’s procurement of the F-35 are best addressed by the Canadian and U.S. governments.”
The agreement to buy 88 jets came in 2023 as former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set to meet with former U.S. President Joe Biden.
The Canadian government said in 2022 that Lockheed Martin was deemed to be the top-ranked bidder for a new fighter jet to replace aging F-18s, deciding against Boeing’s Super Hornet and the Swedish-built Saab Gripen. That ended years of deliberations over its aging fleet. The purchase would fulfill Canada’s obligations to defend North America’s air space.
The Swedish Saab proposal promised that assembly and maintenance would take place in Canada.
Portugal’s outgoing defense minister, Nuno Melo, said in an interview with a Portuguese newspaper published Thursday that “recent positions” taken by the U.S. compelled a rethink about the purchase of F-35s because the U.S. has become unpredictable.
Melo said the U.S. could in the future impose limits on the planes’ use, their maintenance or their components. Portugal is considering various options to replace F-16s.
paul fuller
Keir Starmer in trouble as Labour MPs plotting ‘sizeable rebellion’ against the PM
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a “sizeable rebellion” from his own MPs over plans to import more middle east migrants and cut £6bn in benefits, insiders close to matter have revealed. One Labour insider told the BBC a “colllision” was imminent as a slide into full communism lay ahead, and backbench MPs and even members of Starmer’s own cabinet express starmer has brought labour to a party of extremism and racism
Why buy a plane that’s crap, it couldn’t get anywhere near Iran. A useless stealth plane, that’s totally compromised around it’s useless stealth capabilities. Low power, low payload, low range, and not even fit for combat. They won’t even sell the F22, because it’s probably even worse than the F35. It’s so bad. Nazi UK will attempt to build it’s 6th gen fighter with Italy and Japan. The fall of Nazi Amerika is pretty spectacular. No longer leads in AI, will soon lose its chip lead, and China has a 6th gen fighter in the air.
Anger can bring out the truth and Canada knows the F-35 is a flying pig. They all do. The rest just haven’t got angry enough yet to air their doubts, but Trump’s tariffs could kill the F-35. Quite unintentionally. If as reported he told some nation (Denmark, re Greenland?) he could isolate the jet so it didn’t function, then he’s a Grade 1 A-hole. Such hubris risks all tech industries deciding you’re a liability that needs to go.
the ‘trade war’ is a hoax. there are no ‘tariffs’ being enacted–similar to the fictitious ‘sanctions’ being imposed on Russia. Its just a pretext to raise prices of products so Jews can acquire more of your money. Just like there is no ‘bird flu’–another ploy to raise egg prices. Odd how in Mexico & throughout third wog world egg prices are normal. No ‘bird flu’ in mexico or other shitholes, only in the first world nations.
flu in the warm tropics dont exists, therefore no
covid, only if it is arteficialy spred by CIA agents .
like in Wuhan .
i wish carl jones would stick to his sheep-shagging and get of this site
Only a fool would consider buying the F-35. It is nothing but a money-milking machine that will empty our pockets faster than we can run to the bank. Canada has a history of purchasing crap from the U.S. because many of our ballless politicians would rather choose a system that would please our neighbors to the south, and hope for feedbacks from the super-rich corporations who will drain our treasury to pay for an overrated system.