Prime Minister Mark Carney signs a document during cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill, Friday, March 14, 2025 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/AP)
TORONTO — 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.
