A $19 Billion Defense Question

Canada's fighter jet program was thrown up in the air when it put its plan to buy U.S.-made F-35s under review. Are there other options?

-  ELLIE COOK

THERE ARE “ALTERNATIVES” TO the U.S.-made F-35 fighter jet, Canada’s Mark Carney said before becoming the country’s prime minister amid a souring of relations with Washington.

Some agree, others don’t. Canada put its planned F-35 procurement from the U.S. under review in March, although its defense ministry said it is not “canceling” the deal to receive dozens of the Lockheed Martin-made fighter jets. It now faces a dilemma: Does Ottawa do away with billions of dollars of investment and all the work to prepare its air force for the F-35s, or does it continue with the planned purchase?

The Canadian government announced in 2023 that it had signed a deal worth $19 billion CAD (roughly $13.7 billion USD) to buy 88 F-35s. The agreement was the biggest investment in Canada’s air force in three decades.

But recently, relations between the U.S. and Canada have been turbulent. The return of President Donald Trump to the White House ushered in a moment of collective apprehension from the rest of NATO as he pursued a thaw of relations with the Kremlin, and launched a trade war with its partner in the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, a binational command vital for monitoring and sounding early alarms at any threats heading for North America.

Trump has repeatedly called Canada the “51st state” and responded, “Never say never,” when Carney recently said Canada will never be for sale. But the hint that the administration could annex Canada has lingered, albeit as an unlikely prospect.