Why Canada picked F‑35

F‑35 Lightning II aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown fly of the coast of Newcastle on Nov. 23, 2020. (Australian Air Force)
WASHINGTON: In 2015, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to office promising to cancel a planned purchase of the F‑35 joint strike fighter. Seven years later, the Trudeau government has decided the F‑35 is the best solution for Canada’s needs.
The announcement, made Monday by Minister of Public Services and Procurement Filomena Tassi and Defense Minister Anita Anand, serves as a culmination of years of political wrangling between Canadian political parties and lobbying from US industry.
The planned procurement of 88 jets could be under contract before the end of the year, with negotiations between Ottawa and prime contractor Lockheed Martin set to begin this week. Canada has budgeted $19 billion Canadian (roughly $15 billion US) for the purchase, which could see jets delivered as soon as 2025 to replace the aging CF-18 fleet.
The procurement minister also noted that Lockheed is not locked in as the winner here. Should the company, during negotiations, fail to come to terms with Canada on issues such as pricing, delivery assurances and risk reduction agreements, then Canada could make a deal with runner-up Saab instead. (A third option, Boeing, was previously knocked from the competition.)
For several months the process has followed an in-depth analysis phase, with Tassi saying she and Anand were so kept out of the loop that they only found out the selection this morning.
“The politics was taken right out of the process and that was really important to us,” said Tassi.
That is particularly important given the massive role politics played with the F‑35, originally agreed to as a sole-source deal by the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. When Trudeau’s Liberal party defeated Harper’s Conservative party, the new prime minister rode in with a campaign pledge to cancel the buy.
Tassi and Anand both fielded questio …

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