OTTAWA: Canada is looking for possible alternatives to its deal to buy US fighter jets in part because it relies too much on the United States for security, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday.
\nCarney made the comments just days after ordering a review of a C$19-billion ($13.29 billion) contract for 88 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. Canada is locked in a trade war with the United States.
\nCanada\u2019s defense ministry says the contract remains in place and Ottawa has made a legal commitment of funds for the first 16 F-35 aircraft. Carney made clear Canada would seriously look elsewhere.
\n\u201cIt is clear that our security relationship … is too focused on the United States. We must diversify,\u201d he told reporters during a visit to London, noting that Canada spent about 80 percent of its defense budget on American weapons.
\n\u201cGiven the need for value for money, given the possibility of having substantial production of alternative aircraft in Canada… it\u2019s prudent and in the interest of Canada to review those options,\u201d he said.
\nCarney did not mention specific firms. Sweden\u2019s Saab, which lost out on the fighter jet contract to Lockheed Martin, had promised to assemble its planes in Canada.
\nCanadian firms also benefit from the relationship. Bombardier CEO Eric Martel said he was concerned Washington could target the planemaker\u2019s US contracts if Canada canceled the Lockheed Martin deal.
\nUS President Donald Trump has slapped tariffs on Canada and mused about turning it into the 51st state.
\nPhilippe Lagasse, a professor at Carleton University who specializes in procurement, said buying 16 F-35s and then adding another jet would be expensive.
\nCanada, pressured by successive US administrations to increase defense spending, last year pledged billions more for the armed forces and said military expenditures would be closer to the NATO target by 2030.
\nIn a statement, Lockheed Martin said it valued its ties with Canada and referred procurement questions to the government.
\nThe US Defense Department did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OTTAWA: Canada is looking for possible alternatives to its deal to buy US fighter jets in part because it relies too much on the United States for security, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday. Carney made the comments just days after ordering a review of a C$19-billion ($13.29 billion) contract for 88 F-35 fighter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-467722","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n