@stewartprest.ca:
Threatening to annex Canada could antagonize Canadians, and yet here we are.
Remember, placation will never work.
@TRyanGregory:
GTFOH. We didn’t start the antagonism and appeasement is futile.
ḵ̓a̱sḵ̓a̱k̓u:
Stephen Harper wont give up until hes dead, and then we got all his little followers to deal with afterward. I do wish they’d just move to the usa, but I guess their views arent shared by emoloyed people.
Trimming F-35 order could antagonize Trump as security and trade talks get under way: analysts by Steven Chase, Senior parliamentary reporter, May 1, 2025, The Globe and Mail
The federal government says a reconsideration of its $19-billion purchase of U.S.-made warplanes is under way, a review that defence analysts warn could antagonize U.S. President Donald Trump as Ottawa and Washington prepare for talks on a new economic and security relationship.
Shortly after Mark Carney took office as Prime Minister in March, Defence Minister Bill Blair announced that the government would look at alternatives to the F-35. The trade war between Canada and the United States was then deepening.
Later, Mr. Carney explained that Ottawa would weigh trimming its F-35 purchase plans to buy an alternative aircraft that would be more cost-effective and could deliver additional industrial benefits domestically instead of sending more dollars to the U.S.
In late March, however, Mr. Carney reached an agreement with Mr. Trump to begin negotiations on a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the U.S. after the election was over.
On Wednesday, Department of National Defence spokesman Alex Tétreault said the review of the F-35 purchase has begun, but he couldn‘t say when it might be concluded.
“Discussions are ongoing to establish the scope of the review to ensure it is efficient and thorough, and determine timelines for the completion,” he wrote.
Andrea Charron, director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba, said proceeding to trim the aircraft order could irritate Washington further.
“Using the F-35 as a bargaining chip could backfire badly,” she said.
Philippe Lagassé, a Carleton University associate professor whose research areas include defence policy and procurement, said further talk of scaling back the F-35 order could also be useful to reach a deal on security. “I suspect it would be seen as antagonistic, but also useful as leverage in negotiations on defence,” he said.
The Department of National Defence and the Canadian military are unlikely to support scrapping the F-35 purchase, Prof. Lagassé and Prof. Charron said.
Canada’s aging CF-18 fighter fleet, originally purchased in the 1980s, is reaching the end of its lifespan, and Ottawa dragged out a procurement process to pick a replacement for nearly 13 years. It had originally selected the F-35 in 2010 but then restarted the competition and finally selected the Lockheed Martin aircraft, its original choice, in early 2023.
Canada is legally obligated to buy at least 16 of the full order of F-35 aircraft, the government has said, and a decision to buy a second non-U.S. fighter would mean launching a new competition for another line of warplanes at a time when money is tight and CF-18s are soon to be retired.
“The Forces are going to be thoroughly opposed, and they will fight tooth and nail, I suspect, to not allow this to happen,” Prof. Lagassé said of the idea of reducing the F-35 order.
Prof. Charron said it could take Canada years to select a different fighter jet. She noted that Canada has also dispatched pilots to be trained on the F-35, and operating and maintaining two different warplane fleets would be expensive.
“The costs of cancelling the contract and difficulty finding replacement parts for the CF-18 means that some may need to be grounded if a replacement interceptor does not come online in a timely fashion,” she said.
“I think everybody’s hoping that maybe this will all blow over and that the Canada-U.S. relationship can heal,” 
Impossible. I will never trust anything USA again, ever, not even after the Musk managed Nazis eat themselves. Prof. Charron said, referring to the Royal Canadian Air Force and Department of National Defence.
The runner-up in the Canadian government’s competition for new fighters was Sweden’s Saab Gripen. Two of the other entrants, the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium – with substantial British participation – and France’s Dassault Rafale, withdrew from the Canadian competition before a final decision was made.
In March, The Globe and Mail reported that Lockheed Martin, the U.S. defence giant that builds the F-35, had offered to create more jobs in Canada if Ottawa buys all of the jets it said it would when the contract was announced in 2023.Incredibly stupid to ever trust anything made in the USA again after Trump’s first threats to Canada, especially not anything medical, science, tech or weapons related.
***
@jackieheber:
seems like this will be a mistake they better start correcting now….
@davidpugliese:
Last-minute changes on a $100-million purchase of night-vision equipment for the Canadian Army have excluded European firms and now favours U.S. manufacturers, defence company representatives say.
@jedpc:
DND really that incompetent? Cannot read the room at all? Or actively supporting 51st state rhetoric ???
@CoastalCndn:
On day one … fkn disgusted
@sunny_giron:
The last thing we need is more American weapons.
Fuck this. Build in Canada and partner with the EU
@Melloadee:
So now that he’s elected, he can stop pretending to care about Canadian sovereignty, proving that we are just a vassal of American imperialism.
John Goddard:
We can’t hang this one on Carney. The changes in the requirements were made on March 7 – before Carney became Prime Minister – so there is a lot more to this. My guess (which should be investigated) is that there are some in DND who are just a little too “close” to their American suppliers, and knowing Carney’s inclination to want to diversify military acquisition away from total dependence in the US, put this change through before Carney could do much about it. There is a lot of tarnished brass in the upper ranks of DND.
ick McCulloch @rickmcull:
Given that the U.S.A. is the only country on earth that would attack Canada it is utterly insane to buy ANY military hardware from them. Much of it no doubt has back doors built in allowing the U.S. to disable or control it, or requiring U.S. supplied codes to operate.
@Arcadian_Knight:
This rush for “US fob”-controlled military items demonstrates how indoctrinated into the american military cult is our leadership. Given the times, it borders on traitorous behaviour.
DND set to consider only U.S.-supplied night-vision binoculars, The decision appears to undercut Prime Minister Mark Carney’s commitment to reduce the reliance on U.S. sources for Canadian military procurement by David Pugliese, April 30, 2025, Ottawa Citizen
Last-minute changes on a $100-million purchase of night-vision equipment for the Canadian Army have excluded European firms and now favours U.S. manufacturers, defence company representatives say.
The move is raising questions about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s promises to decrease reliance on U.S. suppliers and to boost defence alliances with European nations.
The project involves the purchase of new night-vision binoculars for the Canadian military at an estimated cost of $100 million.
Bids for the contract are to be submitted on May 2.
But recent changes in specifications for the image intensifier tubes that are the heart of the binoculars have all but limited those to systems built by U.S.-firms. That, in turn, means the parts would be covered under U.S.-arms export regulations, allowing the United States to control the flow of those critical parts, defence industry representatives say.
“We are surprised that the technical requirements of Canada’s Binocular Night Vision Devices procurement exclude industry-leading European manufacturers of component parts,” Frederic Guilhem, a top official at Photonis, said in a statement to the Ottawa Citizen. “As a result, the small number of bidders who might meet this unusual criteria are favoured, rather than prioritizing best possible technical capability for the end user — the Canadian Armed Forces.”
Photonis, which develops and manufactures high-tech electro-optical systems, is based in France. It’s products are distributed in Canada by Cadex Defence, a Quebec firm.
Many NATO nations use Photonis image intensifier tubes in their night-vision equipment, including Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland and Poland. French and Australian forces also use Photonis systems.
Unlike the U.S.-built image intensifier tubes, there are no export restrictions on the Photonis systems or other European-built night-vision equipment.
Public Services and Procurement Canada did not provide comment.
DND did not provide comment.
Trump has upended the international order, rewarding Russia and threatening allies, including Canada. He has claimed Canada isn’t viable as a country and has suggested it become the 51st state.
Carney has called for a shift away from economic reliance on the U.S. and a move to strengthen trade and defence links with other nations.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told The Canadian Press news service on March 19 that Canada needed to diversity its alliances. “We need new partnerships,” she said. “We have an over-reliance on American procurement, particularly in the defence sector.”
The technical requirements for the night-vision binoculars tender were unexpectedly amended upon release of the final request for quotes issued on March 4.
Companies complained about the change, according to federal government documents discussing the procurement. In a series of written response to the government, the companies noted the change “restricts the procurement of tubes to those sourced exclusively from the United States. By removing European tubes from consideration, which will result in limited competition, and, given the uncertainty surrounding tariffs between Canada and the United States, this limitation could lead to a significant increase in the overall cost.”
Companies asked if the requirements could be set back to what was originally outlined for the procurement, but DND and PSPC denied that request.
In addition, the companies were told that the level of Canadian content in equipment to be tested would not be taken into consideration during the evaluation of systems.
A number of defence industry executives have complained that Canadian military leaders appear tone deaf to the threat that Trump poses to Canada. They have called for the Canadian Forces to acquire more equipment from Canadian sources.
The Ottawa Citizen reported on March 13 that Canada’s military leadership was pushing for yet another sole source deal for U.S. equipment despite Trump’s vow to economically damage this country.
The Canadian Forces wants the Liberal government to purchase the U.S.-built High Mobility Artillery Rocket System or HIMARS. The plan being proposed by the Canadian Forces senior leadership would see the purchase of a number of HIMARS built by Lockheed Martin. The sole-source deal could be handled through a Foreign Military Sale in which Canada would receive the equipment directly from the U.S. government.
David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe
Dana Van Eyck:
Why does the military hold so much control over what and from whom Canada purchases military equipment? The generals need to be brought onboard with what is happening to Canada, by whom and what is the overall plan to break the American monopoly.