It’s not just grocery store shoppers looking for alternatives to American products amid our trade spat — the federal government is also re-considering plans to buy made-in-USA F-35 fighter jets.
Driving the news: In one of his first acts as Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney ordered a review of the government’s $19 billion contract to buy 88 F-35 jets from U.S. aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
- During his campaign to secure the leadership of the Liberal Party, Carney committed to spending more of the defence budget with Canadian suppliers.
Zoom out: Canada isn’t the only country rethinking plans to buy American jets. Portugal is also considering abandoning its commitment to replace its aging planes with U.S. F-35s.
Why it’s happening: The disruptive start to Donald Trump’s second term in office has forced Western governments to rethink whether they can still depend on America’s military apparatus for their security.
- Underscoring those fears, Portugal’s defence minister raised concerns that the U.S. could effectively render the F-35s useless by limiting software upgrades or withholding replacement parts, a power that would give the U.S. added leverage in any future disputes.
Why it matters: Canada’s military has been deeply entangled with the U.S. since World War Two, and decoupling from American defence contractors would be no small feat — the fact that the government is even considering it shows how much the current administration has rattled its traditional allies.—TS