OTTAWA — The Liberal government believes Canada was short changed on industrial benefits out of its contract to purchase American-made F-35 stealth fighter jets, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Tuesday.
“We believe that we didn’t get enough when it comes to the F-35,” Joly told reporters on Parliament Hill.
“The industrial benefits are not enough. There needs to be more jobs created out of the F-35 contract. That’s clear to me and clear to this government.”
Joly’s comments come as the Swedish firm Saab considers whether to set up shop in Canada to build its Gripen fighter jets, dangling the prospect of adding 10,000 domestic jobs in Canada.
The remarks landed during a week when Saab company brass were meeting with Canadian government officials in Ottawa as part of a business delegation accompanying Sweden’s royal family on a state visit to Canada.
When asked for comment, F-35 builder Lockheed Martin countered that it is creating economic industrial benefits within Canada — and warned that those benefits would diminish if Canada reduces the size of its order.
The company said in a media statement it expects Canada’s plan to procure 88 F-35 aircraft will produce upward of $15.5 billion in industrial value over the course of five decades, from 2007 to 2058.
“(The figures) have potential to grow as Canada further defines sovereign sustainment requirements,” said Chauncey McIntosh, F-35 vice president and general manager at Lockheed.
“Economic benefits are commensurate with a country’s program of record, and they will shrink if Canada ultimately purchases fewer than 88 aircraft.”
There are about 30 active Canadian suppliers involved in the F-35 program, the firm said.
The federal government has committed to buying the first 16 F-35A jets out of a planned purchase of 88 to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF‑18 Hornets.
The government launched a review of the rest of the procurement project in the spring, after U.S. President Donald Trump launched a trade war with Canada.