Mark Carney’s government is reconsidering the purchase of F-35 jets from the USA.Image: keystone
Feb 5, 2026, 10:48Feb 5, 2026, 10:48
According to media reports, Canada is reconsidering its planned purchase of F-35 jets from the USA. The background, as it is said, is the escalating trade dispute with the southern neighboring country.
Canada has actually committed to purchasing at least 16 F-35 fighter jets from manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Prime Minister Mark Carney is also considering purchasing an additional 72 jets. An agreement on this was signed in 2022.
But US President Donald Trump’s increasingly aggressive rhetoric, coupled with rising costs and domestic political pressure, is causing the Canadian government to increasingly question the decision.
Vincent Rigby, a former adviser to ex-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, tells the US news site “The Hill”:
“We defend the North American continent very closely with the United States. I think our national interests will always align in this regard – or so we hope. At the same time, they say things and do things that really put us in a difficult position.”
Vincent Rigby
That’s why Canada is now increasingly thinking about buying less material from the US and diversifying defense relationships, Rigby continued. Specifically, there are alternatives from Europe, the Indo-Pacific region and South Korea.
Ambassador’s statements “clear threat”
Just last month, the dispute escalated when the US Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, said in an interviewthat the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint military partnership between the United States and Canada, “would have to change if Canada does not purchase the F-35.”
In Canada, this statement was viewed as a clear threat, although the US later downplayed the statement. Hoekstra’s statements were taken out of context, the US State Department told The Hill.
A former Canadian civil servant said last weekthat Hoekstra’s comments “were clearly a political pressure tactic to put the Canadian government under pressure.”
Pete Hoekstra.Image: keystone
Parallels to Switzerland
As in Switzerland, problems are piling up in Canada with the purchase of the F-35: delivery times have been delayed and costs have increased by more than $27 billion.
After the trade dispute with the US has escalated since Trump took office, Prime Minister Carney launched a review of the agreement in March last year. However, this is still ongoing.
Above all, the dependence on the USA – should one continue to rely on the F-35 – has become a big issue in Canada. But there are also voices who want to hold on to buying the jet. (ome)