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Canada Weighs Cutting F-35 Buy as NDP Urges Cancellation and Saab Courts Jobs

A government review continues under pressure to scale back F-35 purchases in favor of Saab's Canadian-built Gripen offer.

A Norwegian F-35 Lightning II closes the gap to receive fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 101st Air Refueling Wing during Nordic Response 24, March 11, 2024. The MAINEiacs are staged at RAF Mildenhall, England, to take part in the Norwegian-led exercise taking place in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Exercises like NR24 solidify operational and tactical relationships; synchronizing tactics, techniques and procedures; and strengthen bonds among U.S., Norwegian and Allied and partner forces.
Maj. Kristin “BEO” Wolfe demonstrates the capabilities of the F-35A Lighting II, a single seat, single engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighter aircraft, during a practice flight with the F-35 Demonstration Team at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Dec. 13, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jack Rodgers)
US military fighter F35-A jets sit on the tarmac at José Aponte de la Torre Airport, formerly Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, on December 26, 2025 in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The United States has deployed a major military force in the Caribbean and has recently intercepted oil tankers as part of a naval blockade against Venezuelan vessels it considers to be under sanctions. Since September, US forces have launched dozens of air strikes on boats that Washington alleges, without showing evidence, were transporting drugs. More than 100 people have been killed. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images)
An F-35 Lightning II assigned to the 62nd Fighter Squadron, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., sits in a hangar ahead of operations for the F-35 Lightning II TDY, Oct. 28, 2021, at Joint Base San Antonio-Kelly Field, Texas. The 62nd FS will be training with F-16s from the 149th Fighter Wing and the 301st Fighter Wing, along with T-38s from the 301st Fighter Wing. The multi-role capabilities of the F-35 allows them to perform missions which traditionally required numerous specialized aircraft. The complimentary air superiority capabilities of the F-35 will augment our air superiority fleet and ensure we continue to "own the skies" over future battlefields. (U.S. Air Force photo by Brian G. Rhodes)

Overview

  • Interim NDP leader Don Davies called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to cancel the F-35 contracts, including 16 jets already funded, and to opt for Sweden’s Gripen instead.
  • Recent reporting says officials are considering a mixed fleet that would cap F-35s at about 40 and add up to 80 Saab Gripen E fighters to diversify suppliers.
  • Saab has pitched extensive Canadian industrial participation, including potential in-country assembly and an estimated 12,600 jobs, with possible collaboration involving Bombardier.
  • Defence leaders highlight interoperability and capability concerns, as the RCAF commander says she wants pilots training on F-35s next year for NORAD and NATO missions.
  • Trump’s tariff and decertification threats toward Canadian aerospace have intensified sovereignty worries in Ottawa, even as the review proceeds with no final decision announced.