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KOMPUTER JADUL-, OTTAWA - Canada is rethinking a deal to buy 88 U.S. F-35 stealth fighter jets signed in 2023. The review comes amid Ottawa's tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has imposed a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian products entering the country and pushed for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state. Canadian Defence Ministry spokesman Laurent de Casanove announced the decision on Saturday.
The announcement also comes two days after Portugal said it was also reconsidering the possibility of buying U.S. F-35 fighter jets amid growing international anger over Trump's tariff war and his wavering support for NATO.
“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked the defence ministry to determine whether the F-35 contract, as it stands, is the best investment for Canada, and whether there are other options that would better meet Canada’s needs,” Laurent de Casanove said in an email. It was one of Carney’s first official actions since taking office on Friday.
The Canadian government in January 2023 signed a contract with US defence firm Lockheed Martin to buy 88 F-35s for a total of C$19 billion ($13.2 billion). The government has paid for the first shipment of 16, which are due to be delivered early next year. “The deal has not been cancelled, but we need to do our homework given the changing environment, and ensure that the contract in its current form is in the best interests of Canadians and the Canadian Armed Forces,” de Casanove said, as quoted by AFP, Sunday (3/16/2025).
Portugal indicated on Thursday that it was studying both the American F-35 and the European aircraft as it seeks to replace its air force’s aging F-16s. Outgoing defense minister Nuno Melo raised the option in an interview Thursday with the Publico daily. “Referring to a possible prediction of our allies and the current position of the United States, in the context of NATO and at the international geostrategic level,” he said.
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