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OTTAWA — Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is keeping a strong poker face after paying a high-profile visit to the Swedish firm competing with the U.S. maker of the F-35 stealth fighter jet.
Joly visited defence manufacturer Saab’s facilities in Sweden this week and was shown the Gripen-E jet, one of the possible contenders to replace the controversial U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighter.
But Joly said such trips and meetings are a “normal” part of her job, and that she will also be meeting with American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-35, in the coming weeks.
It comes as Ottawa is in the middle of conducting a major review of the F-35 procurement in secret — a move that has turned the major purchase from Lockheed into a bargaining chip in the ongoing trade war with the U.S.
“My job in the context of this study is to make sure that the Canadian government has options and can see what are the industrial benefits of this decision,” Joly said on a call with media marking the end of her trip.
“Fundamentally, the decision will be, first and foremost, to protect our sovereignty, to make sure that our Canadian Armed Forces have the right equipment, and of course, it will be to create jobs.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney ordered a review of the procurement shortly after he became prime minister in March, as Canada sought tighter security and defence ties with Europe in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.
The Americans have taken note. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said on a recent podcast that Canada’s F-35 review is an obstacle toward landing a deal on trade.
“That’s an irritant. That makes it harder to get to an agreement,” Hoekstra said of the procurement review, in an interview with podcaster Jasmin Laine.
“There’s some irritants that make it perhaps more difficult for the negotiators when they get into the room.”
The review is expected to be completed by the end of the summer but there is no guarantee of how much the Canadian government will disclose about its conclusions.
Ottawa plans to buy 88 F‑35 stealth jets to replace Canada’s CF‑18 Hornet fleet, but Canada has only committed financially to buying the first batch of 16.
A federal audit concluded earlier this year that the cost of the F-35s has now ballooned to at least $27.7 billion.
Joly made the comments as she was wrapping up a trip to Sweden and Finland with Secretary of State for Defence Stephen Fuhr, which was focused on strengthening defence-industrial ties in Europe.
Fuhr, a former fighter pilot who flew the CF-18s that the F-35 is set to replace, toured the Saab facility alongside Joly.
Saab had originally sought to sell the Gripen to Canada by pledging it could be made and maintained in Canada.
The firm is also pitching Canada on a new surveillance plane through a partnership with the Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier.
The Swedish aerospace firm was just one of the companies Joly met with, which also included ABB, AstraZeneca and Ericsson, along with nearly a dozen political leaders.
The trip also comes as Ottawa is working on a broader industrial defence strategy, as the government drafts up ways to build up Canada’s domestic defence industrial base.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2025.
Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
