Ottawa’s deal to replace its aging fleet of CF-18 fighter jets with 88 brand-new F-35s can help alleviate recruitment issues plaguing Canada’s military, Anita Anand says.
Lockheed Martin’s jets are set to arrive in the coming years, and Monday’s purchase announcement could help motivate young Canadians to seek a career in the armed forces, the national defence minister told Global News Radio 640 Toronto on Wednesday.
“We really need to ensure that we’re recruiting and retaining our very best and brightest, and we do want young, talented people to join to fly the fifth-generation fighters. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity,” she said.
“We will continue to grow the Canadian Armed Forces from a personnel and a capability perspective. Visit a recruiting centre is all I can recommend at this point. It’s a really great opportunity.”
Earlier this week, the federal government finalized a long-awaited deal to upgrade its fighter jet fleet. While the projected budget is $19 billion, officials said in a technical briefing Monday that the cost estimate for the lifecycle of the fighter jets is expected to land around $70 billion.
The deal, however, directly contradicts a 2015 pledge from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Canada “will not buy the F-35” after controversial cost estimates forced the previous government to put an earlier F-35 deal on ice.
This time around, Anand said the aircraft is more “mature,” and the federal government has confidence in it given several ally nations are using the F-35.
“We expect that the technological issues that may have existed in the past will be worked out. The aircraft is much more mature now and there are significant economic benefits for our country to come as well,” she told 640 Toronto.
“Potential to contribute over $425 million annually to GDP, close to 3,300 jobs annually for Canadian industry and supply chain partners over a 25-year period. We have a very vibrant aerospace industry. Canadian components already are being placed in these aircraft around the world, and indeed, Canadian businesses have already captured about $3 billion in this industry.”
A U.S. F-35 fighter jet flies over the Eifel Mountains near Spangdahlem, Germany, on Feb. 23.
Harald Tittel/dpa via AP
However, this decision should have been made long ago, Richard Shimooka, a senior fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute, told Global News on Monday.
“The delays have been so serious and so long coming that … it’s had some serious consequences for Canada’s ability to defend itself,” Shimooka said.
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has struggled to retain its pilots, and Shimooka said the outdated fleet and everlasting deliberations over a potential replacement didn’t help the issue.
The air force is supposed to have about 1,500 pilots, but the number has fallen short in recent years. In 2021, the RCAF was short about 130 pilots from its target number, The Canadian Press reported. In 2019, the RCAF was short 225 pilots from the 1,500 desired.
“We’ve just not replaced an aircraft that needed to be replaced and are flying, you know, an aircraft that is 50 years old,” Shimooka said.
“It’s basically obsolete compared to what every single one our allies operate. So many pilots just see that as just being unacceptable, and … they’ve decided to vote with their feet and leave.”
The first F-35 aircraft are set to be delivered in Canada in 2026, officials said Monday, and the full fleet is expected to reach operational capability between 2032 and 2034.
— with files from Global News’ Rachel Gilmore and Saba Aziz
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