Why Canada should not cancel – for now – the American-made F35 warplanes

to revoke or not to revoke.

When Mark Carney prepares to call a federal election that will likely be decided by and fought over: Who can Canadians trust to face a bully American president who wants to make the US state informally?

Another prickly flashpoint has emerged in addition to the tit-for-tat tariffs being imposed in what appears to be an intensifying and punitive trade war between Canada and the US.

It marks Carney’s first “test” of his promise to free the nation he wants to lead from its ingrained dependence on a dominant southern neighbor for years, not for weeks.

Regularly disparate and antagonistic groups along Canada’s polarized political spectrum are pressuring Carney to withdraw from the $ 19 billion deal, which was subsequently crafted and maintained by his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, to purchase an additional 62 US-made and maintained F-35 fighter jets.

16 warplanes are already being paid for by Canada, and they will be delivered by the start of the year.

Conservative pundits writing for conservative newspapers have joined Lloyd Axworthy, a former Liberal foreign minister, and peace and disarmament organizations in calling on Donald Trump to “stand up to” the president.

They want Carney to axe the planned purchase of the extra technically troubled jets as a clear indication of Canada’s opposition to Trump’s imperial designs as well as a stinging financial and diplomatic defense of the besieged confederation’s autonomy.

Axworthy stated in a recent television interview that continuing to buy F-35 jets would be “a mistake.”

Instead, he argued, Canada should “push back” against a belligerent leader who “kicked us in the teeth.”

Axworthy remarked, “I believe this is a chance for us to say.” Do we want our military to be so tangled up with the American military that our freedom of movement and discretion are constrained?

A succession of Liberal and Conservative prime ministers has merged the continental “junior partner’s” armed forces with the Pentagon’s sprawling defence infrastructure like conjoined twins, making it odd that Axworthy would challenge Canada to embrace the “opportunity” to distance itself from the US militarily in 2025.

A recently liberated Axworthy also pointed out that Lockheed Martin, a major US arms company, controls the “digital box” housing the warplane operating software.

A vindictive Trump might order the aerospace and “defence” contractor to obstruct Canada from installing any software upgrades that would make the jets’ deadly capabilities in flight.

Many Canadians have been captivated by a “buy home-made” movement that is gaining momentum, and these appeals are anchored in the protection of the Maple Leaf and all the emotions that come with Canada’s distinctive red and white national flag.

In the hopes that they will help him and the Liberal Party win, Carney, the former central banker turned politician, has been forced to react to the current patriotic fervor.

So, it was not surprising when Defense Minister Bill Blair announced late last week that Ottawa would “re-examine” its agreement with Lockheed Martin and look for European alternatives to the F-35 jets.

Carney has had the opportunity to consider the potential repercussions and repercussions of canceling the existing deal because of the “review” of it.

In light of the uncertain geopolitical conditions, I believe Carney’s predictable, carve-out-some-convenient-time gambit is the wise choice at the risk of offending my devoted readers and startling my easily agitated detractors.

Let me make two more observations that will give some context for the recommendations I’m about to make for Carney regarding how to handle this delicate and potentially explosive cross-border dispute.

First, if I had my druthers, I would instead spend the mountain of money improving young Canadians’ rapidly fading prospects for buying a home on the not-so-distant horizon and burningishing the paltry pension that seniors receive each month.

However, I am aware that any Liberal or Conservative government will work as the institution’s replacement for Canada’s aging CF-18 fighter jets.

In light of Trump’s oafish and disrespectful threats, the question is now: whose name will appear on the big check for those warplanes?

Second, if they even read my advice, I doubt that Carney and his pared-down cabinet will be persuaded by it. The ex-chairman of the Bank of Canada has spent the majority of his career listening in the loud, frequently misguided noise that is made by experts in the know-it-all commentariat, including myself.

Given that this is an “opinion” column, I can only give an opinion on how Carney should navigate the difficult situation he is in.

Instead of going all in, I think Carney and, in turn, Canada should keep our valuable chips close by.

Trump may have a strong hand, but despite his bravado and bluster, he is a bad poker player and is prone to make impulsive and short-sighted wagers that hurt US interests more than they do.

Carney must be patient and take advantage of the long-term effects of Trump’s chaotic, four-year presidency by using the pending F-35 procurement as leverage during tense tariff negotiations.

As a necessary follow-up, Carney must rebuff myopic critics and historians who want to immediately ban the F-35s in favor of the Swedish-built Saab Gripen to silence his chirping critics who are both inside and outside Parliament and editorial boards who are more interested in “decisive” acts than calm rejoinders.

There is no guarantee that this more cautious approach will persuade or dampen the president’s retributive instincts given Trump’s coercive mode of operation and impetuous nature.

It is worthwhile to try. And it should be combined with a deliberate and persistent effort to stop the chest-thumping rhetoric, which appears to only serve to stoke a irate president, to increase the chances of success.

Then there are the prohibitive and incomprehensible costs of choosing a mixed-flight aircraft fleet for Canada’s airborne arsenal.

Potrivit to reports, Canadian defense planners have been saying for decades that this cockeyed strategy would be too expensive. Two training regimens, two supply chains, and separate hangars would be required for two warplanes.

Keep your Cheshire-like vigor until you, not Trump, can win the lucrative pot and keep your shiny, expensive bargaining chips, Prime Minister Carney.

Source: Aljazeera