OTTAWA - The Liberal government is pointing to the potential economic benefits to explain why it quietly paid nearly $33 million last month to help develop the F-35 stealth fighter.
The Liberals promised during the last election campaign not to buy the F-35, but made the payment anyway to keep Canada as one of nine partner countries in the program.
Canada has spent more than $311 million to develop the F-35 since 1997. An official in Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's office says that participation has resulted in more than $800 million in work for Canadian companies.
But future work is not guaranteed, despite Canada continuing to pay into the project. Lockheed Martin, the company that makes the F-35, warned last month that it would divert work to other countries if Canada didn't buy the stealth fighter.
The warning came after a report the Liberals were looking to buy a different aircraft, the Boeing Super Hornet, without a competition. The government insists no decision has been made, and recently launched a new round of consultations with airplane manufacturers.
Those consultations are due to wrap up on Friday, with the government announcing its plans for replacing Canada's aging CF-18 fighter jet fleet in the fall.
