No new timeline for F-35 decision, Carney to decide ‘when he’s ready’: Fuhr

Secretary of State (Defence Procurement) Stephen Fuhr about the changes in military spending.

Canada’s Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr says there is no new timeline for the government to make a decision about the purchase of F-35s from the United States, and that the prime minister will make a decision “when he’s ready.”

Following years of delays, Canada and the United States inked a deal in 2023 for Canada to purchase 88 American-made F-35 fighter jets.

With the initial batch of 16 planes currently in production, however, the federal government, said in the spring that it was reviewing the deal.

Amid rising tension with the United States, then-defence minister Bill Blair said Canada was looking at potential alternatives to the purchase, setting a late-summer deadline to make a decision.

Speaking to reporters following the announcement of a new Defence Investment Agency on Thursday, Fuhr said there was “no pressure” to make a decision on the F-35s until the government is ready to do so.

When asked about the comments in an interview on CTV Question Period airing Sunday, Fuhr told host Vassy Kapelos the purchase is an “important decision,” and that Canada is under contract for 16 jets, which are “in various stages of being manufactured at the supplier in the U.S.”

“No decision’s been made,” Fuhr said. “It’s a very complicated file, and the prime minister will make a decision when he’s ready.”

“This second sober look at what we’re going to do moving forward isn’t slowing anything down, and we’ll take the time we need to get the decision right,” he insisted.

In May, in an interview on CTV Power Play, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra signalled that Norad — the bilateral defence alliance between Canada and the U.S. — could be in jeopardy if Canada reneges on the plan.

While Hoekstra called Norad “one of the most successful military alliances in the world,” he also said Canada’s potential decision to purchase a fleet of planes that’s different from the Americans’ could mean “some kind of a discussion on Norad.”

When pressed by Kapelos on his position that there’s no pressure to make a decision - despite missing a self-imposed deadline and Hoekstra’s comments last spring - Fuhr said Canada is a sovereign country.

“I mean, we’re equal partner with Norad, and we’re a sovereign country, so we will make our own decisions based on our own needs,” Fuhr said. “I mean, it’s that simple.”

“I know the ambassador and other people have said things in the press to maybe indicate that they don’t necessarily understand that, but Canada will stand on its own feet,” he added. “We’ll work with the Americans where we can and we’ll stand on our own two feet where we have to.”

You can watch Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr’s full interview on CTV Question Period Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.