Saab can match American-made F-35s to fulfil Canadian needs: Swedish deputy prime minister

Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch on the royals’ Ottawa visit, fighter jet sales, and strengthening Sweden-Canada trade and strategic ties.

Sweden’s deputy prime minister says Saab is prepared to fill any gap in Canada’s capability needs if the federal government decides to deviate from its American Lockheed Martin deal and purchase fighter jets from several companies.

“Saab would be the ones that would have to answer for details of that sort,” Ebba Busch said in an exclusive interview on CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday. “But the way that we have looked into this, together with our Canadian counterparts, we think that we can match what is needed for the Canadian interests.”

The Swedish royal family, including King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, arrived in Ottawa Tuesday morning for a state visit. Busch is accompanying the royals as part of a delegation of Swedish government officials and companies.

Last week, the president and CEO of the Swedish manufacturing company Saab told CTV News’ Genevieve Beauchemin in an interview that he has talked to Ottawa about making Gripen fighter jets on Canadian soil.

This comes as Canada continues to review its decision to purchase dozens of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets, with still no commitment to a deadline by which the federal government will make a decision.

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

While 16 planes are currently in production, the federal government announced in the spring — amid rising tensions with the United States — that it was reviewing the agreement.

When asked by Kapelos whether Saab could fill the gap if Canada doesn’t go forward with the remaining 72 jets made by Lockheed Martin, Busch said: “The short answer is yes.”

“We brought in the heavy artillery: we brought in the King and Queen of Sweden. It doesn’t get any better than that,” Busch also said, when asked why the Swedish government felt it was important to send a delegation of high-ranking officials to Canada.

“But I would say, everyone knows these are truly turbulent, and quite tough, and challenging times,” she added. “In those times, you need to choose your friends wisely, and Sweden is choosing Canada, and I think rightly so.”

In an interview with CTV Question Period on Sunday, Defence Minister David McGuinty told Kapelos that Canada isn’t ruling out diversifying its fighter-jet purchases from more than one company in order to fulfil capability requirements.

And, speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill Tuesday morning, Industry Minister Melanie Joly said Canada is in talks with Saab about its offer, especially because it comes with the possibility of thousands of jobs.

“What I’ve said is I don’t believe that we’ve had enough jobs created and industrial benefits done out of the F-35 contract,” Joly said. “I think it’s not enough. I think Canadians expect more, and we should get more.”

“When it comes to the Gripen, of course we’re really interested in seeing what can be done, because there was an unsolicited bid that came up,” she also said. “Ten thousand jobs is indeed a very interesting offer, so we have to look at what our military capabilities need, and at the same time, what are the number of jobs created across the country.”

Asked by Kapelos whether Saab could be a harbinger of things to come, of other Swedish companies making things in Canada and increased cooperation between the two governments, Busch said “yes.”

“This would be a commitment between Sweden and Canada to also increase the tempo of permitting and the process to actually get these produced and up and running,” Busch also said about the Saab deal, specifically.

‘We do not threaten our way into a deal’: Busch

Also in an interview on CTV Power Play last May, 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 to purchase the remaining jets.

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.”

Asked if she were in Canada’s shoes, how she might navigate the ambassador’s comments, Busch said giving into pressure from a so-called ally with so much at stake shows weakness.

“I believe that the ones that cave under a pressure from a so-called friend, that would actually cause true harm, then that part will also then show quite great weakness, and that weakness will be taken advantage of,” Busch said.

She pointed to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine as an example of the challenging geo-political reality in Europe — and the likelihood that Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to expand the conflict past Ukraine — as proof of what’s at stake.

“Canada needs to make their own decision, and Sweden will respect that,” Busch also said. “But that also says something.”

“We do not threaten our way into a deal,” she added. “We stand here with open arms, with a truly competitive proposition on the table.”

Busch acknowledged that efforts to strengthen the relationship between Sweden and Canada may not have ever come to fruition without U.S. President Donald Trump’s global trade war.

“Of course, we still see the U.S. as our friends in Sweden, but they have become so much more unpredictable, and we are looking for partners that are not only transactional, like, ‘how can I profit for you,’ but rather, ‘how can we both profit from this,’” she said.

She added Sweden is in “Daft Punk” mode: “you know, faster, stronger, harder, better,” and ready for Canada to make a decision on the jets purchase.

You can watch Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch’s full interview on CTV Power lay with Vassy Kapelos in the video player at the top of this article.

With files from CTV News’ Genevieve Beauchemin