Swedish royals head to Canada as country lobbies for a slice of defence spending

A replica of the Saab Gripen combat aircraft is seen at the Asian Defense and Security Exhibition on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

OTTAWA — The Swedish royal family is paying a rare, three-day state visit to Canada this week, bringing with them a delegation of top government ministers and representatives from dozens of Swedish companies.

King Carl XVI Gustaf — Sweden’s longest reigning monarch — and Queen Silvia are in Ottawa and Montreal Tuesday through Thursday. It’s their first trip to Canada since 2006, when Stephen Harper was prime minister.

The Swedish Royal Court said Canada and Sweden will launch a strategic partnership during the state visit. Sweden’s Industry Minister Ebba Busch and Defence Minister Pal Jonson will be part of the visiting delegation, which is expected to focus on establishing closer ties with Canada on trade and defence.

Canada and Sweden have sought to deepen their relationship since the Nordic country became the latest member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization last year. Sweden joined the military alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The high-profile visit comes as the Swedish defence firm Saab considers whether it should start assembling its Gripen fighter jets in Canada as demand for the warplanes ramps up.

Saab CEO Micael Johansson told Canadian media in Sweden last week that the company is in talks with Ottawa and Bombardier about assembling the Gripens in Canada, a development that would create thousands of domestic jobs.

“We can confirm discussions about Gripen are occurring between Saab and Bombardier, and Bombardier being open to engage in providing local expertise for the program if the government of Canada decides to go this route,” Bombardier spokesman Mark Masluch said in an email to The Canadian Press.

The two companies are already partnered on Global Eye early warning surveillance aircraft, which are manufactured in Canada and sent to Sweden to have their sensor equipment installed. Saab said recently it wants to do more of that work in Canada.

Years ago, when Saab was trying to sell Ottawa on its Gripen fighters as a replacement for the CF-18s, it said the jets could be built and maintained in Canada. It also offered an extensive industrial package that included standing up new aerospace research and development centres in the country.

It lost that contract when Canada announced plans to purchase 88 F-35 stealth fighters from U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

But soon after becoming prime minister in March this year, Mark Carney called for a review of the F-35 procurement program in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war. Canada has only committed to buying 16 F-35 jets so far.

The review, which is believed to be in Carney’s hands now, has not been made public and the federal government has largely avoided discussing the topic in public.

Johansson first said in October that Ukraine’s interest in purchasing more than 100 Gripens would double the defence company’s production requirements and force it to look to Canada or other countries in Europe to expand its manufacturing capacity.

The Gripens are fourth-generation fighters built for aerial combat and reconnaissance missions, and were designed specifically for engagements with Russian fighter jets. They are rugged, cheaper and less delicate than the new F-35s and are able to take off from roads.

The F-35s are advanced fifth-generation stealth fighters designed for electronic warfare and, eventually, for paired combat alongside drones.

Lockheed has pointed to the hundreds of Canadian companies that have contributed to the jets’ supply chain and says each fighter contains some $3.2 million worth of Canadian components. The company says the F-35’s horizontal tail is made in Winnipeg, its engine sensor is built in Ottawa and its stealth panels come from in Lunenburg, N.S.

Rideau Hall has said Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will not be on hand to greet the Swedish royals when they arrive.

Simon missed the national Remembrance Day ceremony last week because she was recovering in hospital from a respiratory virus. She was replaced at the ceremony by Chief Justice Richard Wagner.

Rideau Hall reported Friday that while Simon is out of hospital and recovering at home, Wagner will represent the Crown in her place during the state visit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2025.

— With files from Dylan Robertson and Chris Reynolds in Toronto

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press