Voyageur 124
Canada Wants Off American Jets. Washington Still Holds the Keys, and The Iran War Reached Your Flight Home. Ottawa's Bailing Out the Airlines.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Canada Wants Off American Jets. Washington Still Holds the Keys.
Canada signed up for 88 American-made F-35 stealth fighters, but it seems that Ottawa is now considering whether to cut that order to about 30 and buy 60ish Swedish Saab Gripens instead.
The Gripens would be assembled in Canada with/ by Bombardier, work that could provide up to 12,600 aerospace jobs. PM Mark Carney started the procurement review in March 2025 to start the process of figuring out how to lean less on US weapons and the political leverage that comes as an unseen part of the price tag. It’s part of the same push that had Canada pick Saab's GlobalEye surveillance plane over Boeing last month (Voyageur 114).
Walking away from American kit is turning out to be harder than just signing a cheque to a new seller, however. Plugging that Swedish surveillance plane into NORAD needs a US stealth data link called MADL, which Washington has never shared with any foreign manufacturer. Defence Minister David McGuinty said engineers on both sides are working on it.
Canada can buy its planes wherever it likes. Flying them inside a continental defence system the Americans built may, however, be another matter.
Read more: CBC News / CBC News
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A photo from the old country:
The Iran War Hit Your Flight Home. Ottawa's Bailing Out the Airlines.
Fuel bills from the Iran war are squeezing Canada's airlines hard enough that Ottawa has been forced to put on a cape and show up with a rescue fund.
The new financial facility lets each carrier borrow up to $150 million to help them ride out the fuel spike, which has pushed airlines to trim schedules and walk back profit forecasts. The money comes with strings attached though, it’s not a free ride. Carriers have to buy Canadian where they can, protect jobs, and keep executive pay and shareholder payouts in check for the foreseeable future.
Air Transat is the poster boy of why the funds are needed. The airline put up a $79-million loss for the quarter that ended in April, but were quick to blame fuel and their loss (suspension, at least) of their Cuba flights. Transat is also the carrier many Canuck expats book for the cheap seasonal hop to Europe or the Caribbean.
Read more: Global News / CTV News