VICTORIA, British Columbia — Boeing had an unfair advantage over other firms in Canada’s competition for brand spanking new surveillance aircraft, executives at two major firms alleged.
Éric Martel, president of Bombardier, and Joel Houde, vp of General Dynamics Mission Systems’ international division, wrote in a letter to Canadian Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos that the proposed alternative of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CP-140 Aurora aircraft was biased in favor of the P-8.
The U.S. State Department on June 27 approved a foreign military sale to Canada for 16 P-8A aircraft and related equipment at an estimated cost of $5.9 billion.
But within the Oct. 23 letter to Duclos, seen by Defense News, each Martel and Houde said their firms, together with 22 other firms, responded in good faith to a 2022 request for information from the Canadian government.
The RFI asked for industry input on a brand new surveillance plane as a part of the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project. The aircraft would have to be fully operational by 2040, in accordance with the Canadian government’s request.
Bombardier of Dorval, Quebec, in addition to General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada of Ottawa, Ontario, proposed a Global 6500 special-mission aircraft.
But of their letter to Duclos, the 2 executives noted government procurement officials on Oct. 17 told lawmakers the request had the “hallmarks of deliberate activity to orchestrate a selected end result.”
“Worse, their testimony also revealed that requirements were withheld from Canadian industry, thus providing a bonus to an American company and seemingly leading to a biased end result,” the letter added, citing testimony before a House of Commons defense panel.
Procurement officials acknowledged to the panel they never sought input from Canadian firms or examined aircraft apart from the P-8.
“It’s inexplicable how Canadian government officials can conclude there is no such thing as a Canadian solution [to meet aircraft requirements] after they haven’t had a single aerospace expert meet with Canadian industry to review the detailed engineering behind Canadian industry alternatives,” Martel and Houde wrote.
Neither Duclos’ office nor Boeing responded to Defense News’ requests for comment.
Boeing has conducted a public relations campaign to support the proposed P-8 deal, noting it has greater than 550 Canadian suppliers across Canada, with 81 directly contributing to the P-8 program.
Political intervention
The Canadian military originally planned to launch a contest in 2024 to switch the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CP-140 Aurora fleet. The deadline to submit bids was set for 2027.
Other than Boeing’s P-8 and Bombardier’s Global 6500, Japanese firm Kawasaki pitched its P-1 aircraft.
But in a surprise move in March, Canada requested pricing from the U.S. government for a fleet of P-8 Poseidons. Public Services and Procurement Canada, the federal contracting department, announced on the time that the P-8 was the one aircraft in a position to meet Canada’s needs.
That sparked a lobbying campaign by Bombardier and its industry partners, prompting the premiers of the country’s two largest provinces to call for an open competition that will allow Canadian vendors to bid.
Quebec Premier François Legault and Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a joint statement July 12 calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to permit Canadian firms to compete to supply the Royal Canadian Air Force with a brand new maritime patrol aircraft.
“These domestic firms should give you the option to compete in open, transparent tenders for essential Canadian procurements, equivalent to Canada’s Multi-Mission Aircraft alternative,” the premiers noted. In addition they called on Trudeau and other ministers within the ruling Liberal government “to get up for the Ontario and Quebec aerospace and defence sectors and permit our firms to compete in an open CMMA tender.”
Ontario has the biggest economy in Canada, followed by Quebec. The latter is the biggest of Canada’s 10 provinces in area and is second only to Ontario in population.
“It’s a very important contract, and we are able to understand the U.S. government must put a whole lot of pressure on the Canadian government. But we’ve got a Canadian company, Bombardier, having plants in Ontario and Quebec that may supply what is required,” Legault told reporters July 10 in Winnipeg, where he was meeting with other premiers.
Industry sources anticipate the Canadian government will to review and approve the acquisition of the P-8 in November. Nevertheless, government officials haven’t provided details on the ultimate decision or an announcement’s timeline.
David Pugliese is the Canada correspondent for Defense News.