VICTORIA, British Columbia — The battle over Canada’s proposed purchase of Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft is heating up, because the premiers of the country’s two largest provinces called for an open competition that might 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.
They were responding to the choice by Defence Minister Anita Anand to champion the acquisition of the Boeing P-8A aircraft for the military’s Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft (CMMA) project.
The U.S. State Department on June 27 approved the Foreign Military Sale to Canada for 16 P-8A aircraft and related equipment at an estimated cost of $5.9 billion.
The Canadian military had originally planned a contest starting in 2024 to exchange the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CP-140 Aurora aircraft within the CMMA program. Bids were to have been submitted in 2027. Each Boeing of Seattle, with its P-8, and Bombardier of Montreal, Quebec, with its special mission Global 6500 aircraft, were involved in the business.
But in a surprise move in March, Canada requested pricing from the U.S. government for a fleet of Poseidons. Public Services and Procurement Canada, the federal contracting department, announced that the P-8 was the one aircraft that would meet Canada’s needs.
That has sparked a campaign of political lobbying by Bombardier and its industry partners, which include General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada of Ottawa, Ontario.
Of their joint statement Ford and Legault stated the Canadian corporations deserve a probability to compete. “These domestic firms should have the opportunity to compete in open, transparent tenders for vital Canadian procurements, comparable to Canada’s Multi-Mission Aircraft alternative,” the premiers noted. They called on Trudeau and Anand and other ministers within the ruling Liberal government “to rise 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 crucial contract and we are able to understand the U.S. government must put a number of pressure on the Canadian government, but we now have 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.
Ford also emphasized the necessity to buy Canadian. “Immediately there’s a giant footprint with Bombardier here in Ontario and we just need to endorse them to have a good process,” Ford said July 10. “If Boeing’s higher, then Boeing gets it. If Bombardier’s higher, they get it. Nevertheless it must be a good and transparent process. I really like things made in Canada.”
Public Services and Procurement Canada has issued a press release declaring that the U.S. notification didn’t commit Canada to the acquisition of the P-8. “Canada continues to evaluate its options,” the statement noted. “The ultimate decision will likely be based on Canada’s assessment of the offered capability, availability, pricing and advantages to Canadian industry and communities.”
No details were provided on when the ultimate decision can be made.
Boeing has been conducting its own public relations campaign to support the deal. It noted it has over 550 Canadian suppliers across the country, with 81 directly contributing to the P-8 program.
“In strong collaboration with our Canadian industry P-8 partners and our extensive supply chain in-country, we appreciate the chance to construct upon our greater than 100-year relationship with Canada and grow our Canadian partnerships and investments,” Ted Colbert, CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said in a press release on May 30.
Bombardier president Éric Martel thanked the premiers for his or her support. “It is a once-in-a-generation decision concerning the way forward for Canada’s airborne surveillance,” he said July 12.” The federal government must do higher than a sole-source contract.”
David Pugliese is the Canada correspondent for Defense News.