OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday said if his ruling Liberals won a general election on April 28, Ottawa would look at how the planned purchase of 88 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters could be adjusted.
Carney last week ordered a review of the C$19-billion contract, in part because he said Canada relied too much on the United States for security.
Canada, locked in a trade war with the United States, is committed to buying 16 F-35s but could look to other manufacturers for the remainder, he said at the time.
“We have alternatives to the F-35 so we will explore those, as the ministers of defense and procurement will explore how the F 35 program could be adjusted, including greater investment here in Canada, greater production here in Canada,” Carney told a press conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
He did not give details.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren, editing by Deepa Babington)
