Key Points – A new report from Canada’s Auditor General, Karen Hogan, has revealed significant challenges facing the country’s F-35 fighter jet acquisition.
-The total program cost has skyrocketed by nearly C$9 billion to C$27.7 billion, driven by global inflation and demand for munitions.
-The audit also highlights a severe shortage of trained pilots and delays in critical basing infrastructure, which is not expected to be ready until 2031, years after the first jets arrive in 2026.
-In response, Canada’s new Defence Minister, David McGuinty, has promised improved risk and cost management for the 88-aircraft program.
Canada’s F-35 Plan in Trouble? A Damning New Report from the Auditor General
Canada’s plan to purchase F-35 fighter jets built in the United States has run into trouble, including significant cost overruns, according to a report released this week by Auditor General Karen Hogan.
According to the CBC, Hogan’s program audit revealed that the plan to purchase the 88 Lockheed Martin jets is facing challenges, including “skyrocketing costs, a shortage of trained pilots, and a lack of critical infrastructure.”
The deal was agreed to in late 2022 by the Liberal Party government under Justin Trudeau, with the F-35s meant to replace Canada’s CF-18 Hornet fleet.
However, the program’s cost has risen from the $19 billion first announced to $27.7 billion. The plan was to have bases up and running at Cold Lake, Alta, and Bagotville, Quebec, by 2028, but that date has now been delayed to 2031.
“We found that an important part of the increase in the department’s updated cost estimates of $27.7 billion was caused by global factors, specifically: rising inflation; fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and heightened global demand for munitions,” Hogan said, per the CBC report.
“This is a large, multi-year project that requires active and ongoing management of risks and costs to ensure that the CF-35 fleet can be brought into service on time,” Hogan said in a statement.
A Cost Breakdown for F-35
According to a chart released as part of the report, the $27.7 billion cost is broken down as follows: $12.2 billion for aircraft, $6.2 billion for “contingency,” $2.5 billion for infrastructure, another $2.5 billion for weapons, and $4.3 billion for “other.”
All of those numbers were lower in the 2022 estimate.
Per Aviation Week, Canada now expects to pay $138.6 million (US $101.2 million) per aircraft.
“The first eight of those jets will be sent to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona between 2026 and 2027. The remaining 80 aircraft will be sent directly to Canada starting in 2028, with the last of the jets expected sometime in 2032 if Canada fulfills the full contract,” the CBC said.
“We value our strong partnership and history with the Royal Canadian Air Force and look forward to continuing that partnership into the future,” a spokesperson for Lockheed Martin told Aviation Week.
The Minister of Defence Reacts
In reaction to the audit’s release, Canada’s Minister of National Defence, The Honourable David McGuinty, released a statement.
“I welcome the AG’s report on the administration of the fighter project. It lays out the tireless efforts by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Government of Canada to implement the fighter capability on time,” McGuinty said.
McGuinty took up the position less than a month ago under Canada’s new government under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“The aim is to provide the RCAF with a fighter fleet that will be capable, lethal, survivable, upgradeable, resilient, and interoperable with our allies’ and partners’ fleets,” the minister said. “This will enable Canada to continue to meet its North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commitments and execute any other missions assigned to Canada.”
McGuinty also announced some steps the ministry is taking in response to the report, including an updated risk management plan, a new master implementation plan, and improved communication on milestones achieved for such projects.
“We will continue to work closely with our partners to actively manage costs throughout the duration of this project to ensure that the best value is being provided to Canadians,” the minister said in the statement. “The FFCP represents the greatest investment in the RCAF since the Second World War. This project will provide Canada with an invaluable air defense capability that will continue to support the RCAF well into the future.”
About the Author:
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter
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Swamplaw Yankee
June 12, 2025 at 1:31 am
Again, boring. Why is it so urgent to repeat every news item in Canada about the dead f-35 issue to the inner beltway aquarium gnomes? This is plain 0p-ed boring rehash.
There are hardly any people in Canada. Compare Canada to the best Yankee neighbour of 1939-40-41: Mexico. A huge population of Mexico that is highly desirous of purchasing over 300 F-35 air frames. The huge population of Mexico keeps receiving free, no-cost air protection from the USA for decades. How much money has rich Mexico put into NORAD? Zero one dollar! let’s hear the op-ed authors details of their personal trips into Mexico to interview the rich cartels who want the latest f-35 variant. Or, is Xi not financing the cartels as of today?
The op-ed crowd shilling F-35’s sour on Mexico? Then, South America is the population bullseye. Name a country. They all have huge rich populations. Brazil is addicted to purchasing 333 F-35 air frames. Where are the breathless op-ed reports about the need for F-35 variants in Argentina, Chile, etc.? Make those op-ed personal trips to Rio or Ipanema to gauge the hotness of their desires for F-35 protection.
The author also pushes malicious defamation. Why mention Canada and the new 5 year leader of this state (3T) after the recent election? Where were your op-ed’s before the election. The debates show Parties did not push for F-35 air frames. No party pushed for a 4 or 5% of GNP for defense use.
In fact, the 2 % GNP figure is a 3T fabrication. Because the MAGA POTUS Trump was talking about the 5% GNP, the new 3T leader has the state NPR, the CBC, tripled in funding and able to push whatever line the new 3T wants in the next 5 years. The USA MSM can read the CBC to get the quick line on reality inside Canada.
Canada needs to be examined by the MAGA rank and file immediately, while the MAGA still have the chance. The MAGA elite need to have a strategy to deal with 3T right now. There are so many venues for the MAGA elite to select from. What is the MAGA rank and file problem? The G7 date seems a world class opportunity for the MAGA rank and file to make hay.
There are many Ukrainians in Canada. Yet the new Canadian leader 3T has not shown any new money for this war for Victory for the WEST. The Defense Budget is still less than 2% of the GNP. There is zip for any NEW hardware for dealing with Putin’s re-conquest of the Ukraine. Dollars are needed to be funded now! 3T seems to be half willing to throw half-pennies. Ukrainians inside Canada seem so very silent on the weak Canadian war defence budget. Is it that the big CBC just covers the angle that 3T most desires. -30-
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