Here’s the real reason Canada is buying F-35 stealth fighters
Why is Justin Trudeau buying a fleet even bigger than Stephen Harper imagined
Brace for impact! The Russian invasion of Ukraine is going to set off billions of dollars in military spending for every conceivable military program at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa.
And first off the mark is a fleet of 88 F-35 stealth fighters – the plane that Prime Minister Trudeau swore he’d never buy.
The stealth fighter jet has long been touted as the future of aerial warfare, but the debate over buying a fleet has dragged on for more than a decade, starting under the Harper government.
On the campaign trail in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the F-35 would be a "nightmare" for Canadian taxpayers.
Latest stories by Ottawa Citizen Defence Reporter David Pugliese
The story of the F-35 defies belief
How did all this happen? Why is Justin Trudeau buying a fleet even bigger than Stephen Harper imagined, at an expected cost of $19-billion and more?
Once again, we invite you to check out CBC’s Front Burner podcast. Find out the real reason Canada is buying the F-35 as they talk to the most important Defence Reporter in the country, the Ottawa Citizen's David Pugliese.
In his interview Pugliese says the Liberal government is justifying the purchase because the stealth fighters are needed to defend Canadian airspace, for continental defence through NORAD, and Canada's contribution to the NATO US-European alliance. The generals , of course, want the latest and greatest technology, but should these planes ever be going toe-to-toe with Russian jets, says Pugliese, it means the world is on the precipice of World War Three and these planes won't matter much when the nuclear weapons start exploding.
Instead, Pugliese argues, the real reason Canada is buying these U.S.-built F-35s is because of pressure from the United States, where a large part of its economy is devoted to building weapons. Even more, F-35s give the U.S. influence over allies because countries like Canada will become completely dependent on the Americans for expensive software upgrades and the like for our fleet of aircraft.
