Ottawa, Canada – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday that the Royal Canadian Air Force will purchase a fleet of Swedish military aircraft, further separating Canada from the US.
Carney announced that Canada will purchase a fleet of Saab GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, a highly modified version of the Global 6500 executive jet. It is unclear how many aircraft Ottawa will buy, nor what they will cost.
"This is an example of Canada’s defense and industrial strategy in action," Carney said in a speech at a defense industry trade show on Wednesday.
"It builds Canadian strategic economy, creates Canadian jobs and reinforces Canada's position as a global leader."
The purchase will see about 3,000 local workers employed to produce about one third of the fleet on-shore.
Carney has committed Canada to spending 3.5% of its GDP annually on defense by 2035, bringing Ottawa well past NATO standards. He has pushed to increasingly decouple from the US.
Despite this, US Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby last week said, "Canada has failed to make credible progress on its defense commitments."
Canada's decision to purchase jets from Sweden comes as it reviews whether to purchase up to 88 F35 fighter jets from the US. This indecision is in part the cause of the US' decision last week to suspend the Permanent Joint Board on Defense.
During his speech on Wednesday, Carney touted his government's defense policy as an attempt to "protect Canadians, to defend our territory, to secure our borders, and to protect our sovereignty."
"We are reinforcing the foundations of the true north: the strong, the free," Carney said. "Going forward, Canada will be defined not only by the strength of our values, but also the value of our strength."