Carney says Canada’s Lockheed Martin fighter contract could be adjusted

An F-35A Lightning II fighter jet practises for an air show appearance in Ottawa on Sept. 6, 2019. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press)

OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Mark Carney on Tuesday said if his party won the federal election on April 28, it 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 $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 defence 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.

He did not give details.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren, editing by Deepa Babington)