Canada to Scrap $20 Billion F-35 Purchase From The US As Canada Ramps Up Negotiations With EU

We're never going back to American dependency - here's why...

In the late 1950s, Canada was on the verge of becoming a world leader in aerospace innovation with the Avro CF-105 Arrow, a cutting-edge supersonic interceptor jet designed by Avro Canada to defend against potential Soviet bombers during the Cold War.

The Arrow, capable of Mach 2 speeds and advanced avionics, was years ahead of its time — and deeply threatening to U.S. defense and aerospace interests.

By 1959, the Arrow program employed over 14,000 highly skilled Canadian workers, with tens of thousands more supported indirectly. But behind the scenes, the U.S. was actively discouraging Canada from pursuing independent military development, preferring continental defense to be under NORAD’s control, and heavily reliant on U.S.-made weaponry.

Under intense pressure from the Eisenhower administration and following meetings with U.S. defense officials, Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker abruptly cancelled the Avro Arrow program on February 20, 1959 (infamously known as “Black Friday” in Canadian aviation history).

Instead of producing Arrows, Canada opted to purchase second-hand U.S. Bomarc missiles — a far less capable and nuclear-dependent solution — at America’s behest.

To make matters worse, all Arrow prototypes, blueprints, and tooling were ordered destroyed, effectively erasing Canada's chance to ever revive the project or become a sovereign aerospace power. The cancellation set Canada’s military aviation back decades, decimated its aerospace industry, and made Canada dependent on American military tech and policy decisions from that point forward.

Many Canadian engineers later moved to NASA and U.S. defense firms, helping America win the space race — a brain drain that benefited Washington and gutted Canadian innovation.

The Avro Arrow remains a symbol of lost sovereignty and a cautionary tale about what happens when Canada lets the U.S. dictate its defense policy.

Canadians, we’re never going back.

Not to the days of groveling for Pentagon scraps. Not to quietly absorbing tariffs, insults, and unreliable defense hand-me-downs. Not to being treated like an American vassal state. This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney just did what no Canadian leader has dared to do in over 60 years. Control our own military destiny.

He told the U.S. military-industrial complex to go kick rocks.

At the NATO summit in The Hague, Carney didn’t just pledge to raise Canada’s defense spending to 3.5% of GDP. He made it crystal clear that those billions will not go to Lockheed Martin and friends by default. Instead, he announced a sweeping review of the F-35 fighter jet contract and stated, point-blank, that Canada will build its military sovereignty on its own terms. Translation: Canada is done paying for American imperialism and instability.

F-35s Under Review: Finally

Carney shocked the establishment by stating the long-stagnant contract to buy 88 U.S.-built F-35 fighter jets is under active review, with a decision coming as soon as this summer. The first 16 jets are already locked in, but the remaining 72? Up in the air. And more intelligent minds have suggested that with Trump breaking the USMCA treaty, we might not take the first 16.

Why the rethink? Easy. Donald Trump just slapped Canada with punishing tariffs and said we should be "an American state."

And as if that weren’t enough of a trust-buster, there's growing concern across NATO about the U.S. having the ability to brick allied military equipment. That’s right: if we go with U.S. tech, they can literally pull the plug on our jets and tanks if we step out of line.

Does that sound like a stable military partner to you?

Gripen Rising, Sovereignty Returning

Carney named Sweden’s Gripen E as a leading contender to replace the rest of the F-35 contract. Why? Because Saab is offering to build the jets in Canada. That means Canadian jobs, Canadian tech transfer, and Canadian control. No kill switch. No dependency. No MAGA strings attached

It gets better: Canada just signed a landmark security agreement with the European Union, opening the door to a €150 billion procurement fund and full defense industrial cooperation. Britain, Australia, and South Korea are already lining up to partner on next-generation fighter jets, radar systems, and 12 new Canadian-built submarines to replace the country's Cold War-era fleet.

The End of the American Umbrella

Carney’s vision is clear: Canada will never again hand over its defense budget to a country run by an unstable wannabe dictator.

We won’t let a single country, especially one that just bombed Iran without allied intel coordination, control the aircraft flying over Canadian soil.

We won’t tolerate another Avro Arrow moment, when the U.S. pressured Prime Minister Diefenbaker to cancel the most advanced jet Canada ever built, burned the blueprints, and handed us obsolete U.S. missiles in return. That betrayal killed a generation of Canadian aerospace innovation.

Never again.

A Proud Moment for a Proud Country

This is our moment.

Canada is reclaiming its voice, its defense industry, and its future. We’re building Arctic icebreakers, not taking orders from Mar-a-Lago. We’re joining European fighter jet programs, not groveling for F-35 parts. We’re investing in Canadian workers and Canadian-made defense, not sending billions to corporations backing the Trump regime.

Carney isn’t just changing policy. He’s reversing history. He’s making sure our kids won’t grow up in a country that lets Washington decide when we can fly, fight, or build.

So yeah, we’ll pay more for defense. But this time, we’ll pay Canadians. Not Trump.

Raise a glass. This is what sovereignty looks like.