Industry Minister Mélanie Joly speaks with reporters as she makes her way to a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, on Nov. 18, 2025. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is asking two defence companies to compete for Canada’s fighter fleet order, saying the country’s current contract for American-made F-35 stealth fighter jets doesn’t deliver enough economic benefits.
Joly told reporters this week that Ottawa is in talks with Swedish defence company Saab, which has dangled the possibility of 10,000 aerospace manufacturing jobs coming to Canada if the government puts in an order for a fleet of its Gripen fighter jets.
