US-Canada F-35: The United States ambassador to Canada has said the shared air defence system between the two countries could change if Canada does not go ahead with buying 88 F-35 fighter jets. Speaking to CBC News at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said, “NORAD would have to be altered,” if Canada steps away from the full purchase.
NORAD is the joint defence system used by the US and Canada to watch the skies and react to threats. It allows the nearest aircraft from either country to respond fast. Hoekstra explained that if Canada does not provide enough fighter jets, the US would need to step in more often. “If Canada is no longer going to provide that [capability], then we have to fill those gaps,” he said.
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More US jets could fly over Canada
Hoekstra said the US might buy more F-35 jets for its own air force and send them into Canadian airspace more often. This has already happened before. U.S. jets helped respond to a bomb threat near Calgary in September involving a German plane. In 2023, U.S. forces also shot down a strange balloon over Yukon.
While calling the current defence relationship “awesome,” Hoekstra warned that this could change if Canada sticks with only the 16 F-35 jets it has already ordered. He also said choosing Swedish-made Gripen jets would be a problem. He called Gripen “an inferior product that is not as interchangeable, interoperable as what the F-35 is.”
Experts urge calm and caution
Some experts have pushed back on the ambassador’s comments. Andrea Charron from the University of Manitoba warned that public arguments can hurt both countries. She said, “Public sniping only benefits our adversaries and risks undermining the credibility of our shared deterrence.” She also reminded people that “Political disputes come and go,” and that “NORAD’s mission does not.”
Former national security adviser Vincent Rigby said the comments sounded like pressure. He called them “clearly a political pressure tactic to force the Canadian government’s hand.” He also said, “This is another off-the-cuff remark by the ambassador,” and added, “It can’t be ignored but neither should it be taken as gospel truth from either the administration or the Pentagon.”
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The debate is also happening in other countries. In Denmark, a lawmaker said he has “second thoughts” about the F-35 and warned Canada to “choose another fighter jet.” He claimed the jets are often under repair and said the US could hurt allies by stopping parts supply.
