Carney vows to retool Canada’s weapons sourcing amid Trump threats

VICTORIA, British Columbia — Canada’s new leader has promised a major overhaul of defense procurement as the country intends to ramp up military spending.

The Liberal Party, headed by Mark Carney, won the federal election on April 28 setting the stage for new policies aimed at dealing with Canada’s deteriorating relationship with the United States.

On the campaign trail, Carney promised to focus more on Canadian-built defense products and shift spending away from the purchases of U.S.-built equipment. In addition, Carney has emphasized Canada’s interest in joining rearmament initiatives underway in Europe.

“Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over,” Carney said in a televised victory speech in Ottawa on April 29. “The system of open global trade anchored by the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the Second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped deliver prosperity for our country for decades, is over.”

Carney was able to defeat Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre by positioning himself as the best candidate to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has brought in tariffs against Canada and has threatened to ruin the country’s economy. The president has warned that the only way the country could escape such punishment would be to become the 51st American state.

Trump’s actions have caused widespread distrust of the U.S. in Canada and prompted the Liberals to outline a defense policy based on forging new military alliances.

The Liberal Party’s defense platform, released during the election campaign on April 14, included the creation of a new defense procurement agency. Carney has also promised to modernize defense-procurement rules so purchases of military equipment can be hastened. The Liberal Party platform also promised to buy “Canadian whenever possible and prioritizing Canadian raw materials such as steel, aluminum, and critical minerals.”

During an April 15 speech Carney noted that Canada must look to new sources for the purchase of defense equipment. He pointed out that over the years Canada has been overly reliant on the U.S. for defense products, noting that 80% of Canada’s military equipment purchases are from American firms.

Carney is a newcomer to politics. He won the Liberal Party leadership on March 9 and five days later was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister. He called an election shortly after and received a new mandate to govern.

Carney has also ordered a review of Canada’s purchase of the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet.

The Canadian government committed in January 2023 to spending $13.2 billion (19 billion Canadian dollars) for the purchase of 88 F-35s from the U.S. Government.

Carney, who linked the review to Trump’s ongoing trade war against Canada, said at this point the country has only committed to purchasing the first 16 F-35s. He noted that he has had discussions with French and British government officials about whether they could provide an alternative to the F-35 and whether that aircraft could be built in Canada.

In addition, he pointed out that defense relations were a key part of his earlier talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

David Pugliese is the Canada correspondent for Defense News.

加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省维多利亚市——加拿大新领导人承诺将对国防采购进行重大改革，因为该国计划增加军费开支。

由马克·卡尼领导的自由党在4月28日的联邦选举中获胜，为旨在应对加拿大与美国日益恶化的关系的新政策奠定了基础。

在竞选期间，卡尼承诺将更加注重加拿大国产国防产品，并减少对美国制造装备的采购。此外，卡尼还强调加拿大有意加入欧洲正在进行的重整军备计划。

卡尼在4月29日于渥太华发表的电视胜选演讲中表示：“我们与美国过去那种基于不断加深一体化的关系已经结束了。以美国为核心的开放全球贸易体系，加拿大自二战以来一直依赖的这一体系，虽然并不完美，但几十年来一直帮助我们国家带来繁荣，如今也已经结束了。”

卡尼之所以能够击败保守党领袖皮埃尔·波利耶夫，是因为他把自己定位为对抗美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的最佳候选人。

特朗普对加拿大加征关税，并威胁要摧毁该国经济。总统警告说，加拿大要想避免这种惩罚，唯一的办法就是成为美国的第51个州。

特朗普的行为导致加拿大民众普遍对美国不信任，并促使自由党制定了一项以建立新的军事联盟为基础的国防政策。

自由党在4月14日竞选期间发布的国防纲领包括成立一个新的国防采购机构。卡尼还承诺改革国防采购规则，以加快军事装备的采购速度。自由党纲领还承诺“尽可能购买加拿大产品，并优先采购加拿大原材料，例如钢铁、铝和关键矿产”。

卡尼在4月15日的演讲中指出，加拿大必须寻找新的国防装备采购来源。他强调，多年来加拿大过度依赖美国提供国防产品，并指出加拿大80%的军事装备采购都来自美国公司。

卡尼是政坛新人。他于3月9日赢得自由党党魁选举，五天后宣誓就任加拿大第24任总理。此后不久，他宣布提前举行大选，并获得新的执政授权。

卡尼还下令对加拿大购买洛克希德·马丁F-35战斗机一事进行审查。

加拿大政府于 2023 年 1 月承诺花费 132 亿美元（190 亿加元）从美国政府购买 88 架 F-35 战斗机。

卡尼将此次评估与特朗普持续对加拿大发起的贸易战联系起来，并表示目前加拿大仅承诺购买首批16架F-35战机。他还提到，他已与法国和英国政府官员讨论过他们是否能提供F-35的替代方案，以及这些替代方案是否可以在加拿大生产。

此外，他还指出，防务关系是他此前与法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙和英国首相基尔·斯塔默会谈的关键部分。

David Pugliese 是《国防新闻》的加拿大通讯员。