Made-in-Canada advocates rally against Ottawa’s Boeing P-8 preference

VICTORIA, British Columbia — The battle over Canada’s proposed purchase of Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft is heating up, as the premiers of the country’s two largest provinces called for an open competition that would allow Canadian vendors to bid.

Quebec Premier François Legault and Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a joint statement July 12 calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to allow Canadian firms to compete to provide the Royal Canadian Air Force with a new maritime patrol aircraft.

They were responding to the decision by Defence Minister Anita Anand to champion the purchase of the Boeing P-8A aircraft for the military’s Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft (CMMA) project.

The U.S. State Department on June 27 approved the Foreign Military Sale to Canada for 16 P-8A aircraft and related equipment at an estimated cost of $5.9 billion.

The Canadian military had originally planned a competition starting in 2024 to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CP-140 Aurora aircraft in the CMMA program. Bids were to have been submitted in 2027. Both Boeing of Seattle, with its P-8, and Bombardier of Montreal, Quebec, with its special mission Global 6500 aircraft, were interested in the business.

But in a surprise move in March, Canada requested pricing from the U.S. government for a fleet of Poseidons. Public Services and Procurement Canada, the federal contracting department, announced that the P-8 was the only aircraft that could meet Canada’s needs.

That has sparked a campaign of political lobbying by Bombardier and its industry partners, which include General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada of Ottawa, Ontario.

In their joint statement Ford and Legault stated the Canadian companies deserve a chance to compete. “These domestic firms should be able to compete in open, transparent tenders for important Canadian procurements, such as Canada’s Multi-Mission Aircraft replacement,” the premiers noted. They called on Trudeau and Anand and other ministers in the ruling Liberal government “to stand up for the Ontario and Quebec aerospace and defence sectors and allow our firms to compete in an open CMMA tender.”

Ontario has the largest economy in Canada, followed by Quebec. The latter is the largest of Canada’s 10 provinces in area and is second only to Ontario in population.

“It’s an important contract and we can understand the U.S. government must put a lot of pressure on the Canadian government, but we have a Canadian company, Bombardier, having plants in Ontario and Quebec that can supply what is needed,” Legault told reporters July 10 in Winnipeg where he was meeting with other premiers.

Ford also emphasized the need to buy Canadian. “Right now there’s a big footprint with Bombardier here in Ontario and we just want to endorse them to have a fair process,” Ford said July 10. “If Boeing’s better, then Boeing gets it. If Bombardier’s better, they get it. But it has to be a fair and transparent process. I love things made in Canada.”

Public Services and Procurement Canada has issued a statement pointing out that the U.S. notification did not commit Canada to the purchase of the P-8. “Canada continues to assess its options,” the statement noted. “The final decision will be based on Canada’s assessment of the offered capability, availability, pricing and benefits to Canadian industry and communities.”

No details were provided on when the final decision would be made.

Boeing has been conducting its own public relations campaign to support the deal. It noted it has over 550 Canadian suppliers across the country, with 81 directly contributing to the P-8 program.

“In strong collaboration with our Canadian industry P-8 partners and our extensive supply chain in-country, we appreciate the opportunity to build upon our more than 100-year relationship with Canada and grow our Canadian partnerships and investments,” Ted Colbert, CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said in a statement on May 30.

Bombardier president Éric Martel thanked the premiers for their support. “This is a once-in-a-generation decision about the future of Canada’s airborne surveillance,” he said July 12.” The federal government must do better than a sole-source contract.”

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——围绕加拿大拟购买波音 P-8 海神飞机的争论愈演愈烈，该国两个最大省份的省长呼吁进行公开竞争，允许加拿大供应商参与竞标。

魁北克省省长弗朗索瓦·勒戈和安大略省省长道格·福特于7月12日发表联合声明，呼吁总理贾斯汀·特鲁多允许加拿大公司参与竞标，为加拿大皇家空军提供新型海上巡逻机。

他们此举是为了回应国防部长阿妮塔·阿南德 (Anita Anand) 决定支持为加拿大军方的多用途飞机 (CMMA) 项目采购波音 P-8A 飞机。

美国国务院于 6 月 27 日批准向加拿大出售 16 架 P-8A 飞机及相关设备，预计总价值 59 亿美元。

加拿大军方最初计划从2024年开始竞标，以在CMMA项目中替换加拿大皇家空军的CP-140“极光”飞机。投标书原定于2027年提交。西雅图的波音公司（其P-8飞机）和魁北克省蒙特利尔的庞巴迪公司（其Global 6500特种任务飞机）都对该项目感兴趣。

但出人意料的是，加拿大在3月份向美国政府索取了一批“海神”反潜巡逻机的报价。加拿大公共服务和采购部（联邦政府的合同部门）宣布，P-8是唯一能够满足加拿大需求的飞机。

这引发了庞巴迪及其行业合作伙伴（包括位于安大略省渥太华的通用动力任务系统加拿大公司）的政治游说活动。

福特和勒戈在联合声明中表示，加拿大企业理应获得竞争机会。“这些本土企业应该能够在公开透明的招标中参与重要的加拿大采购项目，例如加拿大多用途飞机（CMMA）的更换项目，”两位省长指出。他们呼吁特鲁多、阿南德以及执政自由党政府的其他部长“支持安大略省和魁北克省的航空航天和国防产业，允许我们的企业参与CMMA的公开招标。”

安大略省是加拿大经济规模最大的省份，其次是魁北克省。魁北克省是加拿大10个省份中面积最大的省份，人口数量仅次于安大略省。

“这是一份重要的合同，我们理解美国政府必须对加拿大政府施加很大压力，但我们有一家加拿大公司庞巴迪，在安大略省和魁北克省都有工厂，可以供应所需的产品，”勒戈在7月10日于温尼伯与其他省长会面时告诉记者。

福特还强调了购买加拿大制造产品的必要性。“目前庞巴迪在安大略省的业务规模很大，我们希望他们能遵循公平的流程，”福特在7月10日表示。“如果波音的产品更好，那就选波音；如果庞巴迪的产品更好，那就选庞巴迪。但整个过程必须公平透明。我喜欢加拿大制造的产品。”

加拿大公共服务和采购部发表声明指出，美国的通知并不意味着加拿大必须购买P-8反潜巡逻机。“加拿大仍在评估各种方案，”声明指出，“最终决定将基于加拿大对所提供机型的性能、可用​​性、价格以及对加拿大工业和社区的益处的评估。”

目前尚未提供何时做出最终决定的具体细节。

波音公司一直在开展公关活动来支持这项交易。该公司指出，其在加拿大拥有超过550家供应商，其中81家直接参与了P-8项目。

波音防务、航天与安全公司首席执行官泰德·科尔伯特在5月30日的一份声明中表示：“我们与加拿大工业界的P-8合作伙伴以及我们在加拿大的广泛供应链密切合作，我们非常珍惜这个机会，能够巩固我们与加拿大100多年的关系，并发展我们在加拿大的合作伙伴关系和投资。”

庞巴迪公司总裁埃里克·马特尔感谢各省省长的支持。他在7月12日表示：“这是关乎加拿大空中监视未来发展的一代人之功。联邦政府必须拿出比单一来源合同更好的方案。”

David Pugliese 是《国防新闻》的加拿大通讯员。