The United States could upend the decades-old North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement with Canada if its government backs out of the purchase of 88 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, the US ambassador to Canada has warned.
In the latest back-and-forth between the US and Canada over the deal, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra warned that if Canada buys fewer fighter jets, the US will “fill those gaps” in security concerns.
This could mean that the United States would need to buy more F-35 fighter jets for its own use and use them to intervene in Canadian airspace more frequently.
Under the current terms of NORAD, the United States and Canada can operate in each other’s airspace to track or intercept threats. However, Hoekstra indicated that the US intervention will go further, if the fighter jet agreement is changed, thus requiring new terms for the Cold War era agreement.
“NORAD would have to be replaced,” Hoekstra told CBC News.
Under the terms of NORAD, the US and Canada can fly into each other’s airspace to intercept threats (AFP via Getty Images)
Hoekstra’s comments come months after the Canadian government indicated it was “reviewing” the terms of the fighter jet deal after finding the program was more expensive than expected.
In 2022, Canada agreed to buy 88 F-35A advanced fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, with the country initially committing to finance 16 deliverable jets.
But soon, the program ran into challenges. Not only did it take longer than anticipated to manufacture the jets, but an initial audit of the deal in 2025 found that the program had risen to $27.7 billion in cost — up from its initial $19 billion.
With tensions between the United States and Canada rising over President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for a review.
Now, Canadian officials are reportedly looking to other countries to supply it with fighter jets, including Saab, the Swedish aerospace and defense company that creates the JAS 39 Gripen E fighter. Saab has offered to manufacture the jets in Canada, creating 12,600 jobs.
“The government is interested in all major projects that can not only protect Canada’s security and sovereignty, but also create jobs across the country,” Mélanie Joly, the Minister of Industry, told CBC News.
Hoekstra (pictured left of Trump) described the current US defense relationship with Canada as ‘terrible’ (Getty Images)
“We certainly can’t control President Trump, but … we can control our defense investments, who we contract with and how we can ultimately create jobs in Canada. So we’re going to focus on that.”
But Hoekstra warned that if Canada chooses to buy Saab’s Gripen E jets, the United States will still need to reconsider how it works with its northern neighbor on security.
“If they decide they’re going to go with an inferior product that’s not as interchangeable, interoperable as the F-35 is, that will change our defense capability,” Hoekstra said.
“And as such, we have to figure out how we’re going to replace that,” added the ambassador.
Hoekstra’s warning is the latest attempt by a US official to pressure another country to comply with the administration’s wishes, specifically those related to national security. It comes after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on European allies for not supporting a US deal to acquire Greenland.