Former Lockheed Martin F-35 test pilot Billie Flynn (CBC image)
By Tim Ryan
It now seems highly unlikely that Canada will dump the F-35. But the Trump administration and some of the F-35 supporters in Canada still seem to be quite concerned their favourite aircraft might not be selected.
Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, has spent the last couple of months belittling Canadians and making threats against this country if it doesn’t purchase the Lockheed Martin F-35.
Hoekstra claims a decision not to buy the F-35 could threaten the joint U.S.-Canada NORAD alliance. NORAD, he claimed, requires both the U.S. and Canada to fly the same kind of American-built planes. (this is actually a false claim…there doesn’t appear to be anything in the NORAD agreement that the two nations have to operate the exact same aircraft).
The U.S. also appears worried that, the Ottawa Citizen has reported, that Canada might try to buy both the F-35 as well as another non-U.S. fighter jet, most likely the Swedish Gripen, which is manufactured by Saab.
Hoekstra also warned against that. “You can’t afford two fighters, two different fighter jet programs,” Hoekstra told Conservative podcaster Jasmin Lane in an interview aired in August. “Canada should just decide what they want. Do they want F-35s? Do they want some other product? That’s your decision to make, but you can’t afford both of them.”
But Canadians are pushing back against Hoekstra and Donald Trump’s administration. They have called Hoekstra out for his threats, pointing out that he is acting more like a Mafia boss than a diplomat. Trump, of course, has threatened to annex Canada and seems to be determined to economically harm, if not potentially destroy, our country.
Still, that hasn’t stopped a number of Canadians for getting behind the U.S. aircraft with a few echoing Hoekstra’s messages.
Alexander Lanoszka, Richard Shimooka and Balkan Devlen of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (a right wing think-tank partly funded by a foundation linked to a major Trump supporter) weighed in to support the American aircraft. In a June 11, 2025 opinion piece in the National Post the trio argued against a mixed fleet, and pushed the F-35 purchase.
Retired Lt. Gen. Mike Day, the former head of Canadian special forces, also came to the support of Hoekstra’s argument claiming that “there is simply nothing but additional cost and complexity and reduced capability with a mixed fleet."
It seems the Trump administration and certain Canadians are very worried that the Liberal government might indeed pick a mixed fleet.
Of course, a mixed fleet would cost more money but Canada is ramping up to spends tens of billions of dollars extra on defence. A non-U.S. aircraft could offer Canada additional, and perhaps unique capabilities and industrial benefits since there have been promises about building some aircraft (the Gripen for instance) in Canada.
And then there is former Lockheed Martin F-35 test pilot Billie Flynn.
In an April 2022 article, the Ottawa Citizen reported that Flynn, who left Lockheed Martin in October 2020, “promotes Lockheed corporate talking points mixed with conspiracy-fuelled rhetoric.” The Citizen article had details about Flynn’s claims about journalists and a former Liberal MP – claims that Flynn made without any proof. You can read that article here:
In an Aug. 18, 2025 blog post, Flynn once again zeroes in on journalists, including Esprit de Corps publisher Scott Taylor who dared use his democratic right to offer an opinion not in line with the Lockheed Martin corporate message. In that same blog Flynn writes that in the fighter jet debate “Canadian journalists and pundits would serve their readers far better by stepping away from their laptops.”
I’m sure Lockheed Martin and the Trump administration would love that. But someone should remind Flynn that the same rights that he has to support the Lockheed Martin F-35 are the same rights that our journalists have to also report freely.
Reading Flynn’s latest blog certainly gives the impression that he believes that the only news that should be printed/broadcast would be the view supporting the Lockheed Martin F-35.
Flynn, a Canadian, wrote that in the case of the proposed fighter jet purchase, “the time for serious, informed discussions is long overdue.”
I agree.
So…in that vein, here are some questions I hope journalists continue to look into:
-Why did Lockheed Martin, the U.S. government and F-35 supporters not originally reveal that the parts for the F-35 are owned by the U.S., even when stored in Canada? That only recently came to light because of Canadian media reporting. What are the ramifications of having a foreign government, whose president is intent on economically crippling our country, being able to control such a key piece of military hardware?
-Why did Lockheed Martin, the U.S. government and F-35 supporters not reveal that Lockheed Martin controls the software upgrades for the F-35? That only recently came to light because of Canadian media reporting. What are the strategic implications for this situation, considering the U.S. government’s attempts to economically hinder Canada?
-Why did the cost of Canada’s F-35 purchase jump from $19 billion to $27 billion over just a two year period? How come no military or procurement officials overseeing the program have faced consequences for such a jump in cost? Is there actually any accountability on this program?
-Thousands of Flynn’s fellow Canadians have already lost their jobs because of the punitive actions by Trump/the U.S. on our country’s economy. Should we really reward the U.S. government by purchasing their aircraft?
- Why was there no independent review of Canada’s plan to purchase the F-35? Allowing the RCAF to set the agenda/conduct the review just provides a biased outcome in favour of the F-35.
- The National Post reported Trump has ordered that contracts for Canadian firms making F-35 parts be eventually terminated – and those contracts be awarded to only U.S. firms. What will be the impact of this initiative?
-The U.S. Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog organization, revealed on Sept. 3 that the F-35 Block 4 (which Canada will buy) has run into new problems. Block 4 is at least $6 billion over budget and five years behind schedule. But the Canadian Forces is refusing to say how it is going to deal with this major problem. Why is that?
I think it is very interesting that throughout his opinion piece, Flynn spells “defence” the American way – “defense.” That’s his right.
But we don’t need journalists to step away from their computers just because Billy Flynn wants that to happen. We need journalists to dig even deeper into the F-35 and the consequences for our nation if we indeed buy this plane.
(OPINION)
