Carney Put a Longtime F-35 Critic in Charge of Canada’s Defence Buying — Now He Controls Tens of Billions

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Canada’s defence procurement overhaul has produced one of Ottawa’s sharpest political ironies. Stephen Fuhr, a former CF-18 pilot who spent years warning that the F-35 was too costly and poorly suited to Canada, now sits at the centre of the country’s effort to buy military equipment faster. Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed Fuhr secretary of state for defence procurement in May 2025, and he now leads the Defence Investment Agency, created to streamline major acquisitions. Federal briefing material says the agency is expected to manage more than $60 billion in upcoming investments. That makes Fuhr’s old fighter-jet criticism newly relevant—but not because he personally controls the F-35 decision. His larger challenge is shaping how Canada spends an unprecedented wave of defence money while balancing military needs, industrial policy, alliances and political pressure.

From F-35 Dissenter to Procurement Chief

Fuhr’s criticism of the F-35 was not a position he adopted after entering cabinet. In 2011, two years after retiring from the Royal Canadian Air Force, he publicly called the planned purchase an expensive mistake. At the time, he questioned the aircraft’s cost, development delays and whether a single-engine fighter was the best fit for Canada’s vast northern geography. His argument put him at odds with many former colleagues in the fighter community, where the F-35 had strong professional support.

The political consequences were significant. Fuhr later joined the Liberals and won Kelowna—Lake Country in 2015, when Justin Trudeau was campaigning on a promise not to buy the F-35. He lost the seat in 2019 but returned to Parliament in 2025 under Carney. More than a decade after he first challenged the aircraft, the critic found himself helping redesign the system that buys Canada’s military hardware. That reversal shapes scrutiny.

His Military Background Makes the Appointment More Complicated

Fuhr was never an outsider throwing rocks at the defence establishment. He served two decades in the Royal Canadian Air Force, flew CF-18 Hornets and worked in roles connected to NATO and NORAD. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was in Inuvik on a force-projection exercise and later recalled patrolling Arctic skies while the scale of the attacks in the United States was still unfolding. That experience gives his procurement views an operational edge.

It also makes the F-35 dispute unusual. Fuhr’s criticism came from someone who understood fighter operations, training and fleet management rather than from a purely political perspective. His supporters see that background as useful in a system where technical requirements can become detached from delivery realities. Critics can reasonably ask whether long-held views risk shaping choices. Fuhr’s response has been that evidence, operational needs and value should drive decisions—even when new evidence forces a change of mind.

Carney Gave Him a New Institution, Not Just a New Title

Carney created the secretary of state for defence procurement role in May 2025, then launched the Defence Investment Agency in October. The agency operates within Public Services and Procurement Canada and is led politically by Fuhr, while chief executive Doug Guzman oversees day-to-day operations. Its mandate is to centralize expertise, streamline decision-making and accelerate delivery of equipment to the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Coast Guard.

Federal briefing material prepared for Fuhr says the agency is expected to manage more than $60 billion in upcoming investments. The government’s Defence Industrial Strategy points to $180 billion in defence procurement opportunities over the next decade, alongside defence-related capital spending. Fuhr sits at a junction where military urgency, industrial development and public spending collide. His influence is real, but it is exercised within a network that still includes National Defence, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Industry and Treasury Board. That concentration is notable.

Why Ottawa Decided the Old System Was No Longer Good Enough

The case for procurement reform is clear in the government’s own records. A 2026 study by the Office of the Procurement Ombud estimated that a major National Defence project takes about 16 years, on average, to move through five project phases, with observed cases ranging from roughly seven to 28 years. The study highlighted fragmented accountability, risk-averse decision-making, weak data and repeated approval bottlenecks.

National Defence’s own reporting shows the practical consequences. For 2024-25, only 44 per cent of capital equipment projects remained on their most recently approved schedule, well below the department’s target of at least 90 per cent. Delays matter because military technology can age while a project is still moving through government. They also create costs: interim equipment, life extensions and revised infrastructure plans can become necessary simply because replacements arrive late. The Defence Investment Agency was built to attack that cycle. That is the promise today.

The F-35 Remains the Unavoidable Test Case

Canada’s planned F-35 purchase remains the file that gives Fuhr’s appointment its political charge. The government finalized an arrangement in 2022 to acquire 88 F-35A fighters. By 2024, the estimated project cost had risen from $19 billion to $27.7 billion, according to the Auditor General, with at least another $5.5 billion required for elements not included in that estimate, such as additional infrastructure and advanced weapons.

Carney ordered a review in March 2025 to determine whether the F-35 still represented the best choice for Canada. As of 2026, that review remained ongoing, while Canada continued preparing to receive the first aircraft for training. National Defence has said Canada is committed to the first 16 aircraft and has acknowledged that options under review include alternatives and even a mixed fighter fleet. That makes the decision operationally difficult as well as politically sensitive: the CF-18 fleet is scheduled to retire by 2032.

His Authority Is Broad—but the F-35 File Exposes Its Limits

Being “in charge of defence procurement” can make Fuhr sound autonomous than the machinery of government allows. In parliamentary testimony, Fuhr said the F-35 procurement was not planned to transfer to the Defence Investment Agency and would continue to be managed by National Defence under the multinational program structure unless the arrangement changed. Capability requirements remain National Defence’s responsibility.

That boundary could shift if Parliament approves pending legislation. Bill C-31 proposes to establish the Defence Investment Agency as a stand-alone entity and give its minister exclusive authority, subject to exceptions, to acquire defence and national-security supplies and services for federal departments. It would also add financial powers. As of early September 2026, the bill had passed second reading but remained at committee. In other words, Fuhr already has major influence, but Parliament is still deciding how much authority the new system should concentrate in one portfolio. The change would matter.

Diversification Is Already Showing Up in Major Deals

Fuhr’s procurement agenda is not simply about spending faster. It is also about reducing dependence on a narrow group of suppliers and linking purchases to Canadian industrial capacity. In May 2026, the Defence Investment Agency selected Sweden’s Saab as the preferred supplier for discussions on a new airborne early-warning capability. Saab’s GlobalEye system uses the Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft, giving Ottawa a defence option with a Canadian manufacturing connection.

The pattern is visible elsewhere. Canada selected Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems as preferred supplier for negotiations on up to 12 new submarines, with South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean kept as reserve supplier. Fuhr also signed a government-to-government arrangement with Australia for Arctic over-the-horizon radar technology. These choices do not amount to a break with the United States—Canada continues buying American systems—but they illustrate the government’s broader strategy: spread strategic risk, deepen allied partnerships and seek more domestic economic value from defence spending.

Buying Weapons Is Now Also Industrial Policy

Carney’s Defence Industrial Strategy explicitly makes economic resilience part of procurement. Its BUILD–PARTNER–BUY framework says Canada should build domestically where it has capacity, partner with trusted allies where collaboration makes sense, and buy abroad when necessary while attaching stronger Canadian economic conditions. The government has described “Buy Canadian” as the guiding direction for future acquisitions.

That approach changes how projects are judged. A radar aircraft, submarine or armoured vehicle is no longer evaluated only by military performance and price; Ottawa increasingly weighs domestic production, intellectual property, supply-chain security and export potential. Canada’s defence industry already contributes close to $10 billion to GDP and supports more than 81,000 jobs, according to the federal government. The F-35 itself shows how complicated this becomes: dozens of Canadian companies participate in the global program, meaning any change in fleet strategy could affect both military interoperability and industrial work already embedded in international supply chains.

Speed Brings a New Accountability Problem

The appeal of faster procurement is obvious after years of delays, but speed can create its own risks. The Procurement Ombud’s 2026 review warned that Canada’s system has struggled with fragmented accountability, weak performance data and unclear measures of success. Consolidating authority may reduce hand-offs, yet it raises the stakes when contracts are negotiated quickly or when strategic partnerships reduce traditional competition.

That is why Fuhr’s tenure will be judged on more than delivery announcements. The agency will need to show whether projects arrive sooner, stay within approved costs and meet operational requirements. Parliament, the Auditor General and procurement watchdogs will have to track whether industrial benefits are real rather than promised at contract signing. With tens of billions moving through the structure, a faster system that is not transparent would solve one problem by creating another. The test is whether Ottawa can become both quicker and more accountable simultaneously.

The Irony Is Real, but the Larger Story Is Institutional

Fuhr’s career makes for a political reversal: the former fighter pilot who once warned against the F-35 now helps steer Canada’s biggest defence-buying overhaul in years. Yet the bigger development is institutional. Carney has put procurement at the centre of an effort to meet NATO commitments, strengthen Arctic security, rebuild military readiness and use spending to expand Canadian industrial capacity.

The results will take years to measure. Canada must replace aging aircraft and submarines, modernize continental surveillance, equip troops and develop resilient supply chains while defence spending rises rapidly. Fuhr’s past makes every fighter decision more closely watched, but his portfolio extends far beyond one aircraft. The central question is whether someone who built his reputation by challenging an expensive procurement consensus can now run a system designed to make procurement decisions faster. With $60 billion in agency-managed investments, the consequences will show up in capability, jobs and public trust.

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