By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Canadian officials have entered into talks to acquire surveillance aircraft from Saab, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, as the nation rebuilds its military and strengthens security ties with Europe.
At a defense conference Wednesday in Ottawa, Carney said the Swedish company's GlobalEye aircraft would help detect and deter threats across the Arctic. Saab said it has offered to build, maintain and upgrade the planes that Canada purchases in partnership with Canadian firms.
Saab added that it has neither signed an agreement nor received an order from Ottawa.
Montreal-based Bombardier supplies the underlying platform for the GlobalEye aircraft. Carney said that, as envisaged, about a third of the aircraft produced would be assembled in Canada, creating about 3,000 aerospace-sector jobs, with a good portion of them in Quebec.
Canada was also considering early-warning aircraft from two U.S. companies, L3Harris and Boeing, before opting for Saab, David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute in Ottawa and a military analyst, said.
A spokesman for L3Harris said the Florida company would continue to speak with Canadian officials about its Aeris X early-warning capability. A spokesman for Boeing said the company respects Canada's decision, and would work with officials to address the armed forces' needs.
Ottawa's choice on GlobalEye marks yet another step by Carney to rebuild the country's military, and increase Canadian defense expenditures toward the benchmarks set by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Prior to Carney's arrival, Canada had been a laggard in defense spending among NATO members, drawing the scorn of the U.S. and other allies.
The prime minister said the GlobalEye initiative is an example of his strategy to build up Canadian manufacturing through higher defense spending. Canada's factory sector is under strain, due to hefty U.S. tariffs.
"There's a series of other investments that we can make that will help protect Canadians first and foremost, and help our allies, but we can do those in a way that maximizes the Canadian benefit," Carney said.
Perry, the analyst, said Carney "was serious about how they were looking to buy Canadian" in defense spending.
The Saab talks also underscore Carney's goal to strengthen security ties with partners in Europe amid growing trade and security tension with Washington.
The Defense Department targeted Canada this month in a rare public rebuke, with Under Secretary Elbridge Colby saying Ottawa had failed to make "credible progress on its defense commitments." Colby, in a series of social-media posts, added that real powers "must sustain our rhetoric with shared defense and security responsibilities."
Saab and Swedish officials are also aggressively pushing Canada to buy the company's Gripen fighter jets, instead of going all-in with a deal to buy up to 88 of Lockheed Martin's F-35s for the Canadian air force. Carney ordered a review last year of a 2023 contract to buy the F-35s, citing changes to the geopolitical landscape.
Canadian officials, such as Industry Minister Melanie Joly, said they are impressed to date with some of the employment pledges Saab has made to Ottawa in exchange for acquiring the Gripen jets. Joly said this week that officials and Lockheed Martin are having productive talks about providing more industrial benefits as part of the F-35 deal.
Carney said Wednesday officials continue to review the F-35 pact.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 27, 2026 13:56 ET (17:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments