Bill Blair, Canada’s Minister of Defense, stated that the country is reconsidering its acquisition of F-35 fighter jets from the U.S. The procurement program, valued at over $13 billion, is being reassessed by the Canadian government amid rising tensions between Canada and the U.S.

This announcement comes just one day after Portugal abandoned its plans to purchase F-35 fighters. However, unlike Portugal, which only had the "intention" to acquire the aircraft, Canada has already paid for 16 F-35 jets. Additionally, Canada is directly involved in the development and production of components for the aircraft. If the Canadian government were to simply abandon the program now, it would likely lose the money already spent on the 16 jets and waste decades of investment in aerospace research.

Therefore, unless relations between the U.S. and Canada deteriorate significantly, it is unlikely that Canada will completely abandon the F-35 program.