Canadian aerospace companies are pushing back against the idea that Bombardier securing a contract to replace aging military patrol planes would be the best solution for the sector, saying a deal between Ottawa and leader Boeing could prove at least as lucrative.
Bombardier has asked the federal government to allow open competition for the successor to the Royal Canadian Air Force’s half-century-old CP-140 Aurora aircraft.
The Montreal business jet maker argues that its surveillance planes, when they begin rolling off assembly lines early next decade, will offer a cheaper, higher-tech product that will be made in Canada .
The government has so far not said whether it will go for a sole-source contract or an open tender, but its procurement department has said Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon is the only aircraft reconnaissance currently available that meets the needs of the army.
Martin Brassard, CEO of Quebec landing gear manufacturer Héroux-Devtek, points to Boeing’s enormous production capacity, which would generate business for parts suppliers and maintenance and repair operations in Canada, where 81 suppliers of Poseidon are already based.
A study commissioned by Boeing and carried out by Doyletech, an Ottawa-based company, found that a contract with Boeing would generate nearly $10 billion in domestic economic activity over a decade and directly support more than 230 Canadian businesses, while Bombardier said a deal would add $2.8 billion to the country’s gross domestic product.