Canada freezes order for 16 American Black Hawk helicopters before Congress review

Summary

Ottawa has quietly paused an order for 16 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, for Canada's special forces. The order had cleared the first American review and was heading to Congress when the pause came last summer, just before Canadian trade negotiators met their U.S. counterparts in Washington. Those talks ultimately failed, and Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Ottawa was not waiting by the phone.

According to the video, the pause was partly tied to the talks and partly part of a federal review of every planned U.S. military purchase. Other files are in limbo too: a Google cloud contract and a Raytheon training system have not been announced, and the F-35 decision, with 16 jets committed and the full 88 undecided, looms next.

From a Canadian perspective, the video frames the pause as leverage: the Parliamentary Budget Officer says defence spending could exceed $163 billion by 2035, so Washington can no longer assume those dollars. It cites polling in which 62% of Canadians oppose buying U.S. military equipment. Retired Major General Dennis Thompson, a former special operations commander, argues helicopters stay in service for 20 to 30 years. Ottawa's stated order of priorities favours building at home first.

Key points

• Ottawa paused an order for 16 UH-60M Black Hawks for special forces last summer, after the order cleared its first U.S. review.
• The order was heading to Congress, which gets 15 days to object under the foreign military sales process.
• The pause came just before trade talks in Washington, which ultimately failed.
• Polling cited in the video: 62% of Canadians oppose buying U.S. military equipment; 64% support an immediate halt.
• Canada has committed to 16 F-35s and has not yet decided on the full 88 jets.
• The Parliamentary Budget Officer says defence spending could exceed $163 billion by 2035.

Questions answered