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The F-35A is the aircraft once considered by Canada and could in future be a potential contender for any CF-18 replacement.

During last year’s election campaign, Trudeau promised Canada would not purchase the F-35, an aircraft he said was too expensive and unnecessary for the country’s needs.

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But last week five defence firms, including Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35, responded to the Liberal government’s call for information about fighter jets that could replace the CF-18s.

Boeing Co. submitted information on its Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin on the F-35, Dassault Aviation on the Rafale, Eurofighter GmbH on the Typhoon and Saab Group on the Gripen.

How the Liberals will now proceed on fighter-jet replacement is unknown. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has said the bidding process would be open and has argued that the CF-18s have to be replaced as soon as possible.

But asked recently when the Liberal government will know how it is going to proceed, Sajjan said he couldn’t provide specific details.

“It all depends on a lot of the information that we do collect, but it is going to be months, not years definitely because of the urgency for this,” he said. “I can’t give you a precise date but, like I said, it will be in the months coming.”

The F-35 became a major political headache several years ago for the Conservative government. Although a Liberal government originally signed on to a research and development program for the plane, the Conservatives significantly expanded commitment and later agreed to the purchase 65 jets.