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But Kendall said the Canadian companies providing equipment and parts for the F-35 were selected because they were the best. “I believe those suppliers are part of the team, I don’t see any reason why they would not continue to be part of the team whether Canada (purchases aircraft) or not,” Kendall said Tuesday at the rollout of Norway’s first F-35.

“We make our decisions on participation based on best value and if Canadian firms are still best value then they will be part of the program,” he added.

Alan Williams, who signed the original memorandum that brought Canada into the F-35 program, also questioned Harper’s claim. “Those Canadian companies were selected because they provided the best product at the best value,” he said. “They weren’t selected because they were Canadian.”

Even so, F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin has warned that if Canada doesn’t buy the F-35, it might not continue using Canadian firms on the project in the future.

However, Williams said it might be difficult at this stage of production to replace the Canadian equipment on the jets.

Thirty-three Canadian companies have won US$637 million in contracts for the aircraft, according to figures compiled by the government in December 2014. Industry Canada has estimated companies could receive about $10 billion in work but there are no guarantees.

Based on current figures, the F-35 represents approximately 2.29 per cent of the Canadian aerospace industry’s total revenue, the Canadian Press said in an analysis.